I groan as I stare at the pile of paper work in front of me. In trying to avoid one problem I ended up embroiled in another. I guess dealing with this is better than dealing with Diamond though. Every time I even start going down that trail of thoughts I just get anxious from the prospects. I can't seem to think of anything to do to even the score that doesn't end with me ripping her stupid extensions off her stupid head!

*Inhale... Exhale...*

Anyway, I guess visa paperwork is better than that. I take a look down the long table as other government workers continue filing away various papers. We've got to process all the information into physical documents while the Bots electronically file them. If we had better internet access in Mooseden we could just do the electronic verification. But the connection is spotty at best. So we need to have both so we can update it later. It's slow going, but it's how things are for now.

SLAM

We all jump when the front door slams open. I stand up to see what's going on and see a Bot standing there. We make eye contact for a moment before it rushes over to me.

"Your assistance is required." It says, motioning for me to follow. I look around for a moment before stepping off my chair. "Please hurry."

"What's going on?" I ask as I hurry after the bot. It starts to run back out the door so I have sprint after it. "Did something happen!?"

"You are the nearest emergency contact for the Grand Captain. Your assistance is required." I stop in my tracks for a moment before shaking my head and running.

"Is he okay!?" I ask as I start to panic. What's he doing back so soon? I thought he was gonna be gone for a day or two. WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO HIM!?

The machine doesn't respond to me. But as we start to make our way out of town towards the river I feel my heart start to drop. Of course he would end up over here. Where else would he show up!?

"Nether Wielder. Nether Wielder! NETHER WIELDER!"

Their chants fill the air as various bots try to gain control of the crowd. But any instructions given are either unheard or ignored by the Kroth. I try to keep pace with the one that brought me here, but the crowd is too thick to move through quickly.

I can see my father pressing himself against a tree in a small embankment in the river. His armor is tattered and mostly melted away, almost looking as if the metal was boiled off. His helmet has given way to reveal his eyes. They've gone completely black but they don't have the wisps of energy like when Corpus Glacius takes over.

I try to make it to him as fast as possible but the people aren't moving. They're kneeling before him as if they're worshiping a god. Even when I get in their face to ask them to move it's as if I'm invisible to them. It's just them and their god in the shallows of the river.

"DAD!" I call out to him as I start climbing over people. I can't even see the bot that brought me anymore. I have to get to him before anything can happen.

I call out to him again, but he can't hear me over the crown. I can't even tell if he can see or hear for that matter. I try to climb over another person when I realize I could just teleport there. Definitely the fastest answer, so I go for it.

FLASH

I scare him as I appear right before him. He tries to move back further but slips onto his backside. I take a look out to the crowd before rushing up to his side. I don't have time to worry about the crowd. I have to calm him down before anything bad happens.

"Dad!" I yell as I grab his hand with both hooves. He feels icy to the touch. As if he's been wading through snow for days. "Dad what are you doing here? When did you get here? What's happening to you?" This doesn't seem to be a magic thing. Otherwise I'd be burning my hooves right now.

"S-Shadow?" he asks, clearly confused. "Where did you come from? What's going on?"

"It's okay Dad," I tell him as I hold his hand tighter. "Everything is okay. Just take some dep breaths and look down at me."

He glances down at me and I feel my stomach drop. His armor looks as if it was boiled while he was still in it. The parts that weren't large enough to stay latched on seemingly rolled off of him, like a candle left to burn. His helmet has mostly melted away, leaving gaps to show his face underneath. One eyes has gone completely black while the other is all white.

I know what this is. Soul Fire and Corpus Glacius are fighting right now for control. I've never personally had to deal with this before, so I don't know what to do. I should call for help, but he could lose control any second right now. Besides, the bots should have notified everybody when he appeared. I was just the first to get here.

How is he going to act if either of them take control? From what I understand Corpus is the least likely to go on a killing spree. He wouldn't really have a reason to. But it's not out of the question either. Soul Fire would probably attack. Or, at least, he's the most likely to. If Dad could somehow win I know I could convince him to at least here me out. Even if that means throwing myself in front of him.

I'm running out of time and I just need to make a decision. There's at least a fifty percent chance of him losing control. So I have to make a decision that'll save the most lives. With my mind made up I take one look around before igniting my horn again. I can't afford for him to just run over here, so I go to max out my magic. We're going as far as I can take us.

FLASH

I give out a small yell and fall over as my horn nearly burns itself off of my head. I know we're deep within the forest near Mooseden, but I actually don't where exactly we are. The point was distance, so that's what I went for. I grab my head and try to focus back into the moment. I can feel a trickle of blood coming from my nose, but the pain in my head is much stronger.

With my vision still to hazy to see anything I can't tell what's going on. But I see Dad stumbling forward. It looks as if he's drunk. He drops to his knees and looks straight up. It seems unnatural the way he stares into the canopy. I don't think his neck is suppose to bend like that. I think he's losing control, but I can't tell. There's a ringing in my ears preventing me from understanding anything right now.

I stumble over myself as I start to stand. I need to use a nearby tree to do so, but once I get upright everything starts to normalize. I take a few deep breaths and try to form a plan. What do I do now? That teleportation spell really took a lot out of me. But I'm still to keep casting spells. At least at lower levels.

Dad warned me about this before. Though I never thought I'd actually have to fight either of them. I have a few spells that can hopefully help, but I don't know how effective they'll be. We never tested this, obviously. And I know they won't last for too long. But they'll still get control. One of them is going to come out and I don't know how I'm going to keep them at bay. I don't even know if I can. All I know is that I have to win or people will get hurt.

With one last deep breath I force myself from the tree and march towards father. He's still sitting there, staring up into the trees.

Snap

Crack

A single stick snapping under my hoof drew his attention to me with supernatural speed. For a moment I worry that he snapped his neck. But that all fades when I see his pitch black eyes staring at me. He takes in a slow, wheezy breath and starts to smile. Dark foggy wisps start to waft from his lips as his smile opens.

Well... now I know who I'm talking to. Time to talk.

"I don't suppose there's any way I could convince you give my father control, is there?" He gives a soft chuckle. It was worth a shot.

"Tell me, little shadow." His words come out like a sick person. Dry... Weak... Almost too quiet to hear.

As he speaks, the portals of magic begin to form on his back and each of his hands. But instead of the white flames of his usual magic, the same dark fog billows out. In a moment his entire body lost in the black mist.

"Do you truly believe you can stop me?"

With a all the power he can muster Corpus Glacius lunges at me. Large dark beams of black energy race towards me as I throw myself to the side. I can feel the whip of air pass scarily close to my back. If I had been a moment too late...

I shake the thought from my head and teleport away. Just far enough to get away from another beam of dark magic. His head snaps to the side as white energy grows out of the black haze. A simple crooked face appears and gives me a slanted smile.

As he moves to attack me I start to make a run for it. I need to draw him further into the forest so he can't hurt anyone. But I'm not leaving the area, I just need to get him to chase after me. I try to weave through the trees and overgrown ferns of the woods. I can't let him know where I'm going. Keep it random. I won't get a second chance at this.

A few beams break through the forest. Each one blasting gaps in the various plants and boulders. The trees that take large hits begin to twist and fall. I have to change course a few times to avoid the falling logs and widow makers. I have to slide to a stop when one of the trees falls directly in front of me. With the path in front of me blocked, I have no choice but to use my magic-

FWT-SNAP

I scream as a dark strand suddenly appears from the ground beside me. Before I could use my magic I had to roll to my side to avoid getting hit.

FWT-SNAP

FWT-SNAP

FWT-SNAP

The dark whips appear all over, lashing out at me as I try to make a run for it. From somewhere unseen I hear his mocking laughter echo in the woods.

I start blasting the whips I see in my path. The first one was just a raw mana blast that didn't seem to effect it too much. After that I try blasting it with one of the energy types Dad taught me. A red beam pierces straight through the dark whip and burns a tree behind it. The whip still was able to lash out at me. But it paused it enough for me to dodge it easily.

That spell seemed to be effective, but wasn't big enough. I try to remember more about it, but there's only one thing coming to mind. Light. It's not much to go off of, but I have to take a gamble! Otherwise I'm done for!

FLASH-FWUM

I skid to a stop as several whips appear all around me. There's nowhere else to run now. There's a moment when all falls still and we wait for the other to act. This is it. One last spell or it's all over.

Right as the whips lash out at me I blast my magic to my absolute limit. Everything I have goes into making a blinding light erupt from my horn. Every shadow in the woods is washed away as my light breaks through every crevice and shines brightly throughout the woodland. The heat from the light makes me sweat as the overpowering light blinds me through my eyelids. I have no idea if this is working, but I keep pushing through the pain anyway. If I can feel the pain then it must be working, so I try to push even farther.

I give out a scream as I start to feel my power begin to wain. My knees are getting weak and I can feel the heat all over my body. But I keep pushing anyway. I won't have anything after this, so I put all there is of me into it. This has to work!

The spell suddenly stops and I feel the heat from the spell drop suddenly. There's still a warmth glowing along my back and scalp. I can't see and there's a numbness telling me that my horn is luckily still there; but the world is quiet. No more laughter. No sounds of whips cracking out. There's nothing out there.

I fall to my side and pant from exhaustion. I don't think I'll be able to cast anymore magic for awhile. Not without hurting myself at least. That'll be okay though. I think I won. I think we'll be okay-

"Why."

My heart skips a beat when I hear that sickly whisper. I hold my breath and hope that it was all in my head. That there's nothing out there. That I saved my father.

"Why!"

I couldn't do it. I couldn't protect my father! I let him down- I let down the whole town down! The Kroth! Mom! I couldn't be the one to save the day.

"Why can't I win!?"

I hear him breath in weakly. As if he's trying to hold back tears. As if... he's failed again. I try to squint my eyes to regain my vision. But nothing happens.

"Why can't I beat you! You! Insolent, small, child!" I try to get up, but there's no strength in my body whatsoever. I try to roll over, but I can't even manage that much. "I am Corpus Glacius! I am Nether! I am-"

"I'm sorry!" We both go quiet for a moment. I don't know why I apologized. But it just came out of me. I don't know where I'm going with this. But I don't know what else to do.

"Do not pity me!"

"I'm not! I-I mean... I'm not sorry for stopping you. But.. I get it." He scoffs at me. I try one last time to get up but there's just no way it's happening. I let myself relax into the dirt and sigh. I debate for a moment before deciding to just unleash on him.

"I do get it. All my life people had to save me from the world. My father pulled me out of a hole in the ground. My mothers had to protect me from society. My friends have to protect me from bullies! I couldn't protect my father when people said those horrible things! I couldn't even protect my sister from that fucking asshole! All I could do was pretend that everything was okay and that I was happy while she took on all the burdens and... and... and I hate myself for it!"

I stop when I my eyes burn up from the tears. I've never told anyone this. I never could. Because then they'd have to come and save me from... myself. And I can't let them do that. I guess... I guess I'm trying to protect them from myself. I can't burden them with my own issues again. I can't show them how weak I really am.

"So don't tell me that I don't get failure because I know what it is!" I try to rub my eyes clear, but my legs are too weak to bring up.

I hear him start to move towards me. I don't have the energy to fight him anymore. So whatever happens, happens.

I feel a cold sensation run through my horn and chill my entire body. All of the heat from before dissipates and is replaced with an icy feeling. I blink a few times before I look up.

Dad has a hand on my side. I can see the sorrow on his face. I feel a wash of shame fall over me as I stare back up at him. But then I realize one of his eyes is still consumed with the darkness from before. So I don't know who I'm actually looking up at.

"Rest." The voice of multiple people shake me to my core and I immediately pass out.

I feel myself toss and turn as different images ebb and flow before me. Familiar faces looking away from me. I try to reach out to them, but they fade away before I can reach them. I try calling out to their names, but there's no sound to be made.

I see my sister standing before me. She has that same smile she always had. It's infectious. It always did make me feel safe. Loved. Even when I knew things were really bad. I try to tell her it's okay not to smile. It's okay for her to be mad at me. We don't have to be here, we can leave and figure something else out! But she just smiles at me. Always smiling...

I try to grab her. What I was going to do when I got her I have no idea. I wanted to hold her! Or smack her? Maybe just take her and run! I don't know what I tried to do. She faded away; just like the others. I look around to try and find her, but instead I find father.

He's standing there smiling down at me. Hands on his hips. Pride in his chest. I can tell he's going to encourage me, somehow. Tell me I'm doing great. How I'm a quick learner. Probably add a short joke for good measure. He's always trying to give me every bit of support he thinks I need, and then some. Even when others are doing so much better. I try to back away, but I hit a wall. I don't deserve this praise. I didn't do enough, it'll never be enough! He's given the world to me and all I do is cause problems. I don't deserve this.

I press back against the wall and fall through it. I try to scream for help, but there's nothing here. No one to save me this time. I'm... alone.

I gasp sharply from the feeling of falling. I try to sit up, but there's a sharp pain in my side that stops me. I try to take in my surroundings, but but it's too dark to see beyond my immediate surroundings. There's a small campfire nearby keeping me warm with a few logs set around it. I try to get up again but this time a throbbing pain in my head stops me.

"Relax kid," Dad says, stepping out from the other side of the fire. He sets some wood down and takes a seat. I feel myself become uneasy and try to turn away from him. The pile of leave under me rustle loudly as I curl into a ball. "Keep straining yourself and you'll pass out. Trust me on that. I'm sort of an expert on the matter."

"... sorry." I feel a tear roll down my cheek, but I quickly try to wipe it away. I don't want him seeing me like this.

"I know." His response catches me off guard. I look over at him and watch as he uses a stick to poke at the fire. I can tell he's troubled by something. But I don't know how to ask about it right now.

"Dad... are you-"

"Did I ever tell you about the time Dolum Ostendere and I nearly blew up a night club?" He asks quickly, looking at me with a curious look.

His question catches me even more off guard. He sounds so chipper, so... okay with everything? I try to respond, but all I can do is shake my head. He gives an uneasy laugh as he looks back to the fire.

"No, I don't think I'd share this story with many people actually. It's not one I like to share really."

He goes quiet for a moment. I can tell he's recounting the memory in his head, and it's troubling him. It's not going to be an easy story to tell. He takes the stick and tosses it into the fire, making the flames dance wildly for a moment. I try to ask if he's okay, but he continues with the story. Given his tone, I elect not to interrupt him.

"Back when I was a new Spartan in Topaz Falls I was so eager to prove myself. I wanted to show them that the orphan from Diamond Halls was worth the effort. I wanted to prove to Susurrans that I was Spartan material! I was impatient and too willing to get started. So I decided to make my mark. I decided that I was ready for my first mission.

Topaz worked different than Equestria. There was a police force; a guard like system, but they didn't take care of every civil matter. Spartans back then also kept the local peace. If the Spartans got involved though, you knew it was a big deal. You called them when the threat was obvious and someone or something had to be destroyed. When the intel was good, they'd post it on the government forums. Might as well consider yourself dead within the hour by that point. Didn't happen too often, but when it did..."

I pull out my phone and look over the icons as the tram jostles lightly along the rails. Neon lights flash past the glossy glass as we move through the entertainment district. The glow of middle city betrays the late hour. Doesn't matter to the people down here though. They're not here to rest.

The lower you go into Topaz Falls the less recognizable it becomes. Higher crime rates. Over crowded housing. It's almost like the heart of the city fades away as you descend into the depths of the middle and bottom level. I never really liked it down here. More so at the Foundation, but the Mid doesn't suit me either.

There are parts that are enjoyable. People feel more free down here. The bright colors of peoples outlandish outfits make people watching much more pleasant. And there are even those who secretly make and distribute various arts. You can still feel the soul of Topaz in the Mid. But, for every good thing, there's two bad that come with them.

Illegal trafficking. Illicit drug activity. Arms Trafficking. Dark magic trades. If it's illegal and valuable, it's here in the Mid. Especially in the entertainment district.

A sect of Triple M's, Mundane Made Matrix, made a move on the Parliament Congressional Hall recently. They're a group of Decker's that live for past knowledge. The recent raid was about trying to get some information from official computers in the PCH. They definitely got in, but what they took out is unclear. Tech stuff was never my forte. Not like it was by choice though...

The tram begins to slow down as we enter North Hall Two. A tall transportation building that houses most city transit systems, most major mico platforms, as well as city information stalls. Depending on where you're going you can get there from here. Assuming you pay the toll that is.

I decided to take the tram because it'd be inconspicuous. Everybody watches the mico platforms. No one gives a damn about the disgusting tram.

I look around to check whose here. Some seemingly homeless person asleep in one corner. A mother with four kids at the other end. And, of course...

"This place smells like piss and depression." Dolum tells me, pulling his jacket in more tightly. I tried to leave alone, but escaping him was more trouble than it's worth. "And I think that homeless dude is jacking it-"

"You can leave then, you know?" I tell him as the tram comes to a stop. He scoffs at me as he hurries out of the sliding doors. Even through all the shit of military training he's still a prissy little princess when it comes to commoners. I can't help but roll my eyes at him and follow. He'd never had made it in the orphanage.

We leave the bright white lights of the N.H.T. and step out onto the street. There's a weird mix of bright lights and dark alleys here in the Mid. Because of the complete coverage of the flat ceiling above the lights come down at sharp angles. So there are lots of places to hide and watch.

"How do you know they're going to make the call tonight anyway?" Dolum asks as we start to walk down the sidewalk. I try to keep a low profile, but Dolum couldn't be more obvious with how he keeps checking over his shoulder. The crowd of people we're walking through don't seem too bothered by the two of us though. They're too distracted with getting to their next stop. From one social gathering to the next, we're not worth the attention.

"I have it on good authority-"

"What authority!?"

"Authority that I trust to give good intel-"

"What intel!?"

"Intel that says the call is coming out tonight!"

"SHHH!" We both come to a stop as I glare back at him. "Want the whole neighborhood listening in on us!?"

"... of course not." If we didn't have to go back to the same room I'd throw him in a dumpster right now. "We're at the place, you still coming or not?"

We both look up at the bar in front of us. To me it's just a large bland concrete building with a few neon lights dotting some of the windows. To Dolum though, I'm sure it looks amazing. I can't wear the smartlinks that most people have that show the augmented world. Tech and me have never mixed well. I like to say that I get a real look at what's actually there. But, sometimes it's a bit of a hindrance.

The place is called The Toolbox. A common stomping grounds for Deckers, Bellum Machina, and Riggers. Everything in here requires a smartlink. Identification, payment, reservations, all through your smartlink. My phone can stand in as a work around, but it sticks out. So it's better that Dolum is here to help cover, even if I wanted to do this myself.

Dolum takes a moment to look over the building before sighing in annoyance. He's in. Without hearing his answer I start to walk in. He grumbles in protest, but follows regardless. Once we open the doors the loud thumping of the music inside beats against us. The crowd of people chattering makes it nearly impossible to discern any other noise. Neon lights flicker around the walls as lights flash all over the dance floor. I don't know if I'd call that dancing or collective jittering with how packed it is, but that seems to be the point.

It takes us almost an hour to get to the bar, order some drinks, and skulk our way to a standing table. There were some other people here when we arrived. But the hurried away the moment we stepped up. Dolum and I share a look before taking a drink. I don't think we stand out too much. Then again, we're the only ones not is bright neon skin tight suits. I assume we're also the only ones not in virtual augmented avatars... or at least I know I'm not.

Crowd watching for a moment really tells me a lot about the room. I can see three clicks of people here. The triple M's are on the opposite side of the room. Half of them look like their zoned out and staring off into space. Several of them are bald with obvious implants on their skulls. Makes it easier to plug into the Core and navigate the internet.

Then there are the Bellum Machina to the right of the Triple M's. There's nothing to hide them. Most are cybernetically enhanced with replaced limbs or organs. Robotic eyes, metal arms, a few of them even have antenna sticking out of their heads. The Bellum Machina wear their implants as a badge of honor. So there's no need to be coy about them.

And lastly, the next most obvious group are the Ekdromoi. None of my intel said that they were going to be here tonight. Even worse, the faction of Ekdromoi that's here are the most radical. The Dorarismos. Lead by the second in command, a woman named Novacula Acies, they have a fanatical hatred of most modern technology. They believe that we should be regressing back to a more simplistic way of life. Moving back to the surface to become an agrarian society, and the destruction of all firearms are just a few of their beliefs. It pains me to say this, but they've made some decent points in the past. Though... I'm never giving up on my rifle, so they'll have to deal with that.

But why are they here? This is a crowd that they despise! Are they in working with one of the groups here? If so... how? What could they possibly want with one another?

The Ekdromoi's are taking up most of the dance floor. I've never been much of a dancer but I assume that they're mostly acting like savages flailing about. I guess I wouldn't really know though. But watching them jump around give me glimpses of the various weapons they have. Mostly large knives, but a few have larger blades that are collapsed in. I can handle the other groups more easily than the Ekdromoi. People rushing in with wild abandon are one of my weaker aspects. And that goes double for Dolum.

I catch myself staring at the group for too long and accidentally make eye contact with Novacula. She's wearing tight denim shorts and a thin white tub top with suspenders and various belts all over. Her hair is cut short to show the sides of her head and has a mod chip in it that makes it wave with rainbow colors. We stare at each other for a moment before she smirks and starts to saunter towards us.

"Incoming," I say to Dolum as I take another drink.

"Shouldn't have stared." Dolum scolds.

"Hey there shower boy!" Novacula yells over the music, getting Dolum to choke on his drink from the sudden chuckle. I try to stay stoic, but it bothers me to no end that she's seen that video. She leans forward and places her hands on the table while bouncing her hips from side to side in step with the music. "What brings you round these parts? Pretty far below your golden tower, aint it?"

"Got lost on my way to the washroom and decided to get a drink." I tell her, getting her to laugh. If I can get her to leave then that would be best. At the very least we'd like to keep our conversation as inconspicuous as possible. "Though I never thought I'd see the Ekdromoi in a place like this."

"Yeah, well, nothing wrong with a little rabble rousing every now and then. Right?" She looks back and motions towards the crowd. A moment later a few of the others come over and give the three of us new drinks. Dolum and I glance at each before downing our current drinks and taking the new ones. Knew it was a good idea to start with a light drink.

Novacula whispers something to one of the others before sending them away. I try to listen in, but the music makes it impossible to hear anything. I try to read her body language, but there's nothing to really garner. Even though she's really thin, I can tell she's got plenty of strength on her. She looks back to us and raises her glass, so we follow suit.

"To loud music, good company and... swords! And axes! And the eventual downfall of the tyrannical rule of a monarchal oligarchy! OH! And to bitches and whores with absent virtues! SOL INVICTUS!"

She loses us halfway through her ramblings but we take the drink regardless. It at least gave us time to check for any spells or toxins in the drinks. They seemed fine, so we drank. Her calling an old Roman empirical saying while calling for the downfall of our own monarch catches me a bit off guard. But we don't have time to get into politics right now.

We each take what felt like normal sized drinks, but Novacula downed the entire thing. Which is concerning because these were not light beverages. When she slams down the glass she has a slight stagger to her stance but lets out a roar of satisfaction.

I get a buzz from my phone at the same time as half the room suddenly stops dancing. Even though the music continues, the feeling in here drops to near silence. I don't bother looking at my phone. I know what it says. It's go time.

"Fuck it. We'll take the floor, you two head on up and bag that son of a bitch." Novacula tells us as she drags a knife out from behind herself. Her tone has completely flipped to a more sinister seriousness. A few patrons smart enough to realize what's happening start to rush out of the room as the factions of people begin to square off.

I wanted to ask her what she knew, but there was no time. As if on queue, the dance floor erupted into combat. Just as quickly as pistols could be drawn they Ekdromoi were on the Bellum Machina. The loud din of music was replaced with the roar of combat as the two factions began to tear each other apart. Novacula rushed in as well, jumping on the back of an individual before repeatedly stabbing them in the neck. It all became a blur of violence before we could act.

Dolum and I snap out of our daze and rush for the stairs in the back, igniting our magics to increase our speed. A few people tried to get in our way, but we just used our magic to move them aside. There don't seem to be any other mages in the building, so that'll be our advantage.

"What's the order?" I yell out to Dolum as we race up the curved staircase.

"K.O.S."

Kill on sight. Whatever this guy did, it got the governments attention to the highest degree. And we're going to be the ones to do it.

When we round the last of the stairs we find ourselves staring down a long hallway. There are several privet rooms dotting the hallway, but only one has guards. The guy facing me seems to be of average build and only seems to have a heavy pistol on him. The guy facing Dolum is massive. Easily two hundred centimeters tall and made of muscle and metal. Augmented arms built to look strong and eyes glowing in the dark; the second guy is clearly the larger threat-

Before I could register what happened Dolum grabbed my shoulder and forced me to trade spots. I glared at him for a moment before the larger guy came charging down the hall. I assume he has augmented legs as well with the speed he closes the distance.

I barely get my arms up in time to try and block his attack. But most of the energy from his punch sends me flying back and I crash and roll down the stairs. I get a glimpse of him jumping after me. Both of his hands raised to thrash me into the ground. But my magic was already activated. So I roll into my tumbling before pushing off the ground and flingi8ng myself straight up.

He crashes into the ground beneath me so I swing my arm and throw a bolt of mana at him. It slams into the side of his shoulder and washes over him, seemingly ineffective. He glances up at me with those glowing eyes before reaching up and grabbing my foot. With a yell of effort he spins me around his body and tosses me back out into the dance floor. Luckily a standing table breaks most of my fall.

I groan as I try to get up, taking another glance at the dance floor to see it half empty now. The floor is slowly becoming covered in a layer of blood and dying people as the fighting continues to rage on.

I hear metal groaning from exertions and push myself to the side. The massive guard crashes into my previous position, punching a sizable crater into the ground. He rushes after me, punching at me with increasing force. It takes all my focus to fumble over myself while trying to avoid his attacks. But I'm starting to see a pattern.

When he rears back to punch again I take the opening to kick a leg up and blast him back. Because of my Potestatem Anuls, I couldn't put as much as I'd like to into the attack. But it did give me the space to get back on my feet. Though I almost slip on the blood underneath me. We stand at the same time and start to size each other up. I don't have the time to deal with this. I need to get into that room. But if I push my magic too hard in this room, all of the others will turn on me.

So I have to do it the hard way.

"Play time's over, little hoplite." He says before one of his hands flips down to reveal the barrel of a gun while the knuckles of his other hand begin to spark with electricity. "I am the battlefield."

"And my cause is limitless."

A race between us commences. I dive opposite of his hidden gun in attempt to buy me the precious few seconds I need to raise a shield. As the shield starts to take form it immediately shatters as flechette rips all around. I feel a single piece of shrapnel hit my side, but it's ignorable for now.

I hit the ground and throw my other arm up to raise another shield, catching the next round just in time. I scramble to keep upright. I just needed the dive to get the first shield up. Now I can start to maneuver him into position.

Each blast he send my way is met with another shield, most of which get destroyed. I have to keep the trade between arms to keep blocking, but whenever one manages to stay I take the chance to blast him with a wave of magic. It's only enough to keep him off kilter, but that's what I need.

He gets tired of this game though. Choosing to rush forward to attempt to taze me. I keep light on my feet, nearly making it completely around before he gets within melee range. I try to do another switch, but he's close enough to grab the shield and force it aside. Completely open, he swings in and drives his tazer fist into my chest.

I grit my teeth as I feel the energy coarse through my body. I don't get to use it often, but I've recently learned how to channel electrical energy into raw magical energy. I haven't quite gotten used to it, but it buys me the free power to release my trap.

I drop my spell and throw my arms out and bring them in quickly. I gather all of the water from the blood that's gathered below us and use it to stab into the man before me multiple times. A few hit his augmented limbs and splash off harmlessly. But a few other strands find flesh and begin to rip him open.

He lets out a roar of pain before grabbing me by the throat. I try to bring my hands together, but it feels like I'm trying to bring to opposing magnets together as I try to hose him down even more. I have to use several jets to keep his gun arm away from myself, narrowly avoiding a few more blasts as I start to use high pressure water over and over again to blast his guts open.

Everything goes blurry as we both start to slow. But with his shock hand still suppling me with free energy, I can keep my barrage going with the same intensity. I take a glance down and see that much of his intestines are hanging out of his exposed metallic chest cavity. In the middle of it all I see something shiny, so I grab it without thinking twice.

He lets out one last long roar as the electricity rushes directly into his chasse. He manages to lift me by the throat and we share one last hate filled stare down. I place a foot on his hip and begin to pull with everything I have. Whatever I'm grabbing, it suddenly snaps forward and the man drops dead.

It takes a moment to pry myself free from his grasp. It takes even longer to regain my breath. The crowd around me is starting to disburse from the building. I can see at least eight other corpses lying about.

I shake my head and force myself up. I'm still a bit shaky, but I manage to make my way to the stairs. I take one last look at the bloody dance floor where I see Novacula about to leave. We share a look before she blows me a kiss and skips merrily out the door. That woman... is crazy.

As I make my way upstairs again I regain more control of my breath. When I make it up I see Dolum and the previous guy standing there with their arms extended towards each other. Each of them have bloody noses and are solely focused on each other. It looks like they're trying to gain control of each other but are evenly matched.

I stumble my way past Dolum and stop by the scrawny guy. He's trying not to look at me, but I can see the panic in his eyes. He knows what's coming and is trying to think of a way out. But it's too late. I raise a hand next to his head and blast it clean off, leaving a sizable splat on the wall.

"Next time," I tell Dolum as I turn back to him. "You, take the big guy."

"But... you did so well with him." He tells me as he doubles over to catch his breath. "Ready?"

"Let's finish this." I turn back and push both hands forward. The door at the end of the hall goes flying off its hinges and crashes inside.

We walk in slowly together. The only light coming both of our magic. This room seems like a Deckers set up. Several computer towers, lots of trash from delivery, and a lone pod meant for diving into the internet. It's an all white oval sphere that hovers a few centimeters off the ground. This one is open from the side, revealing the lounge inside the device.

The man we're looking for is standing before the pod. He's a skrawny guy. Almost as if he's been starving for months on end. He's only wearing a old pair of briefs and part of the head gear that's meant to plug into the pod. But it looks as if he ripped himself out of the device early. Blood races down the back of his neck and from both his wrists. He turns slowly to look at us, his whole body trembling with every move.

"H-he-he-he-he." He tries to speak, but he can't seem to find the words. Dolum and I look to each other before I start to step closer.

"What happened?" I ask, stepping slowly. He takes a deep breath as he tries to speak.

"He-he-he-he-he." He is all he can muster to say.

"He? He who?" I ask as I get close enough to touch him. He turns his head to me suddenly completely in control. I flinch from the quick movement, but keep my place beside him.

"He who knows how it all ends." I stare at him as I try to think of what that could possibly mean. I should heal him so I can gather whatever information I can. But... something is off. And more than just this guy.

"Who would that be?" Dolum asks, stepping closer as well. The guy slowly turns his head to him before smiling.

"Times up."

I stare up at dad as he recounts his story. I'm not following the correlation yet, but I'm sure he'll explain in a moment. But as he continues with his story I see something white glowing on his back. When I try to look at it, it disappears behind him. If I didn't know better, I'd say it was Corpus Glacius reaching out. But... that can't be right.

"After all the debris settled, half the block was practically gone." Dad says, snapping me back to the story.

"Uh... h-how... wait, half the block? How did you get out?"

"Like I said; with Dolums help. Pay attention Shadow, it's not often I talk about the old days." I try to say something, but he just continues. "After that we were chewed out by Susurrans for a month straight. Not only did we fail the objective, but innocent people were hurt. And all because I wanted to prove something."

"But... there's no saying that you were the cause of the explosion... right?" I feel bad for missing a part of the story, but something was back there. I know it!

"Maybe, but that's not the point. I should have relied on my entire team for the mission. I should have left my pride aside and let all Spartans work to finish the mission. And yet, I did it again... with you."

I stare up at him in confusion. What's he talking about? How did he do this with me?

"Dad... Corpus taking over isn't your fault." I try to tell him, but he stands up and starts to pace around the campfire.

"No, it is." He tells me, the anger in his voice rising. "I was the one that pushed you to go after Diamond Tiara!"

"She accused you of sleeping with me in the newspaper!" I yell back, try to get up. "She slandered your name! I'm not letting her get away with that!"

"And because I put my pride in your care it forced you to take the actions that lead you to Mooseden as those creatures appeared!" He snaps back. I feel a tinge of heartbreak for a moment. He put his pride in my care... and I failed. I failed to live up to his expectations.

"I... I..." I try to say something, but I can't find the words. New tears start to roll down my cheeks, burning my eyes. He sees me and rushes to my side. He drops to his knees and pulls me in for a hug. I hear his voice beginning to crack as well.

"I put it all on you, what kind of father would do that?" He asks, burying his pace into my mane.

"What?" I ask, pushing him back. "No you didn't-"

"I should have been there for you. I should have helped! And looked what happened. I almost killed you!"

"You taught me to defend myself!" I yell back at him. "You taught me to stand up for myself! What was the point of all that training if I can't even defend myself!? I wanted to be the one to defend you for once! Defend myself for once! I'm the one who should be ashamed... I've failed you as a daughter!"

He lets go of me and lowers his head in shame. He places both of his fist on the ground and tries to let me speak. With everything I say though he just shakes his head. Muttering to himself about failings as a father. But when I tell him that I've failed he snaps his head up. The look of sadness on his face makes me flinch for a moment and we both go quiet.

We both want to say the other is wrong. That we're the ones that need to do better. But we know what comes next. It's just going to be a cycle of trying to comfort the other while taking all of the blame. Can we even come to an agreement like this? Where do we go from here?

"Shadow." Dad starts, rubbing his eyes clear. "You know you're my daughter, right?"

"Of course I do... you know you're my father, right?" He chuckles and nods, finally looking back to me with a soft smile. I smile back to him and relax a bit.

"Of course I am. And nothing is ever going to change that. No matter what, okay?" I nod back to him. The atmosphere is cooling off between us. But I'm still worried that we're just saying what needs to be said. Not that we don't believe what we're saying. But we're saying it to get past this moment. Maybe even come back to it later.

" I know Dad... I love you." He reaches forward and pulls me into his embrace. I feel myself melt into his embrace as I bury my face into his chest. All of the previous anxieties fade away here, even if it's just for a moment.

"Te quoque amo, filia mea dulcis."

For a moment, nothing else mattered anymore. I felt myself finally breath a sigh of relief. Maybe nothing was really fixed, but it didn't matter. At the end of the day we have each other. And we can work through anything together. Anything wrong today can be fixed tomorrow. For now, this is all I need.

But nothing in life can be that easy.

As I hold onto him I twist my head and look behind him. There, his magical portal is opened completely. But nothing is there. No dark wisps. No fires. There's just the circles with magical text and a void in the middle. And even though I couldn't see, I know he's there.

Corpus Glacius is waiting just underneath the surface.

Fun fact, widow makers are branches that fall off tall trees and pierce the ground.

Terradisian Archetypes

Latin Translations.

Brony on!