Guardian

CHAPTER 22 – TRUTH

THREE THOUSAND YEARS PRIOR – 2347 AD

“...In global news, the world government is attempting to pass a new bill that would force all Emata to relocate to a different planet located in the Andromeda galaxy. The bill has received nearly unanimous support from all but two-” A man pressed a button on the touchscreen fibers of his night shirt, shutting the hologram off. The news had been depressing to him for a long time. He wondered why he bothered to watch it each morning.

He stood up and walked to the bathroom. Upon stepping through the doorway, a scanner immediately picked up his thought processes and started the shower, heating the water to his preferred temperature. The man took off his shirt and looked over, the metal wall shifting into a mirror-like surface for him to see his black hair and blue eyes.

After showering and getting ready for work, he tapped another button on his sleeve that changed his attire into a more formal suit rather than pajamas. He walked out onto the front lawn and walked to his car, his neighbor shouted to him.

“Hey there, Lou!” The man across the fence waved to him as he opened the door. Lou looked up and smiled at the neatly-dressed man.

“Hello, Frank. How's the family?”

“Ah, the kids are still kids. My wife's still annoying. Say, how's your wife doing?”

Lou grimaced and turned his gaze to the ground. “Not too great. They still don't know what's wrong with her. It really sucks, you know? I'm a scientist for crying out loud, and yet I can't even help her out...”

“It's not your fault, Lou. You're not the only one who doesn't have a clue. Even my department has no idea what it is.”

“It's not fair, though. All that technology and they can't cure her of it... I don't get it...”

“I wouldn't worry about Eve. She's a fighter. She'll pull through it, I'm certain.” Frank smiled at Lou, which managed to reassure the man slightly as he nodded to his neighbor and sat down inside of his car.

Flipping the switch within, the driveway around the car began to glow, allowing the vehicle to lift off of the ground. Lou hated the car, as it always gave him a headache from all of the electrical charge used in the electromagnets to make it move, but Emata like him were minorities. They had no real say in what went on in the world, let alone what vehicles could be made.

“432-867 Alpha-Theta Lane.” Lou stated aloud. The car began to move on its own and hover at a rapid pace over the glowing road. One thing that Lou was thankful for was the hassle-free manner of driving. He couldn't imagine having to constantly pay attention to the road like the barbarians of 300 years prior were forced to do.

After five minutes and five hundred miles of travel, the car stopped in a parking space, allowing Lou to exit before the ground opened up and claimed the car inside of a storage unit. Lou walked to the building and stepped through the doorway, which scanned him as he did so.

“Welcome, Mister Lucifer Adams,” A female voice rang out through the nearby speaker as he continued walking, “We hope you have a pleasant day.”

“I hope so too.” He continued walking to a door, which opened upward. He stepped into the elevator and the door closed. “Floor SS-Zero.” His announcement was met by the elevator suddenly lowering down at a rapid rate. The magnetic floor of the box kept Lou secured by his shoes, keeping him from hovering during the rapid descent.

After descending through floors S-1 through S-200, the elevator slowed and stopped at floor SS-Zero, 17 miles below the surface of Earth. The door opened, and Lou was met by the typical heat of the area. Being so close to the mantle, this was to be expected, but Lou never enjoyed it. He hated heat so much that he refused to go to beaches, preferring to travel to the poles during vacations.

Stepping out onto the platform, Lou took in the sight of the massive room, noting the scientists and manual workers all diligently swarming about a trio of stasis tanks in the center of the room. As he looked at the contents of the three tanks, examining the development of the beings within, a voice caught his attention.

“You were nearly late, Adams.” Lou turned as a militarily-dressed man bearing ten stars on his uniform approached him.

“Ah, commander Michaels, good to see you too.”

The slightly-elderly man laughed heartily as he slung his arm over Lou's shoulder, walking with him. “Government's getting antsy, Lou. They want their magic.”

“Well they should've known better than to place an Emata as the head of development of something like this, then.”

“I know you've had an aversion to the MANA Project ever since its conception, Lou. I respect that, I try to give you some time to think things over when you need it.” Commander Michaels stopped and turned to Lou, taking his arm from over his shoulder. “But you need to respect that I am your superior, and what I say goes.”

“I thought we were friends, Gabe.”

“We are. I've known you since we were kids. I've known you were different. I wanted you to have your own life. I never imagined that I would be made an Executive Commander, but things happen. I have no choice but to give you orders. The last thing I need is the president jerking me around.”

“This is unnatural. Like I've said many times, I'm a man of science. Your MANA Project is complete crap, it makes no sense!”

“You're an Emata, and you want to talk about sense?”

“My powers are natural.”

“Your powers are an abomination against nature.”

“How dare you!” Lou's eyes shone a bright blue as the metal in the area bent and twisted suddenly. Gabe stood his ground while others near them jumped back in fear. Lou's breathing quickened in anger.

“Psi usage is illegal, Lou. You know better.”

“You humans have been oppressing my kind for too long. You don't even consider our point of view.”

“We do. It's just that the Emata gene is so recessive that you're among a minority. There's 15 billion humans on Earth and only 5 thousand Emata. Do you really think you can outweigh all of humanity?”

“I would think that after working my way up this cannibalistic food chain that we call a 'job system,' I would have more influence.”

“You think. You think lots of things. We pay you to think about only a few things. Think about these things -” Gabe gestured towards the stasis tanks, “- and get this project finished today.”

Lou considered trying to argue further, but grunted as he knew it was pointless. Gabe nodded with a smile, turned, and walked away. Lou turned and walked to a table with an overview of the containers. Another scientist greeted him as he approached.

“Hello, Mister Adams! I've got great news for you!”

“I doubt it.”

“Ah, come on, sir! Don't be so pessimistic! You're gonna love this news. Container one is almost completely mature. It will be ready for release today. We'll be able to taste the fruits of the MANA Project's labor!”

“Container one...” Lou looked out at the serpentine creature in the tank, then examined the statistics on the screen before him.

Specimen One was his least favorite of the three. It looked hideous. The government wanted an intimidating creature that would make Earth appear formidable within the federation again. As such, they designed an abominable creature that was made of different parts of multiple animals, resembling something akin to ancient depictions of Eastern Dragons. They called it a “Draconequus.” Lou just called it “Discord,” because nothing Lou suggested in terms of form for the creature was even taken into consideration.

“What about the other two?”

“Ah, they are still quite immature. I know you want to see them in action, sir, but you'll have to deal with Discord for now.”

“I suppose it will have to do...” Lou sighed and began work on the correct levels of nutrition for the creature, as well as studying mana levels in the container.

Hours passed, Lou decided to go on break before Discord was “born.” He wanted to see his wife more than anything else at that moment, so that he may be able to recharge his batteries. He left the laboratory and traveled up to the surface again, heading to his car and leaving for the hospital.

After entering the hospital, Lou traveled to his wife's room, entering and shutting the door quietly behind him. He shuddered as he looked at her. She may as well have been mostly machine at this point, as all of the medical treatments had led to her being kept alive with a mass of machinery in the room. Her upper body remained untouched, however, still allowing Lou to see his wife's shining black hair and marble skin.

She took note of him instantly, turning her head and looking at him with beautiful sapphire eyes. She smiled brightly at his presence. Lou walked to her and sat down, taking her hand in his own.

“Hey there... Lou...” She smiled and said through heavy breaths.

“Hey there, Eve.”

“How is... The work... Is it going well?”

“It is. We have the first specimen done. He's ready to be born today.”

“That's... good...” Eve smiled to him and looked down at her bloated stomach. “This one... Is almost... Ready as well...”

“Eve...” The weak woman looked at Lou, “I don't think you should have the baby...”

“Why not... Lou?”

“It might kill you... I really don't want to lose you...”

Eve chuckled, which lead into a coughing fit. She took her hand from her mouth and wiped the blood off of it, her smiled not fading. “Silly... You won't... Lose me...”

“What do you mean?”

“Our boy... He'll be with you... I'll be with him... We'll always be together... Lou...”

The man wiped his eyes and smiled at Eve, then they both looked at her stomach. The boy was to be an Emata, this much was certain. He was conceived nine months prior, coincidentally on the same date that Discord's first cells developed. That was two years after Lou had begun work on the MANA Project, and a year after he had married Eve. He never imagined that Eve would become so terribly ill before giving birth to his child... He knew that she would die soon.

He stayed there with Eve for an hour before she fell asleep. Then, he left and began walking out of the building. As he stepped out into the parking lot, however, an explosion below the surface shook the ground.

“What?” He said aloud, “An earthquake? That's impossible...” The artificial shocks placed between the plates in 2298 prevented plate collision and diversion, but a quake of this magnitude could be formed from nothing else. A second explosion occurred, causing the buildings to tilt around him and for him to lose his balance.

The ground erupted two miles away as a massive silver beam of energy released itself into the sky. This was followed by a large, serpentine creature with multiple different parts ascending into the sky. A flash of silver caused Discord to disappear. At least the magic worked, Lou thought.

He stood up and rushed back into the hospital. The entire interior of the building was in pandemonium as nurses and hospital workers scurried about to check on patients' health. Lou rushed towards Eve's room, but was stopped as workers surged out of the room with Eve in tow, screaming in agony.

Lou rushed alongside her, holding her hand the entire way as they neared the operating room.

Ten minutes of labor resulted in the birth of his son and the death of his wife. Having died as soon as the boy was born, Eve never said goodbye to Lou, and never named the child that now rested in his arms.

“I wish you could have grown up knowing your mother...” Lou brushed through his son's black hair. A third shift in the ground beneath the building caused the structure to tilt violently. Due to the buildings not being made to withstand earthquakes anymore, the entire structure collapsed around Lou and his child.

Defiant and unwilling to let his son be harmed after his wife had died, Lou used his Psychokinesis to clear away all debris around them and land softly on the ground. His son slept peacefully the entire time. As Lou walked out into the open, a sight shocked him.

The skies had become black on one side of his view, but were blue like the day on the other half. The ground ran wet with melted chocolate, the clouds above rained popcorn, the rivers ran upward into the sky. In the midst of the madness was a cackling serpent in the sky, who rested atop a cloud as though it were his throne. Discord laughed uncontrollably at the madness he caused.

Lou watched as multiple craft surged forth at Discord, who snapped his fingers and watched them all turn to dust. The pilots continued flying through the air, hitting clouds and rebounding off of them with great force, flying back over the horizon.

“Oh, this is completely hilarious!” Discord's voice, already developed, rang out over the world. “You all think you can do something to me!” He broke out into laughter again. “You people are fun! So much fun!”

More aircraft rushed towards the Draconequus.

The vision cut to Terror's point of view. He was a small child, looking up at his father. Lou stood examining the stasis containers of a white Alicorn and a violet one, measuring levels of Mana in each one. Terror did not understand what his father was saying, nor what the strange devices were that his father examined and fiddled with on the side. His father turned to him and smiled brightly.

Multiple visions flashed before him. Some lasting as short as a fraction of a second, others lasting as long as three. Visions of him sitting in his father's lap with him reading gilded pages out of a large book with a cross on the cover, visions of him playing with him, visions of them together as father and son.

After many flashes, the vision slowed to allow Terror to view one with more depth. One of his father teaching him about Psychology.

“See, everyone has similar fears...” Terror was certain that his father had just said his name, but he didn't hear it, “Darkness, loneliness, death, monsters, the unknown; Everyone fears them to some extent. Being able to manipulate things by those fears will make you formidable. But also, being able to stand up to those fears will make you strong as well.”

“So I should be able to do both?”

“That's right. But there's a very important thing that you need to know before you try.”

“What's that?”

“Friedrich Nietzsche once said, 'Whoever battles monsters should be careful not to become a monster too, for if you stare long enough into the Abyss, so shall the Abyss stare back into you.' If you become too powerful, you will become too weak.”

“What? That doesn't make any sense.” Lou chuckled at his son's perplexed grimace. He patted him on the shoulder and turned, opening the doors to an enormous library.

“There's a massive amount of knowledge for you here...” Again, Terror was certain that Lou said his name, “...use it to your advantage. I've gifted you with the same immortality gene that is inside of your two sisters there. It was not compatible with me. It works with you because of your Mana mutation. It truly is a wonderful marvel of science, though I really hated it at first.”

The two walked into the library.

More flashes. Terror using Psychokinesis, his father teaching him to control it further, his father fiddling with devices laid about on a table, knowledge that they were designed for use for his little sisters.

One vision lasted much longer than the rest. A vision of a glowing green orb, his father's voice audible as Terror seemed to be mesmerized by the orb.

“Never forget who you are...” Terror became somewhat irritated at the fact that he once again did not hear his name, “...this device is for you. For your sisters and you. It will be my greatest gift to you, my son.”

The vision skipped again to Terror holding his father's hand. This caught his interest – his hand was not a claw. This must have been long before he had learned Biokinesis. His father lay dieing in a bed, his skin wrinkled and aged. How long this vision had taken place since the last one, he was uncertain. At least fifty years was a good guess.

“My son...” Lou spoke, coughing harshly as he did, “I'm not long for this world. I must ask of you to continue to watch over your sisters as I've told you to. Make sure their nutrient intake is good, and their Mana supply is maintained. Continue to train your powers as well. The devices that I have created to arm the two of them with are functional as well, just make sure that they are not damaged until the two of them awaken. Heh... I still feel so proud of myself for my ability to have made those things... Items able to use Mana and Psi... If only I could have made more than one of them capable of using both at once. Oh well...”

Many more flashes passed through his mind, a transparent clock in the corner counting away the years from 2299 to 3347 while Terror witnessed himself training and studying and keeping an eye on his unborn sisters in the background.

The vision cut away again. Terror found himself looking down at a screen. The date – December 25, 3347 AD with an extra set of scrolling script that displayed “Merry Christmas!” Terror scoffed at the old scientists' attempt at adding some joy to the workplace of his father. He checked the vital levels of the nutrients and Mana in both tanks before pressing the birthing button on the screen.

The first tube labeled “Celestia” drained and opened. The white Alicorn opened her eyes and stood up, stepping out of the chamber calmly as all of the liquid fell from her. The second chamber labeled “Luna” opened shortly thereafter, and the violet Alicorn stepped out of her chamber as well.

Terror walked forward to the two with a rack in tow holding fifty objects. Among them were a large tiara and amulet, one of both given to the two Alicorns; a heart-shaped crystal, a red amulet in the shape of an Alicorn, a third tiara and amulet, a combo of five necklaces and a tiara, and a glowing green orb. Gifted with these items and thirty-five more, Terror sent Celestia and Luna to the surface through the newly-unblocked elevator shaft to defeat Discord.

The thousand-year battle against Discord proved to be incredibly taxing on the two Alicorns. A majority of the objects that were used in battle against the Draconequus were destroyed as well. However, the combo of five necklaces and tiara proved to be more than a match for Discord, turning him to stone when used against him. The two named the items “The Elements of Harmony,” due to their use in their battle against the chaotic Discord.

However, as a last-ditch effort to get the best of the two warrior beings, Discord used his magic to release a massive silver wave of energy that penetrated the minds of all creatures that remained on Earth – even Discord himself. It caused them all to forget the calamity that had befallen Earth, though some would remember small amounts every now and again.

Now filled with compassion rather than their primary instinct to destroy, Celestia and Luna bared witness to the destroyed world and took pity upon it. Using one of the fifteen remaining objects – the green orb – the two Alicorns gave new life to the world. They hid the violent creations of Humanity from their new creations, creatures that were made in their own image, and hoped that the world would never know such torment again.

In the north, however, where Terror remained in his underground lair seventeen miles below the surface, he had forgotten many of his father's peaceful teachings. He stumbled upon an old journal displaying the atrocities of the MANA Project, the gripes of the Emata about the unnatural nature of the creations, and the punishment given to the Emata for their insubordination. He became filled with anger. A memory came back to him...

What better way to take revenge than to use the worst fears of one's enemies against them?

He could not remember his original name. He remembered that it was at that point that he took the name of “Terror.” He remembered that it was at that point that he used his acquired Biokinesis to shape his hands into the claws of a monster feared by all creation. He remembered that it was at that point that he formed the plan to use the curse of the Mana bestowed upon him to steal powers from others and use it to destroy the world.

He kept a watchful eye on Earth... or, as it was now called by the new apex race above, “Equestria,” as he began his thousand years of training.