Rise

A story by somedude726

RISE

Chapter 16: The Phantoms

"Sir, we have the subject."

Dizzy. Vision blurry.

"Yes, I see. Why, I never would've guessed..."

Slipping in and out of consciousness.

"Guessed what, sir?"

Head pounding. Telling me to rest.

"Oh, come on, Lieutenant. You know what he supposedly is."

Voices were distant. Sounds of what I think was struggle, but I couldn't properly acknowledge it.

"Right."

I blinked rapidly as slowly, very slowly, memories became rushing back to me. I started to remember where I was.

"Shall we begin?"

The voice was becoming familiar to me. I could only relate to one I had indeed heard, although I can't remember where.

"Of course, sir. Applying the Element shouldn't be too hard. And then, we have the ultimate weapon."

I opened my eyes, and noticed I was lying on a bed. An extremely uncomfortable bed, felt like a rock. To my dismay, I attempted to move my hands and feet but to no avail. I was trapped inside clasps for each limb, keeping me down. Made of leather, typical. I couldn't help but notice the size of them... made for hooves. Hooves bigger than my hands and legs.

"Ah, the Elements of Redemption. It is time you have awoken."

On my left was a rock wall with a closed door at the end, and to my right I noticed everything. One soldier I recognized as Richard stood at attention talking to... I don't even fucking know. Whatever it was, it had body parts of all sorts. The only thing I could think to call it, was monster. It donned a deer antler and a blue goat horn. An arm of a lion and a claw of an eagle. A bat's and a pegasus' wings. I could barely see a goat's beard from my position behind him.

"NO! Please, Jason, d-don't listen to them! You can't be an Element of Redemption!"

And then I noticed the rest. Just ahead of me were six beds, just like mine. However, the occupants of these were strapped down. These occupants? None other than the Elements of Harmony that I had previously been searching for. Twilight Sparkle, on the bed closest to him, just shouted in response to what she had been hearing. A guard pony, a stallion, stood in front of them.

"Silence, Magic! You will only speak when spoken to!" he yelled back, putting himself right in front of Twilight. I gotta do something. I pulled my arms back with as much strength I can muster, as I felt my hands had started to actually become loose. Looks like they sort of overlooked the fact that I can easily get out of the large clutches of the seemingly homemade trap.

"HEY! You can't talk like that to my friend!" Rainbow Dash, being held right next to Twilight, tried to retort. The guard, however, simply addressed the freak of nature standing before them. I continued to pull my arms, and started to tug on my legs too. I didn't know what's going on, but I need to get the hell out of here.

Pop.

With a popping sound, both of my hands became free of the make-do clasps. After giving my wrists a moment to lay at my side, I gripped the sides of the mattress and pulled myself towards the wall behind me.

"Sir! Apply the mouth removal spell!" I had no idea what the hell that meant, but if it was anything even remotely related to what I think it was, then I need to act. Now. With one huge heave, my legs instantly gotten out of the leather that held it. Alright, let's go.

"Fuck. YOU!" I jumped out of the bed and lunged at the stallion. Filled with, rage. Anger. An anger I thought I'd never know. They trapped my only friends in a planet that isn't even mine. I'm hearing some shit about more Elements, but I don't care. I'm done.

The stallion turned to see me jumping at him, and was shocked. I don't even know how I can say this, but I grabbed his neck as we both fell on the ground. I grasped with all the might I could and I put a ton of pressure on his throat. I could see him attempt to struggle, but for a reason I couldn't place at the time, he wasn't able to escape. My arms started to shake from the strangling, as I realized what I was doing. Jesus, man. Put him down. I stood up, grabbed the guard by the neck, and threw him against the wall, effectively knocking him out. Not what I had in mind, but that works too.

"Wow! I hadn't even noticed you woke up! You escaped the bed, you knocked out my dear Royal Guard over there, and wow are you mad! Good show!"

The 'thing' I seen earlier was clapping his talons and started to seem impressed with what I did. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised too, how did I manage to get out and get that guy there? Back home, I'd never be able to that, let alone get the motivation to even do so. Anger does things to you, I guess. I looked over at him, getting a better look at it finally. The thing was intimidating, to say the least.

"I..."

I attempted to talk, but closed my mouth immediately. This could be one of the only times I ever get to talk to him, so I better make this count. Be smart about it. I took a deep breath, and began.

"Look. I don't even know what the fuck you are. But as of right now I don't care." I started. The thing raised an eyebrow in interest, as I noticed Richard also wanting to listen.. The Elements were looking my way as well, waiting to hear what I had to say.

"You have me, and these innocent ponies trapped in some... cave or something. Now, as much as I want to know why, I'll get to that after." I continued. I stepped forward, cutting down the gap between us.

"You're gonna let us out. And then I'm gonna rain hell on your fuckin' parade like you never goddamned seen before. You are messing with the wrong person." I smirked, as I thought about that. I wasn't bluffing.

"I know people. I know people who are doing things you could never imagine. In real, real high places. They might be back home, and not here, but you can guarantee that they will be here before you know it. And they'll knock you on your ass."

"Sarge? Aren't we supposed to go to the castle?" Private Johnson asked as the two squads, who are now assigned to the same objectives, started walking through the clearing between the cottage and the mountain bearing a castle on its side.

"Fuck that. We're going after our teammates. No one gets left behind, soldier."

"They're coming. We have advanced technology, comparing you guys to us, we're lightyears ahead.  We came past this age thousands of years ago. Think about this: We have a carriage. A carriage that moves on its own as you push a pedal. They can go as fast as over seven hundred miles per hour, even if you don't see those often. The ones you do can get two hundred easy. They were made over a hundred years ago... think about what we have now." I noticed Twilight got even more interested at this point. Seems about right.

"Footsteps. They probably went in here."

"Nice job. Let's go."

"You don't know what you're doing. You're dead. Done. You'll want time to prepare. Let us out, and maybe I'll tell my friends to not torture you too bad once they come. Believe me, you'll fucking need that."

"They stop at this rock. I think I see light behind it..."

"Holy shit, you're right. You, you, come here, let's push this."

"You don't understand, Jason," he finally said something back. "you aren't going anywhere. I have magic beyond anything you've ever seen here. Do you know who I am? I am Discord, the God of Chaos! And you're about to finally take your Element into hand. You're an Element of Redemption. The Elements choose their bearers, and you've been chosen! You have no choice whatsoever other than to take it, and become one of The Redeemed." Good, I have his name now. I still didn't let my smug grin fall from my face, oh hell I kept it on.

"Shit! I-I hear yelling, the hell's going on over there!?"

"I don't know dammit, let's go! At least we still know they're alive..."

Discord kept yelling, and I kept stalling. Someone is coming. I heard the footsteps, I heard the rock, and now I'm hearing shouting. I'm getting out of here, and he's going down. The best part? Those weren't hooves.

"Are you even listening? Do--"

"FREEZE, HA-- what the fuck?"

"Who--?"

"Oh good, you're all here!"

And I was right. Those definitely weren't hooves I heard. Finally, my own kind, and this time I know it's them. Humans. Apparently, a lot of soldiers were taken, as a whole eleven more just waltzed right in, guns up and ready. I don't think they seen the ponies before, or Discord.

"Oh good, so we are in some fantasy land with ponies and monsters. Fantastic." One spoke, seemingly in disgust.

One stepped forward, hands shaking. They could barely hold their rifle, an M4 or something. I couldn't identify who it was, as with them and five others, they wore masks on their faces. Their shoulders all donned the U.S flag, and just underneath I noticed a little tag alongside a patch signifying their rank, saying the words 'Echo Company'. I couldn't see what the maskless people's were, but if I had to guess, probably 'Delta' or something.

"What... what are you?" Oh, well, that's something. She spoke up, to Discord. Of course, he just grinned and stepped back for everyone in the room to see.

"I, milady, am a dragonequus. You may refer to me as Discord. Or if you want to get fancy..." Discord leaned forward to look the soldier in the eye, at least the eye of the mask. "...God of Chaos works too."

I noticed one looked me in the eye, one of the ones without a mask. He seemed sort of old, probably like fifties or something. He nodded, and winked. At this, I smiled and did the same gesture in response. Shit's going down, but I'm getting out of here. Wait hold on, the Elements. Right after the nod, I pointed a thumb over to the trapped ponies. He caught this, and nodded once more, before walking up to Discord.

"Alright buddy, I don't know what the fuck is going on, don't know who and/or what you are, don't know why there's trapped ponies or whatever over there, but I don't care. You know who we are?" he lowered his rifle slowly, while keeping an air of superiority with him.

"I do." Richard finally said something, stepping up from behind Discord. Oh of course they know each other. Great.

"...Alpha-One." The man seemed suprised, like he hadn't seen him yet, but definitely knew who he was. I guess they were assigned to some sort of mission together? I tried to think all I could, but I started to wonder. Do I know Richard? Actually, do I know all of these people?

"Alpha-Ten... or should I say, Sarge? What kind of name is that?" Richard replied. Sarge. Yeah, I can't forget that.

"My damn codename don't matter right now. What are you doing, Alpha-One?" I can tell he means business right about now.

Creak.

"The same thing I'm doing. And you don't need to be concerned with that, Sarge." The door suddenly opened, and out walked Alex. I didn't get to see much of what was behind the door, but it looked nothing like I never seen before, and that's saying something. They better get that thing running back home, and fast...

"A-Alpha-Two. I, I--what?" If Sarge wasn't confused already, he was now.

"It was just a simple mission, wasn't it?" Alex ignored him, and walked over to the group of soldiers.

"We didn't even have to do anything. The bomb was supposed to be defused, and you'd be free, you'd be back at base by now honestly. But you fucked up, and now you're here. Funny, isn't it? Having a nuke detonate in your faces, takes you to another world. Ain't that something. By the way, not sure if you haven't noticed yet? But we aren't Alpha no more." Alex smirked, continuing.

"Alph..." Sarge sighed, looking away for a moment. "Alex. What is going on? Another world? The fuck are you going on about?"

"The world, our world that is, it's changed. It changes everyday. And now, with Project Air finally entering its final stage, and the world it found being translated to picture, we really are evolving. I mean hell, by now, it could be done. You remember what Project Air's objective was, right? We're damn close." Project Air...

"The Cloak. They aren't who we thought they were, Sarge. They aren't even people, Sarge. Maybe technically, but not any more. And we never really knew anything about who they really were. But now? Please, take this time to get a good look at the leaders of The Cloak... if you would be so kind to follow me, we are offering you to join us. You have a great oppurtunity here, you'd be the highest-ranking squad of The Cloak-- The Redeemed. The highest of pretty much everything. You would have everything, you'd be at the top of the world. Now, come."

"What."

"What?"

"What the fuck..."

"This is why I should not have gotten out of bed today."

Time slowed down. Alex was motioning for the soldiers, and me, to follow. Discord, and Richard all had that stupid smug look as shit began to hit the fan. Sarge looked me in the eye again, and made hand motions.

'Come here, let's get out of here. Run.'

I nodded. But first, I had to take care of things.

"Hey, motherfucker. Think fast!"

I jumped at Alex, grabbed his arm and bending it the complete wrong way, before smashing in his elbow, and collapsing his leg. I threw his head into the wall, making him fall over, no hesitation or resistance. I dashed towards the soldiers before getting behind Sarge. We had a few seconds, Discord and Richard both seemed shocked at the stunt I just pulled. I took this second to grab Sarge's pistol from its holster, and aimed it between the two people... things in front of us.

"You fucked with the wrong guy today." I stood tall next to Sarge, and the rest of Alpha Squad. I hadn't known before, but I know who these are now. I noticed a few of the soldiers next to the beds holding the Elements of Harmony, and I gave them 'the look'. It was just, y'know, that look. They knew what that meant, of course.

"Wow. Now I'm really surprised. Except, now I know why you were chosen to be one of The Redeemed." Discord grinned, but Richard kept a stoic face through this.

"Maybe now isn't the time. But remember, Jason. You are powerless. You are nothing. We have control. We will find you. We are The Cloak." I laughed at this, they don't know what they're getting into, do they?

"And we are The Phantoms. And we will fight back. And we will resist. And you will perish. Guys... do it." I looked over to the soldiers now standing behind the Elements, and gave them the confirmation. Within less than twenty seconds, they got all the Elements freed as they ran to our side. Oddly enough, Discord, and Richard just stood, arms, or whatever Discord has, crossed.

"Go. Enjoy your freedom, for it will not last longer than a day. You will regret not accepting the Elements of Redemption."

The group, all eighteen of us, simply turned around and walked away. Me leading everyone. You know that 'ain't nobody fuckin' with my clique' walk? We were doing that. I felt a tad more badass after what just happened, even if it was messed up on so many levels.

The female soldier walked up to me and patted me on the shoulder. "Nice job back there, Jason." she spoke, behind her mask.

We reached the end of the path, and walked through the opening. The rock seemed pushed aside, still. Now here we were, in the dead of night, out in the forest.

"Oh. My. Gosh. That sooo crazy! We were like trapped and then you woke up and beat up that pony then the other hoo-mans came and you beat up that other meanie and they let us escape and--" Pinkie, if I remember correctly, started bouncing around again as we got out.

"Pinkie, cool it for a sec. Jason? Can I ask you something?" Twilight walked in front of me, with a stern look on her face.

"Go ahead."

Twilight sighed heavily, before shaking her head, seemingly trying to clear it of something.

"I'm eternally grateful for what you did. You actually went out and saved us. I'm not sure if anypony saw you, or if you met any of the Princesses or what happened, but we are all in your debt for that." Twilight started, unsure of something.

"No problem. You know, it was actually Spike's fault I came for you. He had a letter sent to him, by Princess Luna I think, saying a bit about what happened. I didn't understand half of it, but I knew it wasn't right. From there, w-- I took a train to Canterlot. Now here we are." I replied, smiling. Trying to, anyway. I knew where this was going.

"All that said, I need to say something. I didn't expect you'd be able to do what you did there. And all that about 'The Cloak' and 'The Phantoms', I..." Twilight trailed off. I gave her a moment to get her words together.

"Jason, who are you?"

"That's a damn good question."

Hundreds, probably even thousands, of ponies all sat, hooves tied in a giant area of some sort. It was dark, but barely bright enough to see the radius around them. Everypony could only think one thing, 'How did the entire Royal Guard Army of Equestria's Defense manage to get trapped by Discord?'

"Strike Force. I think I know where we are." A stallion spoke to one alongside him.

"I don't think that matters no more, Red Spear. But what do you think?" the other asked.

"This is the un--"

"Hello, everypony." A voice boomed through the ears of everypony there, interrupting Red Spear's theory. The voice was unlike Discord, in fact, this was female. But all too familiar still.

"You know who this is. I am Queen Chrysalis, of the Changelings. Discord is away right now, tending to other matters. I have some people for you to greet. Discord and I are not the only ones leading the inevitable attack on Equestria. We have some friends, helping us. You should know who they are."

The Royal Guard, confused as to why she would let them know these things, let her speak. Not like they had much other choice, anyway.

With a sudden stomach turning feeling, the ponies felt the familiar feel of teleporting. They were all invidually teleported to a small, tiny room with only enough room for two ponies... and one human. Each and every one had been teleported to see this, or at least that's how it seemed.

"There is another. But he shall remain secret for now." the bipedal creature before them stood tall, donning a red cloak to cover their body, including their face.

"Everypony, meet Daniel."

General Simon Kolb sat at his desk, putting the phone down after the sixth failed phone call attempt. He needed to get his number one on the phone now, and nothing was happening.

Simon's hopes were raised again, as the phone started ringing its happy tune. He picked up the phone, to only see it was his secretary Jane calling about something. Nevertheless, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Simon. It's ready. Get down to Project Air."