//------------------------------//
// Chaper 2 - The After Party 
// Story: The Equestrian Odyssey - A Tale of Two Worlds 
// by Kamahido 
//------------------------------//

A short time later Rarity returns to the apartment carrying a platter of pancakes and syrup. Derpy carries the drinks as the children hold the plates and utensils. Arc stands and meets them in the kitchen as Sereb passes him and makes a beeline for Shelly.

“Let’s get this set up.”

Derpy appears concerned. “Is Shelly okay?”

Arc nods. “Oh yes. She’s just really tired.”

Rarity smiles at him. “I’ll take care of this if you want to sit with her, Arc.”

“Actually, could you do that? I need to get Shelly’s nutrition drink made up.”

“Oh… okay.”

Leaving the room, Rarity sits down by Shelly’s feet as Sereb moves to sit down on the floor in front of her. Shelly turns to Rarity with a weak smile.

“Sorry I can’t sit up for you.”

“It’s okay. They should only be a few minutes.”

Shelly sighs. “This body of mine just doesn’t work right.”

Rarity looks down at herself. “Sometimes I think the same thing.”

“But you look healthy to me.”

“I am. But… I constantly wonder if I’m good looking enough. Slim enough… wear enough makeup… carry myself with the elegance my business requires.”

“You look very pretty to me.”

Rarity smiles. “Thank you. But in the fashion industry one must always be perfect.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“Oh, it is. I have to constantly watch what I eat so as not to put on extra pounds. Doing so can sometimes change my measurements and force me to alter dresses before I’m photographed in them. Fortunately my profession keeps me moving constantly so I’m always exercising to a degree.”

Shelly sighs. “I envy you.”

“You… you do?”

“Yes. You have such a zest for life along with a fulfilling career and a daughter. I don’t have any of those things.”

Rarity smiles as she puts a hand on Shelly’s foot. “Sometimes I’d like nothing more than to be able to rest on my couch under a nice warm blanket as you’re doing right now.”

“Believe me, it gets old after a while.”

“On the bright side, you have Arc and Lily to help you.”

Shelly nods happily. “Oh yes. I’d be lost without them.”

Dinky pokes her head into the living room.

“We’re almost ready in here. Would you like my dad to help you to your seat, Miss Shelly?”

Rarity looks up. “That’s alright, dear. I’ll help her.”

“I think I can make it with some help, yes.”

“Okay.”

Rarity helps Shelly sit up before putting her arm around her waist and helping her stand. They slowly walk toward the kitchen together. Arc pulls back Shelly’s chair for her.

“Right this way.”

Kneeling down, Rarity helps Shelly sit before taking the seat next to her. Arc sets a glass in front of her.

“Thank you.”

They sit down and begin to eat as Shelly takes a sip of her nutrition drink. Arc turns to her as Dinky puts a plate of bacon on the floor for Sereb.

“I did remember to put in your medicine too.”

Shelly blushes slightly. “Truth be told, I always seem to forget that.”

She turns to him in an effort to change the subject.

“So how long will you be in town this time, Arc?”

“I actually don’t know. But I don’t see the problems in Dawn’s hometown ending anytime soon.”

Rarity shudders. “Yes, a new military commander has taken up residence in the local base.”

“Oh? Was the previous one killed?”

Arc shakes his head. “No. He’s the one the military is searching for.”

Scootaloo frowns. “Right. They accused him of trying to assassinate one of the princess and overthrow the government.”

Shelly gasps. “Oh my!”

Rarity grits her teeth. “He didn’t do it though!”

Derpy nods fervently. “Right. After all, he was always loyal to the land and its inhabitants.”

Dinky sighs. “That and he didn’t want to rule.”

“Are you sure?”

Rarity turns to Shelly and nods. “Very. He’d taken the throne several times in the past and temporarily served as the Lord Regent when the monarchs were ill or unable to rule for other reasons.”

Scootaloo clenches a fist. “But he always turned over control when the princesses were again able to take their thrones.”

Shelly appears confused. “Then why the charges of corruption?”

Arc looks away. “We think the one who took over the base is using that in order to keep themselves in power. He’s convinced the currently ruling princess that HE’S the real protector. Even though he’s done nothing but cause trouble for the land this past year or so.”

Rarity nods. “Agreed. But I believe that eventually the princess will see through his lies and deception. She’s very perceptive, after all.”

Derpy shudders. “I sure hope so.”

Dinky grits her teeth. “Right. No one should be forced into hiding because of false charges.”

Shelly sighs. “I hope it all works out for him.”

Arc picks up his fork. “So do I.”

A short time later they finish eating. As Derpy and Dinky fill the sink with water Arc and Rarity help Shelly back to the living room couch. She sighs and sits down.

“It feels like things are picking up downstairs.”

Rarity looks behind her. “I don’t hear anything.”

“The floor shakes slightly every time the front door closes. It’s how I know the amount of customers every day when I’m up here.”

Derpy turns to her. “Would you like us to go help Lily?”

Shelly appears relieved. “Oh, would you? I’m sure she’d appreciate the help.”

Dinky raises a hand. “I’ll come too!”

Scootaloo looks up. “Can I join you?”

Derpy nods. “Of course. The more the merrier.”

They head downstairs as Shelly turns to Arc.

“You have a wonderful little family, Arc.”

“Thank you. But remember, you’re part of it too.”

Rarity grins. “And I hope to join it officially one day.”

The sound of the telephone rings out. Rarity stands.

“I’ll get it.”

Walking to the kitchen, she picks up the receiver and puts it to her ear.

“Hello?”

She listens for a few moments before calling out.

“Arc?”

“Yes?”

“There’s a man on the phone asking for you.”

Arc stands and walks to the kitchen as he muses to himself.

“Probably Frank.”

Cherry calls out to him telepathically. “Oh?”

“He knows I’m here day after Christmas, after all.”

Taking the receiver, Arc puts it to his ear as Rarity returns to the living room to sit with Shelly.

“Hey Frank.”

“ This is not your friend.”

Arc lowers his voice and turns his head toward the kitchen. “Wiseman?! How did you get this number?!”

“Never mind that. There are more important matters to attend to right now.”

Arc rolls his eyes. “So take care of them. You’re the all-powerful one here.”

“I never said I was…”

“We’ve seen what you can…”

“Come downstairs and meet me. I’m in the parking lot.”

Arc frowns. “I’m visiting my friends right now. Whatever it is can wait until…”

“You’ll find me in your Jeep.”

The line goes dead as Wiseman disconnects. Arc checks the caller ID but finds it blocked. Frowning, he hangs up the phone and returns to the living room. Shelly looks up as he enters.

“How’s Frank?”

“Uh… fine. In fact, he needs me to meet up with him outside.”

Rarity looks up. “Is something wrong?”

“I don’t know. But if I have to head out Dawn and Daisy will lead the way back home.”

“Um… okay.”

Sereb raises his head and looks at Arc. Nodding slightly he stands and walks to the door. Shelly giggles.

“Looks like Sereb needs to go out too.”

“I’ll bring him along. See you two in a bit.”

Rarity smiles. “Alright. And don’t worry about Shelly. I’ll keep her company.”

“Thanks.”

Arc heads for the side door and hurries down the exterior steps. Sereb calls out to him.

“I wonder why Wiseman’s is here.”

Arc frowns. “Give me a minute and I’ll ask him myself.”

Rounding the building, Arc quickly spots his vehicle in the parking lot. Opening the driver’s side door he finds Wiseman sitting in the passenger’s seat. The masked man looks over to him and speaks.

“Get in.”

“How did you…?”

“Now!”

Frowning, Arc does as he is told. Closing the door and locking it, he turns to Wiseman.

“What is going on?”

“Hammer’s sister Stingray lied to her. She didn’t want to spend time with her. At least not in a positive way.”

“So what happened?”

Wiseman shakes his head. “She ambushed Hammer after the young woman left this vehicle but before she got to their apartment and drugged her. As we speak she’s being interrogated by Stingray and Diva inside their base.”

“What?! Where’s Mio?!”

“She is unaware that anything is going on.”

Arc groans. “I’ve gotta get Hammer out of there!”

“You can no longer enter Damocles Base via traditional methods. The security has been greatly increased both inside and around the facility.”

“Well, I can’t just leave her there!”

“How will you get in then?”

Arc turns to the man next to him. “I get the feeling you know a way.”

“That I do.”

“Are you going to tell me what it is?”

“Only if you ask nicely for my help.”

Arc sighs. “Fine. Wiseman, will you please help me save Hammer?”

“Yes. Now, was that so hard?”

Sereb growls. “To watch, yes!”

“Drive us to the base.”

Arc raises an eyebrow. “The main entrance?”

“Yes.”

Starting the vehicle, Arc pulls out of the parking lot and hurries to the base. As they crest a hill they see the base in the distance. Wiseman points to a small barren field.

“Pull over there.”

Doing so, Arc stops and points the vehicle toward the base before turning back to Wiseman.

“What’s the plan?”

“Step out of the vehicle.”

They all do so as Wiseman walks in front of the Jeep. He motions for Arc to join him.

“Do you still have your old gauntlet?”

Arc nods and removes his sigil gauntlet.

“It and my helmet are all that survived intact.”

“Call forth your new armor.”

“Why do you…?”

“There is no time! Do it!”

Summoning his grandfather’s armor, Wiseman puts a hand on the back of Eidolon’s Ward’s gauntlet. Concentrating, he puts his other hand on Arc’s left gauntlet.

“That should do it.”

Sereb growls. “Do what exactly?”

“I just transferred the enchantment from one gauntlet to the other. You should be able to make sigils with the new one now. Put one on the ground here.”

Arc nods and kneels down. Placing the sigil, he looks to Wiseman.

“This isn’t going to get us out of there. I don’t have that kind of range from that deep underground.”

“It’ll be enough.”

Sereb rolls his eyes. “What now?”

“Get on Sereb’s back and stand perfectly still.”

Groaning, Arc complies. “I still don’t see how this is going to…”

Wiseman narrows his eyes. “What part of ‘perfectly still’ did you not understand?”

Arc sighs. “Have it your way.”

Wiseman hops on Sereb behind Arc. The beast growls as he turns his head. Arc puts a hand on the saddle handles as he does his best to reassure Sereb.

“Easy there, big guy. I don’t like this any more than you do.”

Wiseman points a gloved hand. “Take us toward the bridge leading to the base.”

Arc nudges Sereb as the wolf lunges down the road.

“Everyone remember where we parked.”

Sometime later the road connected to the bridge comes into view. Wiseman speaks up.

“Turn off the road here.”

Sereb does so. As they stop Arc looks to the man behind him.

“What’s the next step in your illustrious plan?”

“They have sensors in there that can detect when magic is used in or around the base.”

Sereb frowns. “Is that why we ran all the way here?”

“Yes.”

Arc frowns. “So how are we getting inside?”

“I’m going to Blink us in there.”

Sereb rolls his eyes. “You’re going to Blink us somewhere that not even a sigil or portal could reach?”

Wiseman nods. “Remember, my magic is significantly more powerful than either of yours.”

Arc frowns. “Yeah, about those magical sensors you mentioned. Won’t those go haywire if you cast a powerful spell like that?”

“They will, yes. However it is unavoidable.”

Sereb growls. “Remind me again why you need our help?”

Wiseman sighs. “Do you want to rescue Hammer or not?”

Arc frowns. “I do. Let’s do this.”

“Very good.”

Channeling, Wiseman’s palms glow as magic flows from his gloved fingertips. After a full minute he looks to Arc.

“Here we go.”

In a flash of light the three of them vanish. A split second later they reappear inside Damocles Base. Arc looks around.

“Well, that wasn’t so…”

A strange hum behind them rings out. Turning, they see a hundred foot soldiers armored to the teeth and pointing what appears to be laser rifles at them. Arc turns to Wiseman.

“Here’s another fine mess you’ve gotten me into.”

Sereb growls. “What now?”

Wiseman takes up a battle ready stance. “None of them are human! We take them!”

Charging forward, the troops begin shooting at Wiseman. Casting a barrier spell, he does not slow down. Arc jumps off Sereb’s back as two of the soldiers come for him. Sidestepping and dodging the android’s initial attack, he turns and punches the machine in the gut. He flies across the room as Sereb does the same to his opponent. Rising, they are set upon by Arc and Sereb who continue pummeling them for a solid minute. Eventually their opponents stop functioning as the pair turn back to help Wiseman.

“We got these two…!”

Stopping, Arc and Sereb look in disbelief as Wiseman stands in the center of the room surrounded by ninety-eight destroyed androids. He turns to the others and chuckles.

“A simple task.”

Arc narrows his eyes. “I still don’t like you.”

“Fair enough. Come on, they’ll be reinforcing the vault security momentarily.”

Sereb frowns. “Vault?”

They turn to see the heavy vault door that protected Celestia’s cell. Sereb growls at Wiseman as they hurry down the corridor.

“Why did you bring us to this point?!”

Arc groans. “Yeah! You had to know it would be the most heavily defended!”

“It was the largest room with an open floor plan. Less chance of rematerializing inside a wall.”

“WHAT?!”

Wiseman shrugs. “We made it, didn’t we?”

Sereb growls. “Your calculating demeanor is unsettling.”

“Perhaps we can discuss this after the rescue concludes.”

“Whatever. Where are we going?”

“Hammer is being held for interrogation in the brig.”

Leading them down a series of corridors, they fight their way past several contingents of androids before arriving at a very secure looking door. Grabbing it, Wiseman literally rips it off its hinges to expose a large room with several steel doors lining it. Spotting Stingray standing next to one of them they run toward her. She pulls he whip and takes up a battle ready stance as they approach.

“How the heck did you get in here?!”

Wiseman points a gloved hand at the woman. “The Hero and I go where we’re needed!”

Arc nods angrily. “Yeah!”

Stingray looks Arc up and down. “What’s with the getup?!”

“New armor.”

Stingray grins. “Yeah. We trashed the last one you had, Hero.”

“I’m billing that to you. Now where’s Hammer?!”

“Don’t worry. She’s in good hands.”

Wiseman clenches his fist. “We are not playing games here, Stingray. Stand aside if you want to stay unharmed.”

Stingray chuckles. “Look fella, I don’t know who you are or where you came from. And truth be told I don’t really care. But you’ve got about ten seconds to give up before our prototype elite shock troops show up.”

Arc shakes his head. “That’s not happening!”

The sound of footfalls entering the room behind them rings out. Turning, Arc and Sereb spot numerous androids surrounding them. Stingray grins.

“Meet our new soldiers. Think of them like the 2.0 versions of the other ones.”

Wiseman folds his arms over his chest. “I’m not impressed.”

Stingray chuckles. “You will be. These guys are made out of a new alloy that’s stronger than titanium and has been magically enhanced.”

Arc and Sereb lash out at their attackers but find that their fists and claws do little more than slightly push back the androids. Arc turns around to look at his so-called ally.

“Wiseman?”

Stingray looks at the masked figure in front of her. “I’ll accept your surrender now.”

Wiseman chuckles. “Funny. I was about to say the same thing.”

“Are you out of your mind?! I hold all the cards here! There’s no way you’re going to be able to stand against one of these things, let alone all of them!”

Wiseman looks all around and raises one gloved hand. The androids fly upward and slam into the ceiling. Making a fist, he magically crushes their mechanical adversaries all at once before releasing them and allowing the parts to rain down around the room. During this time he has not taking his eyes off of Stingray.

“Hardly a challenge.”

Gritting her teeth, Stingray seethes.

“That’s… impossible!”

“Yet you just saw it with your own eyes.”

“I’LL KILL YOU!”

Wiseman takes up a battle-ready stance, but Arc steps forward.

“No. She’s mine.”

“Very well.”

Stepping back, he allows Arc to meet Stingray head to head. They lock hands as both try to topple the other. Stingray grits her teeth, clearly furious.

“I’m not giving up!”

“Neither am I!”

“Did that freak Arc send you after his pet?!”

“Yeah!”

Stingray scoffs.. “Ha! A real man would’ve come himself! I knew he was a weakling! Just like you!”

She headbutts Arc in the helmet to break the grapple. Putting a hand to her head, she staggers slightly.

“That thing’s hard! What IS it?!”

“An old family heirloom I discovered.”

Stingray lets loose her whip. “Well I have a can opener right here!”

She uses it to grab Arc by the ankle and pulls him to the ground. Jumping high into the air, the young woman slams her fist into the concrete mere moments after Arc Blinks above her. Falling onto Stingray’s back he puts a hand on the back of her head and slams it into the ground. Backhanding him, Stingray struggles to her feet as blood drips down her face from a cut on her forehead.

“Even with your new armor you still can’t take me on!”

Arc points a finger at her. “I don’t want to! Just give me Hammer and I’ll leave!”

Stingray shakes her head vigorously. “I’ll NEVER turn my sister over to the likes of you again! You and Arc are no good for her!”

“You’re holding her prisoner and I’M the bad guy?!”

Stingray nods as she points an accusatory finger at him. “Yes! Now her head’s filled with nonsense!”

“What are you talking about?!”

“She believes that our commanding officer is manipulating us with pheromones of some other such foolishness.”

“He is! Hammer showed you the files, didn’t she?!”

“There’s no way she could have gotten into the research lab to get them. Therefore they have to be fake.”

“Fine. Believe whatever you want. But I’m still not leaving Hammer with you.”

Stingray prepares to fight again. “And I’m not letting her go until she’s back to the way she was!”

Smacking Arc across the room with a Telekinesis Spell, she then throws several crates against the wall, smashing them to pieces and showering him in debris. Sereb lunges forward in an attempt to save Arc from the falling materials. Both are buried as Stingray turns back to Wiseman, grinning wickedly.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Raising a hand, she picks up another crate and hurls it at Wiseman. Shaking his head, he backhands the wooden box shattering it. Blinking back a few steps he casts a powerful Telekinesis Spell of his own. The jagged pieces of wood fly at the young woman at breakneck speed. Before she can react several of them impale her arms and legs causing severe trauma. Screaming out in pain she instinctively squeezes her eyes shut before stumbling back. Opening them she is surprised to see three large chunks of jagged wood floating  mere inches in front of her chest. With a wave of Wiseman’s hand they clatter to the floor. Stingray gasps in confusion.

“Why… did you…?”

“I’m not here to kill you, Stingray. But I recommend that you rethink your positions before I am forced to correct that decision.”

She looks daggers at him as Sereb finishes digging himself and Arc out. He stands, dazed but otherwise unharmed as Wiseman calls out to them.

“You okay over there?”

Arc groans. “Just peachy. Uh… what happened to Stingray?”

“She bit off more than she could chew.”

Stingray screams at them. “I’m not done yet!”

Arc looks her up and down. “Uh… considering the amount of blood you’re losing, I would say you are.”

Standing with obvious pain, she slowly begins walking toward Arc.

“Not… gonna… let you… through.”

Sereb growls and steps forward, but Arc motions for him to stand down. Approaching Stingray himself he waits for her attack. She swings a fist at him weakly, which Arc easily dodges. Countering with a gauntlet to her gut, she doubles over as the wind is knocked out of her. Falling to the floor she cries out in pain as the wood embedded in her flesh is twisted. Arc grabs her by the front of her uniform to which she gasps.

“What are you…?!”

“Pardon me.”

Rolling her over onto her back, she coughs in an effort to refill her lungs properly as Arc steps back. She grabs onto one of the stakes in her arm as Wiseman calls out to her.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. It’s the only thing keeping the majority of your blood inside you.”

Groaning, Stingray falls backwards and lies down as Wiseman passes her. Motioning for Arc to follow him, he stops to check Stingray’s pockets.

“Get your hands off of me you pervert!”

Arc frowns. “I’m just looking for the key to this door. Give it to me and I’ll stop.”

“But I don’t have it!”

Wiseman nods. “She’s right, you know.”

Arc turns to him. “How do you know?”

“Do you really think it would have been given to a lowly sergeant?”

Stingray grits her teeth. “Lowly?!”

“She was just a guard. Come on. I’ll get this open myself.”

Standing, Arc follows Wiseman along with Sereb. He bangs on the door three times. A few moments later the sliding peephole opens to Diva’s angry eyes as she speaks.

“I told you not to…!”

She gasps and her eyes widen as Wiseman calls out to her.

“I warned you.”

Grabbing the opening in the door, he rips it off its hinges and throws it across the room. Diva lunges forward in an attempt to catch him off guard. Wiseman Blinks behind her as she turns to blast him with a powerful spell. However Diva quickly finds herself shoved face first into a wall as Wiseman grabs her wrists from behind and calls out to Arc.

“Get Hammer!”

Arc runs past the pair. Entering the room he spots Hammer blindfolded, tied to a chair, and only semi-conscious. Pulling the guardanium knife from his ring he quickly cuts her binds. She tries to stand but only succeeds in falling to the floor as her legs give out. Trying frantically to crawl away, Arc jumps on top of her and whispers in her ear.

“It’s me. Calm down and I’ll get you out of here.”

Hammer nods fearfully as Arc puts an arm around her shoulder and half carries, half drags her out of the room. Diva looks over at them escaping and seethes at Wiseman.

“You… you’ll never get away with this! We had a deal too!”

Wiseman shakes his head. “Please understand that we didn’t intend to ‘get away’ with anything other than Hammer. And as far as our… agreement goes, I do believe my exact words were that you would not do any harm to either the Hero of Light’s friends or Arc’s. Hammer’s friends with both of them.”

Diva bares her teeth.” That loser?! What use could she possibly serve?!”

“It’s not for you to know. After all, you have bigger problems to deal with.”

“What did you do?!”

“I’ll let Stingray tell you. After you’ve taken her to the infirmary, that is.”

“Infirmary?!”

“She made the mistake of challenging me. In any case, sorry for the mess.”

He lets go of her and backs out of the room cautiously. Turning to Arc, he motions to the center of the room.

“Open a portal here.”

“We’re really deep. That probably won’t work.”

“Yes it will. I’ll help you.”

Holding out his gauntlet, Arc stretches out his hand. But as hypothesized nothing happens. Wiseman puts his glove on the gauntlet and concentrates. A portal slowly opens as Wiseman grabs the pair and leaps through with Sereb as it closes. Diva wipes the blood from her nose as she stumbles out of the room. Looking around, she spots Stingray lying in a pool of her own blood surrounded by the ruined androids. Seething, she storms over to her and gives the injured woman a swift kick.

“What were you THINKING?!”

Stingray cries out in pain. “I… never thought they could… take all the… new models.”

“Do you have ANY idea how long it took to build those?! Not to mention the COST?!”

“S-sorry, colonel.”

Diva puts her foot on one of the jagged pieces of wood in Stingray’s thigh and pushes. She screams out in pain as it tears through her flesh and exits through the other side. Smirking, she turns and walks away.

“I’ll send a medical team over here to pick you up in a few minutes.”

Meanwhile, Arc, Hammer, Sereb and Wiseman fly out the other end of the portal together. Looking up, Arc spies the Jeep. He gets up and crawls over to Hammer. Putting a gauntlet on her back he pulls off the blindfold and helps her sit up.

“Hammer! How bad are you hurt?!”

Hammer smiles weakly. “Mostly just… cuts and bruises, I think.”

Sereb looks her over “Can you stand?!”

“I don’t know. Help me up will ya?”

Steadying Hammer, Arc helps her stand. However her legs buckle as she holds onto him for support. Carrying her over to the passenger’s seat, Arc helps her sit down and buckles her in before recalling his armor and getting into the driver’s seat.

“You coming, Wiseman?”

Looking around he sees no one. Sereb grunts.

“That was expected.”

Arc sighs. “I guess.”

Hammer grimaces. “Let’s get out of here before they start looking for me!”

“Good idea.”

Starting the vehicle, Arc heads back toward town. He looks to Hammer as she rubs her legs.

“What’s wrong?”

“They’re really tingly. But that’s probably because I was tied up all night. How’d you know where to find me though?”

Sereb growls. “Wiseman told us.”

“Who’s that?”

Arc grits his teeth. “A guy who could do a LOT more than he currently does.”

Cherry calls out to them. “Well, Hammer would never have been seen again if he hadn’t told us what happened.”

Arc smacks the steering wheel angrily. “Then he could have stopped her from getting kidnapped in the first place!”

Hammer smiles at Arc. “Somehow I knew you’d come for me.”

Arc nods soberly, not taking his eyes off the road. “I don’t leave my friends behind.”