Chapters A Glimpse Into The Past. 1
Thanks to Arck1334 for helping me edit this story.
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Experimental Group No.0001 Status: Terminated
Experimental Group No.0002 Status: Deceased
Experimental Group No.0003 Status: MIA/AWOL
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Experimental Group No.0083 * Status: Active Mission: Terminate Discord***
As I finish re-reading the unimpressive legacy of groups prior to ours, I once again notice the lack of variety among them. Every one of them either died or went AWOL. But that was to be expected of these groups. The original plan was to have 1000 of these groups formed before terminating the project and finding a better way to complete the mission. But due the amount of failure ours is the last group.
On an earth like this, groups like ours aren't the most conventional way of doing things. It's been Ten years since the "Rebeginning" of earth began, ten years since Discord came. The world was immediately plunged into chaos. After being locked away for so long his excess chaos immediately flooded over us when he opened the rift to earth. It didn't affect everyone equally but about 93% of humans fell entirely victim to it. The excess chaos split their minds giving each one of them split personalities, which then proceeded to devour the originals and began to spread chaos, just as their purpose intends, they adopted the name Reformers. 7.9936% of the population was unaffected and stayed normal, but with such a small percentage at least 1/2 of these people have died off. I am of the smallest fraction of people, the last 0.0064%. All of these people suffered the effects of the split, however they weren't devoured by it and actually can live with it under control; we are known as Silent Screamers. Sadly we were a small amount to begin with and our numbers are dropping faster than any of the others. Because of the constant chaos pouring out from wherever discord is over the planet our splits will sometimes devour us with the added energy. I've only made it this long on fleeting luck and the fact that Wanderlust doesn't have any primary intention of taking over me. Most of mankind and most of our animal life all live within the domes. Discord's chaos sped up natural disasters causing massive earthquakes and explosions of ash to cover the earth. Most of our atmosphere is now filled with ash. Not that it matters, Discord sped up the erosion of the sun until after the supernova. All that remains is a shallow smoldering husk of the old sun. The only reason there any earth left is because discord opened rifts to transport the expansion away so he could bask in our chaos.
We aren't alone in our struggle though. Shortly after Discord came though, Princess Luna and her guard also came though trying to track him. We weren't what they expected. They had assumed Discord had simply opened up a small tear to a remote part of Equestria but instead they found us, crazies and all. Luna moved their tear to the moon and assembled an impromptu castle. While normally they would've just used the Elements Of Harmony the amount of chaos is too much. It's either imprison Discord and let humanity die out from insanity or unsplit humanity and let Discord infect them again. Knowing this she assembled hundreds of small squads made up of only pegasi and unicorns and found a different way to use the elements. Whenever people are transported to the earth base a small portion of the elements power is released to keep Discord from hijacking the portal and oozing chaos though it. Since guns are non-usable by earth ponies they weren't out into any squads. Unicorns use magic to pull the triggers and pegasi actually turned out to be excellent snipers, using side mounted guns, activated by shifting their wings when they're folded in, on the sides of their bodies with telescopes as sights. The purpose of these squads was to preform extractions of those without splits, using a device called a B.A.G.E.L. Bagel of course standing for Basic Assistance Guide and Endpoint Localizer. But I'm not in that sort of squad. Multiple pony squads used to be assigned to eliminating Discord but all of those died off too quickly to even learn anything. Then squads of unsplit humans and ponies were formed. While these were more affective they still didn't give very much headway. They only found a few random hints and some recovery of advanced human technology, such as earth to moon mining lasers. Regardless those programs have both been discontinued. I am of the last of the experimental squads. We aren't an impressive bunch to be truthful. We've done less that the pony only squads did. Each one of the squads, including mine, were formed of three people, 1 pony, a unaffected spotter on the moon and a silent screamer human who hasn't been taken over. Of course our squad wasn't meant to be formed. We were formed do the unfortunate fate of Experimental Squad No.0082.
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7 months ago
As I walk out or my hut I make sure to look out for any reforms walking too close to me. I see two of them about thirty feet to my right by my ladder and another only ten feet from me. I'll take out them out there's no need to use this thing and go loud. I think remembering what I took with me, just a few things I looted on my way here. 3 plasma knives, a few green smoke bombs from a fireworks stand I robbed and a Winchester model 2993 from a group of reforms who had been raiding gun stores and homes ,who I killed, and around 143 rounds for it. Because of my lack of silenced weaponry I usually try to get use the knives to kill while the smoke bombs are usually just to get out before the shit gets to deep. The reforms usually carry some more modern weapons that I can't use. Being as it is the year 3011 body fusion guns have become insanely common amongst the population and since one they're attached they are bonded to that persons' body if I try to use one I'll be killed from the self destruct safety feature. The problem isn't as much my outdated weaponry as it is the nature of my enemies. Since they're all insane they don't respond to fear or pain, and rather than hitting vitals to eliminate them the nature of armor has also changed. Rather than light armor in the outside of skin it's become imbedded into skin and made of new materials that resist penetration by older bullets but don't weight enough to be bothersome. Luckily for me the plating can't be installed in your head without killing you so I do have one place to aim this old gun and I found these plasma knives, invented for the singular purpose of becoming super-heated and carving though armor by siphoning materials out of the air for energy. So while my ranged combat is at a disadvantage I can still take down people close to me.
Crouch walking up behind the man to my left I click the button on the end of the knife and the blade begins to glow a sickly orange color. I slice up though his spine and though his head with ease and then click the button of again. Taking one of my other knives out I slowly make my way over to the other two reformers. I click the ends of my knives and reactivate the plasma blades. One of them must've heard the low humming emitted by the older edition blade because she turned around and shoved her arm infused gun into my stomach. I swerved as she fired and was thankfully left unscathed from it. Good she has a suppressor. I might've been fucked if she didn't have one. This place would've been swarmed. The other reformer having already turned around with his weapon, which was luckily is suppressed like hers, pushed it onto my back and I duck down before he shoots. I kick my one of my legs back into his knees as he shoots and he falls over. The woman, having noticed her comrade fell, turned around and began to shoot at me. I turn my knife vertically and push it forward towards the barrel. My knife eats though the metal barrel and bullets as I swerve upwards and slice her face in a cascade of blood. I jump upwards and I begin to hear the man reposition. Turing around in the air I assume the fetal position and I flail my arms out wildly, hoping my knives would it though any bullets on their way to me. None of them did. As I land I side step expecting to be shot at. Nothing. Looking over to the woman's corpse I see the man crying next to it. Damnit this always makes it harder on me.
While they've been consumed by their insanity every once in a while one of them will be whiplashed back for a moment. I never killed them before they were re-consumed. The reformers only want to kill and destroy any who aren't in their group and have almost no consciousness, I only kill them when they're consumed because I don't want the real person to see it happening. I used to have a friend with me for the first few days of the Rebeginning, I had to kill him. He broke free during it and I asked him how he wanted me to kill him. He said "Kill me when he takes back over. I can't see a thing when he's in control." And it's all I've ever done, I did it to him and I've done the same to all of them. Walking over to him I place my hand in his shoulder and simply mutter.
"I'm sorry." As I say this he looks up to me in remorse.
"Go to hell," Is the only thing he says as his face twisted back into a screw of madness.
I take off his head and walk back over to my ladder and begin to climb. How many days has it been since I've seen that look? At least a year. It's getting less and less common with time. People are fading even more into the insanity. As I get up on top of the building I scan the rooftops for reformers. I don't see anyone but I do see a pony silhouette a few rooftops over. The lights begin to fade and I know the off cycle of the domes lights is about to begin. Pulling out my gas mask I strap it to my arm so I can put it on for night vision when they switch off. I've seen many of these pony rescue teams and talked to a lot of them. They save the unaffected people. Sadly I'm not that lucky. Since Wanderlust is still within me they consider me to unstable to be saved currently. This doesn't stop me from helping them out with a mission or talking with them though. Usually I get some food or water for helping them and it's nice talking with someone who isn't going to shoot you in the back for looking at them the wrong way. Checking to make sure my pulse boot is still on form the fight I begin on foot jumping with my pulse boot from rooftop to rooftop. Pulse boots were designed for people to gain added mobility when controlling riots and by gangs to move weapons and information quickly. Not many were made though, I just got lucky and found one when I got my Winchester. I usually kick with it while I'm fighting since I have it set to repel what it hits when I'm not jumping. I land next to the pony who proceeds to look over to me and arm her weapon.
"Oh quit it. Just request information for Adam Reislen you'll find me." At this the pony lowered its guard slightly and brought up a small blue holographic over one of its eyes.
"It says you're a Silent Screamer whose secondary is called Wanderlust. It ways you're ok and willing to help a pony out. That true?"
"Yup. That's me." I say as she puts down her up gun with her magic.
"Heh, you’re just like my partner. He's a Silent too." She says holding out a hoof. Weird I was told all silent screamers weren't able to join.
"What do you mean? Aren't Silents unable to join up?" I say shaking her hoof.
"Oh yes usually, you see, Luna doesn't want pony only teams going out to hunt Discord anymore."
"Yeah I know, she switched to mixed teams of unaffected people and ponies now"
"Yes and she has now abandoned that project and began a new Experimental Group project. These groups consist of 1 unaffected person who uses a mining sniper and acts as a spotter, a pony who serves to engage ground people from range and close up and a Silent Screamer to help out the pony and head the operation."
"Well damnit, how do I get in on this?" I say being genuinely interested at the idea of at least having constant supplies.
"Yeah sorry about that, the original plan was to test this out over a 1000 squad deployment but that's been changed. I'm in group 82, we were formed and deployed one at a time. Every one of these has been a near immediate failure though, so after my squad has someone die the project will be terminated." FUCK! I finally get my chance at a semi-good life and I get a slap to face.
"Well fuck. Oh well I guess I can't get angry. Luna's just trying to do what's best to keep people alive and save us. So why are you here?"
"Our objective is to kill or neutralize Discord but since we don't where he is we're following a lead to someone who might know his location."
"Oh, so where's your partner?" I say turning to where she was looking before.
"He went into that building just across from here. He's supposed to meet the guy there." She says turning back to the building.
"How dangerous do you think this is?"
"It's probab-" But she never finished that sentence. And I no longer needed her too, because now the answer is right in front of me.
I look to see a bullet drilled right through her skull and I then see a laser fly down next to me hitting a reformer who was behind me. Then another laser fires upward and a shot is never returned. Damnit. Damnit. * DAMNIT ALL TO FUCK! These ponies want nothing up but to help us and this is how we react? WHAT THE HE--*... No. No hate. I cannot hate them. No hate. However if this was an attack that means that guy in there is probably dead. But he might not be.
Grabbing her communicator I fit it on and say, "Hey you alive buddy?"
"WHO THE FUCKER ARE YOU?" I hear a pained voice come across.
"Adam Reislen, the guy who's gonna try to get you out of there. Your partners are dead. So right now it's you and me. How badly injured are you?"
"Frank is the name. They shot me in my knee and shoulder. You're where Stellar was right?"
"If that was her name, yeah, we were talking and they shot her and your spotter. What do you want me to do?"
"What weapons do you have?"
"An old Winchester 2993, non-plasma cutter rounds just railient rounds, one newest model plasma knife and two older ones that hum when I turn them on and a few green smoke bombs."
"Well there's no way you’re using that rifle without a suppressor."
"Yeah I know. I'm just using the scope to look around right now. They have about 15 reformers down there. I have an idea." I say looking at the alleys.
"I'm all ears."
"I'll throw one of my smoke bombs down at one of the alleys the jump down with my pulse boot and slip inside and meet you. Where are you?"
"I'm on floor B34 making my way towards the elevator; no-one is shooting yet. I should be able to make it there. It comes up on in the cafeteria on the main floor. Clear that out and tell me, I'll be waiting eating some meds in the elevator and I'll come up then."
"Alright just make sure you're there and alive." I say clicking the mic off.
Taking out one of my knives I turn it on and grab a smoke bomb. I bring the blade to the end of the fuse and light it. Tossing it down into the alley, making sure that it hit a few cans. As the smoke comes out I see the 13 of the reforms running over with their guns raised it the smoke. Two of the smarter ones simply raised their guns and waited next to each other. Seeing as how they weren't going to move I take out my second knife and ready myself to jump. Switching my boot to silenced mode I jump off and ready my knives. I just have to make sure I land on one leg from a good 500 ft. drop, no problem.
Landing silently on my single leg behind them I switch to the light push mode and propel forward taking their heads along with me. Spinning on my heel I dash forward again towards my smoke and I take another head off a reformer. Stopping just before my smoke, I put my gas mask on so I'll be able to see them though the mist. Flipping on the HUD I see on my map my smoke covered part of the alley and around the corner. Looking forward I see they have formed 6 groups of two. Idiots.
Turing off my humming knife I change my grip to a back handed grip and I walk towards the closest group. Taking their heads in halves after my first swing I get more blood on my arm. Taking out the next 5 groups I come up on the last two reformers, but these two are different. They're using masks like mine so I won't be able to walk up on them and their weapons are knives. The problem is that their masks are a series higher than mine. They're infused to the bodies and show waves when sounds get within a certain proximity of them. This is gonna suck ass. Wait. This might be easier than I'm making it.
Taking out my lower grade knives I flip them on and throw them at their backs. As I expected they swerve to the right and left as they do this I pulse jump off the side of the wall and swerve in the air and switch my boot to repel mode and slam my foot into his while he's still disoriented. Taking out my good knife and flipping on the wall I pulse jump and click my knife back on. I manage to decapitate the first one but the second punches me back towards a wall. Hitting against it at that speed causes me to cough up a little blood but I'll just have to deal with it. The second one charges me and I pulse jump upwards to dodge it. Sadly my luck doesn't last. She then pulse jumps using her boots and drives her fist into my chin. Slinging my knife upwards randomly I manage to slice her chin slightly before falling back to the ground. She lands across from me as I access my situation; she turns her own knife on and lunges at me. I duck down and rotate a kick upwards pushing her up above me. I scurry out of the way before she lands and I see blood ooze from her right foot. That worked well. I had found the knife from the other guy and simply flipped it on and sat it there hoping it would hit her. And it did. Now that her right boot is destabilized I can get her. If she tries to jump with that one she'll lose massive velocity. She lunges at me with both feet and immediately is flung back into the wall form instability. Taking advantage of this opportunity I pulse jump forward and drag my blade though her skull. I pick up my two thrown knives and leave theirs. I walk over in front of the building where Frank is and I immediately know I'm in for a long fight if the guys in here have weapons and equipment like these ones. Oh well going through hell for strangers isn't that new to me anymore.
A Past Of Determination. 2
Walking into the building, I am in a central lobby with a flight of stairs on both the left and the right of me, a desk in the back of the room, and two elevators. Walking over to the other side of the desk, I pull up the layout and surveillance cameras for the first floor. The cameras were all dead but it seems that the cafeteria isn't on this floor. Moving the layout up to the second I floor I see the cafeteria across from the stairs and that a few of the cameras don't work. However, one of them in the cafeteria is still operating. Damnit. Looking into the cafeteria I see a gang of at least 30 reforms. It looks like twenty of them are standing around a platform of tables near the elevator entrance with ten of them at the front entrance to the room. Looking over the map again I see there's a second entrance from the kitchen. Alright. I'll enter the kitchen and clear it out, then sneak in though the kitchen entrance, throw my two smoke bombs, and then hopefully take them out before he comes up. Simple. As simple as teaching a panda to make stir fry.
Programming my destination into my gas mask, I fit it on and walk over to the stairs. As I walk up the stairs I turn on the path finder and a light green line appears to show me my path. Making sure to take out my newer knife and click it on; I walk around following my path until I reach a corner and around it is an iron door with two reforms by it. Checking back to the map I downloaded I don't see any other ways around to the door closer to them but there is one farther away and only a short run from me. Clicking on one of my older knifes I leave it a few feet away from their corridor. I turn around and run as I hear them being to move towards the sound. Getting back to the hallway with the iron door I see the two of them almost to my knife. Taking out my new one, I make sure that it is glowing a dirtied orange colour. Sneaking out into the hallway I try to remain quiet as I make it down to where they turned. Seeing them I grab the one the closest to me; I proceed to slice his head into halves. Before the other can notice I bring an upward slice up though her back and up out of her head. Grabbing the knife I left; I click it off and put it away.
Walking over to the door, I take out one of my knives and cut a small hole in it to see into the kitchen, no more than a few centimeters long and wide. Looking in I see 5 more reformers standing casually near the door. Walking in I make sure to slowly close the door and keep my knife in a backhanded fashion. Grabbing the mouth of the one closest to me, I proceed to calmly remove the head and lay the body to the side. Luckily for me this one wasn't heard or seen, but the others are a different story. They're all too close to each other for me to just pick them off unnoticed. However, I do have an idea. Checking the body of the own I killed I find a small shiv made of old steel. It'll work. Walking up behind them I take the crude blade and stab as far as I can into the head of one of them. Grabbing a second knife from my belt, I click it on and drive them though the head of two of the reformers that turned around. Punching the only one left in the face, I then proceed to drive my blade up though his torso and head.
Moving the 'mess' out of my way; I proceed to look through the windows in the door to the cafeteria. Damnit, they must've heard me. Across the room from the door, I see about five of them with their rifles raised and waiting for me. Knowing my steal would have no use; I take out my rifle and load it. I take out one of my older knives and tie it to the end of the barrel and click it on to be used as impromptu bayonet. Well, I can run away and go back to my day by day, or I can attack. There isn't room for error in there. Wait... Is this fear I'm feeling? Why am I afraid? Because it's 35 on one? Yeah probably. I'm afraid of dying alone. But if I don't save him, he'll face that fear.
"Just try and make me live out my fears... Just try and make me run... Just try and make me die." I whisper say gripping the rifle and preparing to run out.
Running through the doorway, I fire a collection of shots towards the reformers across from me. Continuing to use my pulse boot to give my jumps a slight boost, I hop around shooting shots off into the hordes of reformers, but regretfully I can only hit a few in the head to actually stop them. Deciding this effort is useless I toss the rifle like a javelin into the horde and manage to actually take out a reformer with the bayonet.
I take out my other two knives and click them on seeing a familiar orange hue envelope the blades, one of them giving a slight spark upon glowing. Switching to a more direct approach, I bounce off one of the walls and past about 4 reformers taking their heads with me. I bounce off the next wall and twist as I go past another three but as my blade connects with the first one a cascade of sparks comes forth from the blade and tore apart the metal. Shit. Bouncing off the walls I examine my left hand, which is now covered in burns and some of the charred skin is falling away. Ignoring the pain I turn back to a reformer and lunge forward taking off her head. As I jump again I look at the blade in my right hand, it still seems to be doing fine. Turning on the wall I feel an impact and I look over to my right hand. Fuck. As I look over all I see is the handle of the knife and the shattered blade on the floor around me. How am I supposed to kill someone without my knives? Wait... Looking around the floor as I jump, I see my rifle sitting near a corner with the blade still attached. Landing next to it, I pull the blade from the barrel. Hearing a piercing notice below me I look to see that my boot as been shot in the reaction core. Shit. Now I don't have my mobility. Hearing more bullets fly past me I begin to run, hoping to avoid any shots. Taking off and looking at the boot while running wildly, I notice that it is still operational, but since the core was shot it will most likely react abnormally when used. Perfect. I take aim on one of the groups of reformers and I switch the boot to respond to pressure rather that instinct. As it hits the face of the reformer the core siphons the energy within the force of the hit and the surrounding area and expels it in it a small blue explosion, killing the reforms within its rather small diameter.
"FUCK! MOTHER FUCKING SHIT STAIN!"
After slashing through the reformer next to me I examine my arm. Seven bullets pierced my arm around my shoulder and the wounds had begun to bleed profusely. Tearing off what was left if my left arm's sleeve, I wrap the wounds and am able stop most of the bleeding. I need to finish this. I think as I turn back to the last ten of the reformers left while coughing up a little blood. I lunge forward gripping my knife as tightly as I can and throw it at the closest reformer to me. I then feel a blade pierce my leg as a crude sickle impales my right leg.
"Hey. What's the matter buddy? Weren't you going to call me to come up?" As I hear this my eyes widen from the nature of the voice.
"Frank?" I whisper turning on my good knee to face him.
"Weren't you going to kill them all and save me? Huh?" He says looking at me with the black eyes of a reformer and the red irises of a fallen Silent Screamer. He had turned.
"WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ASSHOLE. I DON'T NEED ANY SAVING."
"You changed when you were down there, didn't you?" I say looking up into his abominable eyes.
"Oh no. I've been in control of that Frank asshole for a while now. No one noticed my eyes though because I didn't terminate his existence until I was down there. I tricked you all. That stupid pony, my stupid teammate, Princess Luna and most of all I fooled you, probably the smartest survivor there ever will be in the Rebeginning. And how did I do that?" He says while grabbing my face," I played you're weakness. I played your stupid need to save those around you from a reality you're doomed to live out. I played your generosity to help them, your honesty with them, your loyalty to their escape, your laughter to raise their spirits and your kindness to care for them. I played your heart, your weakness." He says with a maniacal grin plaster over his screw of a face.
"Do you think that is a weakness?" I say looking at his eyes with disgust.
He then slaps me across the face and shouts, “OF CORSE IT IS. LOOK AT ME. I COMMAND THIS ENTIRE GANG WITH NO HEART, I CONQUERED THIS ENTIRE AREA WITH NO HEART, I KILL WITH NO HEART! Be like me, let Wanderlust take over. Let him make you strong. Let him run wild." He says trying to coax me into releasing Wanderlust's true urges.
"No. I am not like that and neither is he." I say retaliating against his grip and biting his accursed hand.
"Then die a heathen." He says jabbing his sickle back into my wounded shoulder, as I fall to the ground he turns and walks away from me.
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What happened? Why did I stop? Why am I dying? Where did my reasoning go? There were only eleven left, why didn't I push through? Why am I so fearful? Why won't I move? Why won't...I....fight..?
"Yes, why won't you?" Hear a voice come from my mind. Wanderlust?
"Bingo. So tell me, why aren't you fighting back?" He says coming from the back of my mind.
"I'm scared."
"Of what? Death?"
"Yes, how couldn't I be? I've lost my weapons, my mobility and most importantly my power to save them."
"What do you mean 'you lost your weapons and your power'?"
"You should know. My knives are broken, my boot is gone and I have no means to kill them." I say on the brink of tears.
"And just when did you lose your means to kill them?"
"I lost it when my knives failed me."
"Have you forgotten, about your true weapon?" Uhh?
"What do you mean 'true weapon'?"
**"You know what I mean. That which swings your blade, that which pulls the trigger; that which kills your enemies." * He says becoming more prominent.*
"My body."
*"No beyond that. Your willpower, the purpose that gives you the strength to swing your blade and attack." As he says this I see a black mist begin to flow from my left hand.*
"My purpose is my power." I say growing in confidence.
"Yes, now get up. Purpose is useless if not channeled. Rise!"
Gaining confidence, I stand up and face Frank as he walks away and the mist flowing from my left hand becomes more potent.
"What is this Wanderlust?" I say looking down at my hand.
*"That, my little friend, is me. I think I let a few details slip. I was made defective in more ways than one. I don't care about taking over you; I like pandas and, this being my biggest defect, and I never did bond to your body entirely. Rather than merging entirely with your body my combat prowess merged with your own drive. However, this was never presented to you because of your lack of drive. You were always afraid and you never had real determination. Every split has a large power storage linked to them so that they can conquer their host. Mine was lost when I mended to your body and thus, has been stored within your own determination. Those black tendrils are the excess power releasing itself through you. Just grip them and you'll see." He says in an approving tone.*
"Heh. Doesn't seem like it could get any worse." I say gripping the darkness with my charred hand.
The vines of darkness immediately wrap around my arm covering my entire hand and half of my forearm in it with snake heads at the edge forming an image of biting me. then what is left of my clothes are surrounded in it and form a set of black dress shoes with a pair of gray pants with a white sleeveless shirt and a body length trench coat over me with silver coloured stripes going down the length. My mask is then enveloped and changed into silver plating over my face with black rimmed glass over my eyes. A spear with a chain connecting it to my hand then shoots out from my grip forming a crude midnight black scythe, which then turns out into a more sleek version of the former. *Badass. *
*"See what I mean?" Wanderlust says with his pompous nature leaking though.*
"It didn't occur to you to tell about these ten years ago?" I say giving it a few casual twirlers.
*"You seemed to be doing well so I didn't find it necessary until now. Do you even know how to use a scythe?" He says as I cut the top of my remaining shoe with it.*
"Not really. I just swing it right? Maybe hit people with the blunt end a few times?" I say examining the blade.
*"You really are helpless. You see that chain going into your wrist? It will extend when you want it to and retract when you want it to. This means you can also throw your scythe. Also don't just swing wildly from the side, an upward thrust can be just as effective. But, for the most part, you're on your own with it. Now, go kill them and get out of here, just because you've got a scythe doesn't mean you're not bleeding." He says only final time before I feel him receding from my mind.*
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"Frank."
"Hmm? Now just what the hell happened to you? I don't recall you wearing anything like that or holding a scythe. So what the hell happened to you?" He says holding his pompous attitude and waving down his gang.
"I learned a thing or two. One of those being, I don't have tolerance for people like you who can't appreciate generosity, honesty, loyalty, laughter or kindness. This scythe is the embodiment of my will to spread those" I say then pointing it at him, “This scythe is a weapon to bring harmony to people and ponies alike. This is a scythe to bring peace."
"You really think a weapon like that can bring peace? How naïve can you be? That thing will kill and take, for it to bring peace is improbable." He says gaining a disgusted tone.
"I cannot hug a child with a weapon in my hands, which is true. But I cannot protect the peace that child has without holding a weapon and fighting. So while I cannot bring peace to everyone, I can protect it from those who would endanger it. That is why my scythe is one of peace. Now, come at me. I'm done listening to you." I say running off to the right.
"Get him. I have no further patience for such a heathen." Frank says arming his own rifle.
I can hear the bullets whining past me on into the wall. Instinctively, I place a foot on the wall on push off toward another. Surprisingly, I successfully push off just as if I was using a pulse boot. So if that foot worked, then... Placing my other foot on the wall, I being to run sideways along the wall using the attraction function that seems to also be a feature of these shoes. Diving low past the legs of one of them, I twist and swing the scythe upwards though his midsection, killing him. Regaining my position on the floor I run towards another three of them from the side and, before they can turn, I've already slashed though their heads. Hearing the shots going past me, I make the scythe dissipate. Let's see what else I have at my disposal.
Swirling the mist in my hand I condense it into a few small hollow casings and then I fill them with the mist. Throwing a handful of them into the last group of reformers. The pellets explode into a spray of gray smoke over them as I reform my scythe and dash forward into the smog. Extending the chain slightly, I grab the chain and begin to spin the scythe while crouching, dismembering them and killing them.
"It's just us now Frank." I saw walking out of the dissipating smoke holding my scythe in hand with a shortened chain. Oh shit.
"You're sure it's just us?" He says holding an all too familiar mare.
"What the hell?" I say looking in horror at the mare he's holding. But she was shot, just earlier. How?
"Surprised are you? That was a fake of mine to distract you. She actually was there but I teleported her before the shot to use as a last resort, and I'm glad I did. Go on say hello, Stellar." He says waving the barrel around and nudging her.
"Is this really the kind of person you are? To use a tactic like this to succeed? Don't answer. Your're scum and I'm going to skip the bullshit. Let her go and you can kill me." I say lowering my scythe.
"Right to the point. Alright, goodbye." He says pointing the gun back at me.
"You're really not human. A human would've seen through this. I say rotating my arm upwards and throwing my scythe vertically at him.
"Oh I saw through it." He says swerving to avoid my scythe as it flies past him as he laughs.
"I didn't mean that one. I meant," I begin to say, grabbing the chain and pulling my scythe back reversing the rotation and direction of my scythe," this one." I say as the scythe turns horizontally taking off half of his head as his body drops to the floor.
Walking over to the mare I help her up, while making my scythe dissipate again. Looking into her eyes, I see an all too unfamiliar look in her eyes, the look if someone who just lived to see the next day after such terror. Far too many people who get into something like this don't get to see the next day.
"Are you ok?" I say holding my hand up to my mask and pulling it apart into more of the mist and absorbing it back into my left hand.
"Y-y-yeah... I guess so." She says getting back up on her hooves.
"Well good. Now, we need to get out of here. Do you still have your communicator?" I say dissipating the trench coat back into my left hand.
"Yeah give me a second. I'll contact Luna for some support. How are you?" She says as I hold my left arm back up to my new pants and shirt to finish removing my clothing and I begin to absorb them.
"Oh I'm fine, don't wor--" I begin to say but I then fall onto my face as the last of my cloak dissipates. Fuck, looks like my time ran out.
As I regain consciousness, I immediately try to open my eyes but I am restricted by the cold metal clamping them shut. My mind feels like it is filled with thin agony dulling cobwebs from past painkillers that suspend rapiers of pain that barely scratch the surface of my being emitting small pain. Deciding the effort to open my eyes to be useless I begin to recap the events leading me to this position. I met that pony and she died. I tried to save Frank, but he became an asshole. That thing happened with Wanderlust and I had a scythe and some strange clothes. The pony was actually alive and Frank had her hostage. I killed him, and then lost consciousness after 'dispelling' the scythe and clothes. But what was that technique Wanderlust gave me? Suddenly the cobwebs in my mind decompose and the rapiers flood my being in a torrent of agony and strife. I endure the pain and try to think of where I could be. Deciding that any remaining reformers wouldn't of left me alive and that the pony was still alive when I fell, I decide the option with the most optimal truth to it is that I'm in Luna's main moon base since there aren't any field hospitals and a small laser sniper outpost would lack such medical efficiency, alongside the fact I'm sure Luna would want to obtain the details that I have about the incident and my own abilities.
My eyes are suddenly clawed open by a pair of metal digits and my right eye is immediately filled with the image of a blue optical receptor and a set of needles spin around the edge of my eye. Rather than seeing a similar seen with my left eye but instead I can only feel the needles edging the rim.
After the needles and optic finish examining my eye, I turn to my left to see the static and generally unappealing face of an A.I., one of the many on both the moon and earth that reside within higher end and still maintained facilities. But what happened to my left eye? Looking at my left arm but rather than having the original black snake design, now is covered in a pale green windswept leaf design up to where the original did but instead of the snake heads there are sixteen singular lines of the same color running up a little more before seemingly receding into my skin, This is much more pleasant than that snake design. I then drive it as hard as I can though the screen of the A.I., destroying its processor and disabling it. I always did hate those things.
"Hey, send in a pony or someone who I can actually talk to." I say looking up at the camera and its red optical.
After saying this, a familiar silvery coated unicorn mare gallops in with her pale pink and purple mane forming two strands framing her face and merging into a caduceus snake style and a tri-circle thin black cutie mark with a red glow emanating from the center of the smallest circle and a similar glow from her left eye, but onto narrowly avoids jumping onto me before regaining her composure and calming down. Distance and motion compensating implants. Nice.
"Hello Adam, I believe you must recognize me. Besides the fact that my implants are now active, that is." She says smiling softly while levitating a small data pad in her pale green magic glow.
"Yes I believe so, Stellar was it?" I say giving a small smile to her and a wave.
"No, not 'Stellar' actually it's Sweetie Belle. Stellar was a nickname that beast gave me. I'd rather not ever hear it again." She says giving her enhanced eye a slight twitch.
"Oh, well then hello Sweetie Belle."
"Hello. It seems your vitals seem to be intact and the wounds from the bullets and shrapnel have been healed, however that burn on your left hand seems to of imbedded itself as part of your arm." She says her eye slightly twitching again. She's excited.
"Well that's all fine and good; what's happened to my left eye?" I say drawing my hand over it.
"That's what we don't understand exactly. We have a theory though. Because you've 'joined' with Wanderlust's powers your eye has become a new kind of mix. We've scanned your soul but we cannot find Wanderlust anywhere within it. He has completely left you and we couldn't track his existence anywhere. To put it simply, when you bonded with his power the force of it killed him off from your mind and soul. If anything you should be thankful, after you lost consciousness he finally took you over and tried to rampage. However, something within you started to repel him at a massive rate and tore his spilt in you apart. This has come with both upsides and downsides. On the up, Wanderlust's hidden want to take over you was exposed and he was destroyed, also you do retain his powers. On the down however, those powers no longer can be with such a high tolerance as before and you've 'lost" your left eye." She says dashing around the word lost. So in the end he wanted me dead? What a bastard. But still, he gave me those powers. He wasn't all bad until the end, that is, unless I was a catalyst for him to unlock those powers. Either way he was an asshole in the end and I got some cool ass shit. But what did she mean by 'lost'?
"What did you mean by 'lost and 'a new mix'? I say giving her a questioning look.
"You're blind in your left eye now as you have noticed, however that eye is now your catalyst for your own powers, almost like how my left eye enhances my ability to shoot and has four in mounted guns around it under the surface. We both have weird looking eyes." She says smiling wildly.
"Alright, but why didn't you use yours back on earth?" I say scratching my hair.
"My I plants hadn't activated yet. They had only been implanted a day or two prior and the standard activation time of five months hadn't yet been acquired." She says dropping her smile slightly.
"Wait! I've been here for FIVE MONTHS?" I yell trying to sit up but instead being restrained by the cords and metal straps over my arms.
"No. No. It's only been a week. I got some binding gels and surgery after arriving and they kicked in an hour or two afterwards."
"Oh, ok then. What about my eye looking weird?" I say scratching under it.
"Look for yourself." She says indifferently and holding up a mirror.
Looking into the mirror, I see my eye is filled with silver, but rather than the iris being red mine is a pale green that has sixteen black spear-like lines starting at the edge if my iris and piercing to the pupil. Strange.
"Yeah, definitely strange. By the way, why is the mist coming from my left and a pale green now?" I say as I notice the mist having a pale green hue.
"We have monitored changes within your soul since your arrival and ever since Wanderlust was torn from you and destroyed, your mist and arm decal have become that pale green and changed since that time. We don't know how this may have affected your abilities but we're expecting an entirely different set of abilities than you had before." She says eyeing the mist. Damn, I liked that scythe. The clothes I could've gone without, they just don't fit my style.
"Huh, so now what?" I say looking over to her.
"Nopony knows for sure. Currently the odds are stacked pretty evenly. The ponies in command here want you euthanized as a worthless life of scum, but the humans want you to have a choice. Half on the element bearers want you dead the other half wants you to have a choice and Luna is a swing vote." She says putting the data pad down.
"And what of you? What do you think?" I say looking at her.
"W-well you course you should live. You save my life!" She says chuckling slightly.
"That's not the answer I was looking for. Let me rephrase the question. Would you go back with me?" I say meeting her gaze.
"W-well of course, it's what I signed up for and I'd like to try again. But why me?" She inquires calmly.
"Because, you've already proven yourself enough to me and I'd rather go back to hell with a friend than a fresh filly from the recruitment list." I say waving slightly.
"Well thank you for the compliment. I have to go now and inform them that you're awake and schedule a hearing for you with
them." She says turning around and walking by the doorway.
"Oh and Belle." I say before she goes.
"Yes?"
"Don't I get a hug from the mare who brought me here?" I say playfully while holding out my free arm.
"YAY!" She tells jumping on me multiple times before more blood is elicited from my fresh wounds," Oh, sorry Adam. I just got excited and got carried away."
"Yeah it's fine. Just go on and tell them. Before you go, detach these tubes and shit. I'd like to go walk around since I'm awake now." I say jiggling my arm.
"Oh sure. Just don't go far ok?" She says removing the tubes and metal siding from my right arm.
"Yes mam." I say getting up after she's gone.
Walking into the hallway, I look at the surrounding signs for the one I'm looking for. Cafeteria? Nope. Lounge? Nope. Gym? Bingo. Walking down the corridor, I notice some of the looks the ponies are giving me but I ignore them and just accept I'm an oddity with this eye.
Finding the doors marked 'gym' I head in and walk into one of the open training rooms. The room to just a large room of white panels used to practice unstable techniques. Knowing that I would be called in shortly, I decide to get started.
I begin to try and force the transformation and the mist from my hand becomes more potent. I continuously try and summon the transformation for what seemed like an eternity until finally the white clothes I woke up in are torn away from my body and then replaced by a veil of green smoke which begins to condense and form new clothing. I type in the command for a mirror on a nearby request pad and one rises though a fresh gap in the floor.
I look myself over and notice that my new clothes are very different from the originals. My pants, rather than begin black, now are a silvery-white color and seem to be made of very light fabrics. My feet, now, are simply covered in a dark green wrapping. My chest is covered in the same kinds of wrappings as my feet, but is instead the same color as my pants and I'm wearing a dark green jacket with a thin black lining. My face is now covered in a light green wrapping, the same color as the mist, except for my eyes which remain exposed. My hair, I now notice, has become white and has taken on more length and is now in a windswept style. The iris of my left eye is very slightly spinning around my pupil in a slightly menacing manner.
I feel slightly drained, but for the most part I'm fine and it isn't draining any energy from me. Ok, but what about my weapon? I begin to focus on condensing the mist into my hand, but rather than forming a scythe in my hand; the mist flows out into both of my hands and forms first into two chains that attach to my wrist. My left hands chain then attaches to a very light green which attaches to a small grip. The hilt then ends with a pentagon shaped guard with the beginning of a blade coming forth from it. The blade ends after a small distance, only a rough 14 cm, and the blade forms the shape not unlike a kunia's blade. A small white cloth then wraps around the hilt.
My right hand's mist then also forms a silver bow with a slightly darker ash gray metal like rod with a circle on the end of it. There is no place that the chain attaches to, but instead the chain attaches to a silver glove that has formed over my hand. A dark green mist oozes from the rod.
I feel tired after summoning these, as if I need a nap. I give them the blade a few casual swings before dispelling it. I grab the rod from the bow and twirl it slightly. Is this an arrow? I take the rod and line it up like an arrow and begin to pull the string back. As I do this the rods mist becomes more intense until the smoke pulses out of it with a fury. I then release the 'arrow' and it flies down the room at an incredible speed as I barely contain the blood that has arisen in my throat though the pain. As I fall to my knees, a torrent of dark green smoke comes from where the rod was originally was and forms another. Deciding not to tire myself anymore, since it seems that I can't regain any energy during this, I dispel the bow and I then begin to feel slightly better. So I can't recharge any of my energy without dispelling my weapons. I guess that's the limitation now. They're much different than my scythe, but I prefer these weapons to that larger one. That thing only worked because nobody got close to me; if they had gotten closer I wouldn't have been able to cut them immediately. I'll keep these clothes on, they don't seem to take any energy from me passively, I think while standing back up.
"Hey Adam, they're ready to see yo-- wow." I hear the voice of Sweetie Belle say from the direction of the door.
"Oh yeah, sorry about that I was just testing these out. Quite different from before, that for sure." I say giving a smile, hidden by my mask, and scratching the back of my head.
"Yeah, WAAAAYYYY different. You had a bow, a knife and that arrow was awesome!" She says in awe.
"Yup, much more my style. You said they're ready for me?" I say walking over to her.
"Oh yeah, let’s go. Luna and the element bearers want to have an immediate audience with you." She says urgently then turns around.
"Yeah, let's go." I say running off behind her as she gallops off.
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As I walk through the doors Sweetie had just gone through; I see seven other mares, two do each type of pony barring alicorns of which there was only one. A yellow pegasus runs behind the others in what seems to be fear, a blue pegasus with rainbow hair forms a defensive position with her wings flared, an orange earth pony seems to drill into me with a hard stare as if she's trying to understand me, a pink mare with cotton candy resembling hair immediately try's to jump at me but is restrained by a snow white unicorn who is looking extremely uneasy with her gaze directed at Sweetie Belle, a purple unicorn has a few empty syringes in her hooves and is being held back by the dark purple alicorn , whom I guess is Luna.
"I'm going to guess you six are the element bearers and Princess Luna?" I say focusing on the alicorn.
"Yes. I am Princess Luna and these six are Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash." She says gesturing to each respective mare.
"Hello to you all. So what would happen to be the plan?" I say meeting Luna's gaze.
"We have taken it upon ourselves to decide whether or not you will be forming a team with Sweetie and another human."
"Wait. What do you mean 'form a team WITH Sweetie'?" I say looking at the mare in question.
"Sweetie here has requested that if a team is formed around you, that she will be the designated pony of the group since she seems to enjoy your company." What?
"And you're serious about this Sweetie Belle?"
"Yeah I'm sure. I was only on earth for a little while and either way I'd like to see how this progresses." She says giving a small smile.
"Well, ok then. So are you going to vote now?" I say turning back to the larger collection of mares.
"No. Each one of us is going to tall with you and Sweetie Belle privately before deciding their vote.
"Alright. Who's first?"
"Rainbow Dash will begin then we'll send in the next."
"Ok then. Let it begin" I say meeting the predatory gaze of the pegasus in question while emitting slightly more mist from my right hand. I better be ready for this.