THUD

With a long groan I get back to my feet. I've been stuck here for nearly TWO HOURS! I should consider myself lucky that no one came to steal my shit... or raped me.... or come by to see me with my pants down. I think I'd be more pissed off if I wasn't so concerned about what she told me.

I need to be rescued. Does that bitch know who I am? I am a fucking Spartan! I do not need rescuing from anyone! Shinning and those guards were fucking lucky! I'll show her, I don't need to be fucking rescued!

I grab my bag and rush through town. If I'm going to be attacked I need to grab my weapons. I make my way through the park and pick up the pace when my home comes into view. I don't know when this attack is going to happen, so I need to be...

KILL HIM

Ok... who? I stop and look around, not seeing anything that could possibly be a threat.

GET READY

OK. I set my bag down and flare my hands, looking for whatever may come.

HE'S HERE
HE'S HERE

I leap forward as something tries to attack me from behind. What ever it is, it looks humanoid. Before anything could happen, I take the initiative by thrusting both of my hands forward, sending two massive columns of earth at the being. He dodges the attack by running at me with amazing speed, closing the distance between us quickly. I barely raise a shield up in time to block him from biting me. In the few moments I hold him there, I get a good look at the ugly fucker.

He stands roughly at my height. Most of his body is muscular, with the exception of his massive stomach. He has these strange tentacle things covering his jaw line and mouth, reaching down to his chest. He has them wrapped around my shield and is trying to bite me with what looks like a beak His face is fairly simple, lacking a nose and having deep black eyes. His hair seems to be made of long black clumps of charred flesh. His skin is a grayish green and is covered in cuts and scars. I look down to see that his lower half seems to be a dark shadow; not having anything.

"GIVE ME YOUR SOUL!" He yells as he begins to suck the energy from my shield, growing slightly. I drop the spell as I send a burst of energy down, sending him staggering back. I scream as I thrust both of my hands forward, sending a massive column of soul fire right into the chest of being, pushing him back.

STOP
STOP

What?! You told me to kill him! I drop my arms and stare at the massive form laying on the ground before me.

IT'S A SOUL EATER

I watch in horror as the being begins to get back up...

SOUL FIRE WAS A VERY BAD IDEA

I take a few steps back as the two story tall being stands and chuckles.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me..."

"I'LL DEVOUR YOU ALL!" He screams as he swipes at me, sending a slash of dark energy flying at me. I throw a hand up, making a column of earth pop up to block the energy.

CRASH

I fall back as debris peppers my body, leaving bruises all over. When I open my eyes I see the massive being falling right towards me. On instinct, I shoot up another beam of soul fire, only making it pause in the air before getting even larger.

STOP FEEDING IT
STOP FEEDING IT

I DIDN'T MEAN TO! WHAT SHOULD...

THUD

I bounce into the air and cash down as the gigantic being lands completely around me. He lets out a loud scream as he raises his fists and brings them down. I push my magic up to my potestatum anuls as I shield against the attack.

SHATTER

"AHHHH!" I scream out as the lines push themselves up past my shoulders. That was a fucking hard hit. I need something...

QUIT BEING AN IDIOT AND DESTROY HIM

Right. I close my fists, creating the black orbs, and shoot a beam of Icy Void through the chest of being as he raises his fists again. The shot rings through the air as he falls back, giving me time to get up...

THUD

Or not. I try to get up again, but the numbness in my arms won't let me. I didn't even use that strong of a beam! Why am I...

"How..." The creature mumbles as it begins to get back up.

"You've got to be kidding me." I say as I try to get up, but still fall over myself.

"How did you use that?" He asks as he stands up, standing a bit over a story tall. "Only a few demons can use that."

"What the fuck is a demon?" I ask as I try to crawl back. He just laughs as he walks over to me and slams his face to the ground, grabbing me with his slimy face tentacle things. I try to fight my way out, but my arms won't let me. As I near the beak under all of the tentacles, I begin to try to use Icy Void with my legs, but can't bring it up.

SHLINK

I fall to the ground as a beam of white energy cuts off the tentacles, making the being scream in pain. I wrestle with the still moving appendages as I hear a beam of energy, something slam into the ground, something larger slam into the ground, and then something dissipate. The tentacles wrapped around me fade into some black energy, releasing me from their slimy grasp.

"Hey Miles." I look over to see Damian, Hammer, Patches, and CC walking towards me as the being from before fades away. They all seem to be the same, with the exception of Damian having a scythe on his back. It's fairly simple, a black handle with a dark steel blade. But staring at it is giving me odd chills. "So, we need training."

"W...what?" I ask as I sit up and look back to him, trying to piece everything together. "Did... did you guys..."

"Yes." CC says as she takes a step forward. "We saved your life."

"..."

"Uh... your welcome..."

"OH THAT'S A FUCKING LOAD OF CRAP!" I yell as I try to get up, but continue to fall over myself.

"We can get another one over here if you like; we don't have to save you..."

"I HAD EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL!" I yell at Patches as I try to stand, barely making it to my feet. "Where the fuck is my bag?!" I yell as I look around for my bag.

"Is this it?" Hammer asks as he lifts it up. I go to take it from him, but fall on my face in attempting to walk. "Do you need help?"

"No." I say bitterly. As I face the ground I feel something grab my belt and drag me. I look back to see Damian dragging me... using his teeth.

NOODLE-SLAP

"DON'T PUT YOUR MOUTH THERE!" I yell...

FWOOSH

We all stop and look over to CC as she stands there, wings straight up. With an irritated sigh she reaches into her bag, pulls out a rolled up magazine, and flies off towards a distant cloud.

"What the fuck was that?" I ask as Damian sighs deeply.

"Don't worry about it...."

"Is she..."

"DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!"

"WHAT THE..."

SMACK

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

LICK LICK LICK

I wake up to Lupus and Hati licking my face. I push them away as-HEY! I can use my arms! I look around the room to see everything seamlessly normal. Did... did I dream all of that?

"Heya Miles!" Hammer says as he walks into the room.

"Son of a bitch!" I yell as I stand up and walk away.

"Wait, we need..."

"BARK BARK BARK!" Lupus barks as he jumps Hammer, gnawing at his face.

"GAH! THE FLUFF!" He yells as he wrestles with him on the ground, giggling like an idiot. I walk into the kitchen to find Damian sitting at the table with a little basket of strawberries in front of him. Of fucking course they're strawberries. I walk over and grab the basket before he could take any.

"Hey! What the fuck?" He asks as I walk over to the trash bin and toss it in. I look down and notice a small note inside the basket, written in pony text. Fuck it.

"My house, my rule. No strawberries." I say as I go back to the table and take a seat, looking through my bag of groceries.

"So, what spell did Luna use last night?" Damian asks with a smug smile.

"How the fuck do you know about that?" I ask as I stop looking through the bag and stare at him.

"We know everything." He says as if hes said it a thousand times.

"Does CC still think you are gay?" I ask as I pull out my beers.

"*sigh* sadly, yes." He says as he lowers his head a bit.

"Congratulations, you win a beer." I say as I put a bottle in front of him.

"But I can't have this, it's illegal." He says as he pushes it away.

"Why would it be illegal?" I ask as I push it back to him.

"Because I'm only thirteen." He says as he pushes it away.

"...no.... no. There is no fucking way you are thirteen." I say as I push the bottle back to him.

"But..."

"I WAS JUST NEARLY EATEN BY A FUCKING OVERWEIGHT FUCKING ASSHOLE AND NOW YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I WAS RESCUED BY A FUCKING THIRTEEN YEAR OLD FUCKING KID! NO! YOU ARE GOING TO FUCKING DRINK THAT AND YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING LIKE IT!" I yell as I pop the top off and shove it into his hooves. He hesitates for a second as he takes a sniff from the bottle, wincing a bit.

"If it makes you feel better, CC is fifteen and we don't even know how old Patches is." He say before taking a drink. "Wow... that's disgusting."

"Shut the fuck up." I mumble as I take a bottle and start take a drink. We sit there for awhile in silence, drinking quietly as I try to cope with what just happened. OK; I was nearly eaten, saved by a thirteen year old, and apparently he needs training. Why do things get so strange whenever he comes around? "You said something about needing training earlier..."

"I need you to train us against Icy Void." He says as he sets the bottle down. "We need to be able to deal with it..."

"It's a no." I say before finishing off my bottle.

"But..."

"I don't care that you... saved my life... that is a high level magic that, if I were going to train you in, you would need to be a Spartan..."

"OK, train me to be a Spartan." He says, getting me to laugh.

"Look kid, you've got some skills, I'll give you that. But there's more to this then just skill..."

"From what we could look up it takes serious dedication." CC says as she walks in from the back door.

"How do you know that?" I ask as I look back to her.

"Don't worry, we don't know what exactly happens during the training. We respect traditions like that. But we know the out come. That's why I don't want to be a Spartan."

"CC, we need training in Icy Void." Damian complains from behind.

"Sorry, but I can't betray... us, like that. And I know Hammer can't either..."

"Yup! Bonzu would kill me.... literally." Hammer says as he walks in, covered in scratches and bite marks. "Lupus is awesome."

"OK, then it'll be me and..."

"Dude, Patches can't even stand for five minutes without exploding. If anypony's going to become a Spartan, it's you." Hammer says in a more serious manner.

"Where is Patches?" I ask as I look around.

"I told him to wait out back so he wouldn't destroy anything in your home.." CC says, motioning outside.

"Thank you... I think. Anyway, I need more... huh." I stop and think about what the woman from before told me. He's important for some reason. She told me to say yes to his request...

"Whats up?" Damian asks as I stare him down.

"To become a Spartan, it takes being a certain kind of character. You will become Terradisian before anything else. I don't care what work you have with... who ever you work with, if I say come here, you drop what you're doing and get your ass here. If you live through the training you will become one of the worlds greatest fighters. Holder of one of the greatest held secrets, and become a force for good. Can you handle the pressure of always being the hero? Can you sacrifice everything for the sake of those who may disagree with what you do. Could you hold absolutely no secrets from us? No matter what? Can you follow me as your leader, follow my orders and assist in the furtherance of Terradisia? Can you do these things and more?"

"You realize that there are things out there, things that nearly ate you, that are my responsibility to kill. I already do all of that..."

"No, no you don't." I say, getting a confused look from him. "You do those things in the shadows. Hiding from the public. Being a Spartan, the public will know your every move, your name, and your prowess. Can you move from the dark and into the light? Because only then will I agree to training you in Icy Void. So I'll ask you again: Can you do it?"

"I... well..." He thinks about what I said deeply. He looks to all of his friends before looking back to me. "I don't know about the secret thing..."

"Its a Spartan tradition. There are no secrets in Terradisa. If I ask you about anything, you will answer me, in full detail. Its part of being Spartan."

"Could you make exceptions? There are things worse then what you fought..."

"No. There is no grey area. It's either yes,or no. Choose." I say bluntly, getting a troubled look from him.

"I have responsibilities that they need me to..."

"Then it's a no." I say as I get up and begin to walk away.

"Come on! I need to learn this shit to deal with some demons in Hell!"

"DAMIAN!" CC yells as she sticks a hoof in his mouth. I chuckle a bit as I walk back and sit down.

"OK, you've got my attention. What is hell? What is a demon?"

"We can't say." CC says as she continues to hold Damian's mouth shut, though he doesn't seem to mind the contact.

"CC, he's already seen a demon. He see's spirits. If it gets us the training, I think we can tell him a bit about Hell." Hammer says, getting an annoyed look from CC. I just sit back and wait for her to answer.

"*sigh* fine. But keep this to yourself, OK! Nopony knows that there's a literal Hell." CC says as she pulls her hoof out of Damian's mouth. "Ew.." She says as she shakes the slobber off.

"Sorry." Damian says with a blush. "So... Hell is the place where everypony goes when they die. It's filled with nothing but torment, misery, and suffering. It's eternal damnation."

"Uhuh." I say as I nod a bit.

"What you fought earlier today was a Soul Eater. It's a lesser demon that devours souls to increase it's power. Usually they are fairly easy to fight, but when you over power them like you did...."

"How was I suppose to know?"

"Right. Anyway, Icy Void is a demon power. A very HIGH level demon power. Like, only a hoof full of demons can use it. We don't know how you were able to achieve that power, but you did."

"So there's another thing that you don't know." I say with a smug smile.

"Look, this is serious!" Damian yells as he stands up. "We need to be able to stand against a power like that! Now are you going to help or not!?"

"I am willing, you just need to become a Spartan. So what's it going to be?" I ask, getting a exasperated sigh from him.

"... fine."

"Louder. Mean what you say." I demand, getting an even look from him.

"I'll do it. When can we get started?" He asks. I sit back and think about that. I need to leave tomorrow for Amethyst, so...

"You know what, hang here for a sec. I need to go to my shop real quick." I say as I leave the room and head to the shed in the back. I find Patches eyeing the door a bit, reaching up to open it. "Hey!" I yell out, getting him to stop. "Stay out of my shed."

"Uh..."

"I'll fucking kill you if you go in there." I say as I open the door. "Your choice." I walk in and jump down into the now lit room.

"May I have your autograph?"

"Easy, how goes construction?" I ask as I walk over to the weapons locker, eying all of the working bots in the back.

"We are currently at twelve percent. Estimated time to completion: Eight days, four hours, and thirty six minutes." Easy informs me as I grab two dull swords and head back to the entrance.

"Good. Give me daily updates on the progress."

"Very well sir." He says as I jump back up and out of the door. I shut and lock it before heading inside, throwing the swords on the table as I stand back and eye them.

"What are you doing?" Hammer asks as he looks over the blades. "What are these for? Are they for training? Can I have one?"

"He doesn't shut up, does he?" I ask as I magically take the metal and begin purifying it.

"Eh, he grows on ya." Damian jokes.

"I doubt that." I say as I continue to work.

"Whoa, that's cool. Am I going to learn to do that?" Spike says as he walks into the room. "Who are these guys?"

"Spike, say hello to Damian, CC, Patches, and Hammer. They are... well, I know them. And yes, you will learn this eventually. Now what are you doing here?" I ask as I finish purifying it and start forging.

"Well... I'm not sure. Storm crashed into the door and told me to wait here. When I asked what was going on... he just told me to go. Did I do something wrong Miles?" I finish making the two small necklaces and toss one to Damian.

"Training will come soon. I'll buzz you a day before. I have to go now..."

"Yeah. What's this going to do?" Damian asks as he eyes the tiny Spartan logo.

"You'll see. Spike, lets go." I say as I walk out out of the room.

The entire trip to the Library I stayed silent. Not matter how much Spike begged me to answer him, I wouldn't. I've got a bad feeling about this. There's only one thing Storm would kick Spike out for, but it's so early...

"Spike! I told you to wait at Miles's, not bring him!" Storm yells as he paces around the front door.

"S-sorry..."

"So I take it the baby isn't coming anymore." I say getting a bewilder look from Storm. Everything stays silent as we stare at each other. No one spoke. No one moved. The only movement was from the tears falling from Storm's eyes.

Next Chapter: Chapter 132 Lost Answer Estimated time remaining: 54 Hours, 60 Minutes