Act 0, Prologue: Of Omens and Massacres

"Who's there?"

This was a question seldom heard from the princess of the sun. Despite knowing full well she was asleep, it was still unnerving to feel an unknown presence in her dreamscape.

Just then, a tall, bipedal creature revealed itself to Celestia. She knew about Humans from her pupil's writings about them, as well as her own knowledge. But still the question remained; why was a human inside her dreams?

"Calm yourself, I am not here to hurt you, Celestia." The being uttered.

"So why are you here?" Celestia inquired, despite her anxiety, she had to know what this creature wanted of her

"I am but a messenger," The Human continued, "I am here to speak of what is to come."

Okay, now this was just scary. A 'messenger' speaking of future events, what if what the human said entailed the destruction of her people? Now she absolutely had to know. For the sake of her people if nothing else.

"I'm listening, spirit."

"There will be a time of great distress for you, as well as all that exist. But if you adhere to what is right, and your champions are truly strong, Everyone will survive."

What did this spirit mean by 'great distress'? If she didn't know, she will have failed.

"What sort of distress, messenger? The fate of everyone is at stake!" Celestia asked, if she allowed anything to happen to Equestria and she was unprepared for it, she would never forgive herself.

"A fearful spirit shall enter this nation, you must let him face his tormentors without interloping. The problem will take care of itself, if you allow it."

-July 8, 2016-

Senator Locke sat comfortably at his seat in his tent, Like many of his fellow officials and businessmen, protected from mosquitoes and gnats buzzing around the surrounding forest. This was the Bohemian Grove, where the most powerful men in the world flew to this safe haven in the redwood forests to take a break from their jobs. He walked up to one of the many tables to speak with his friend, General Wesson.

"Hey, Tom!" He calmly greeted.

"Devin, how are you settling in to the grove?" Wesson replied.

Locke wasn't entirely sure how to answer that, it was very unusual to see his power-hungry co-workers chatting like old friends, which usually meant something very illegal was going on.

"Can't complain, how's 51 treating you?" Locke answered. Wesson was apparently asked to oversee a project at the infamous Area 51.

"'Weaving spiders come not here', Devin. Besides, I really don't want to risk dying, these C.I.A guys are tough. 'Classified' this and 'Top Secret' that, you know how it is."

"Whatever you say, Thomas." Locke rolled his eyes.

The next sounds he heard were really out of place in the Grove. The unmistakable sounds of gunfire and the screams of the dying.

"Now, Be honest with me here, Tommy, are these the C.I.A killers you're talking about, because I didn't say anything." Locke nervously joked

Wesson handed him a gun, it looked like a Colt .45, not that Locke knew about weapons

"Can it, Locke. We gotta go!" Wesson ordered.

Locke and Wesson sprinted towards one of the many planes in the makeshift airfield as they shot at attackers, surprisingly killing a few.

Upon reaching a plane, Wesson looked inside the plane while Locke kept watch. Wesson ran out, terrified.

"The plane's rigged with explosives! MOVE NOW!!!"

The plane, along with several others, exploded in a fiery whirlwind. Setting the trees on fire and killing more people. Just then, Locke got an Idea; "There's a river nearby, if we can make it there and hijack one of the boats at one of the docks, we might just make it out of here!" just then. Searing pain blew through his knee and deftly went out the other side. Effectively crippling Locke as he watched Wesson suffer a similar fate.

One of the attackers walked up to Wesson, grabbing him by the shirt collar, this mercenary was really young, roughly a teenager with ash blonde hair.

"You know who we are, General Thomas Wesson?" He asked with a hint of malice in his voice.

"Yes, I do, you're members of the Kahn Militia, you're criminals!"

"Then you know what we want."

"You're insane, Even I'm not sure what is going on over there."

The mercenary shot his old friend in the forehead, killing him instantly. He then pulled up his walkie-talkie.

"Anyone else in this bug-ridden forest who knows about Project Odyssey?"

Locke was smart enough to act dead, as to find out what it is they were trying to accomplish.

"Yes, sir. Meet us by the shrine, we have a hostage here who's telling us everything." The man on the other end responded.

"Good work, Mordecai, on my way." The mercenary walked away, leaving Locke behind, badly wounded, but with a mission on his mind.

-One day later; Reynold, Oregon-

Like many people, Alex Walker sat at his couch, watching the news. The Bohemian Grove Massacre had devastated the nation in one night. Only about 50 people survived out of the 2000 who attended. And one of the survivors just happened to be a senator. The survivor, now in the hospital, is about to deliver a speech to The American People.

"My fellow Americans, it is with a heavy heart that I give this speech. The Kahn Militia expertly planned this attack on the American people. They've crippled the government, the military, and business all in one night. This act shall not go unpunished, as most of the perpetrators were living near the Grove, I hereby demand that the states in the Pacific Northwest call for martial law, any person suspected to be a part of the attack is to be convicted without trial, and imprisoned. I also demand any remaining military leaders to form a Task Force dedicated to killing these murderous crusaders before any other damage is done. The road to recovery will be long and difficult, but if we take these precautions, Justice will soon be served."

Author's Notes:

And here we are, the series has landed!

Act I, Chapter 1: Two Months Later

"I'm not going to ask again, Why did you kill all those people?"

Alex Walker was now sitting in a dimly lit room, tied to a chair. This was unfortunately a daily thing since his arrest back in August. He was arrested because apparently he looked similar to a mercenary that had actually been a part in the attack.

The man standing before him, butcher knife in tow, was Agent Winchester, he had been interrogating and torturing Alex ever since he was dragged out of the armored van that took him here. And because he didn't actually know anything and the fact that the real perp hadn't been detained, he was still the prime suspect.

"Sir, with all due respect, I didn't do crap. I'm ninety-nine percent sure you just arrested me to boost your paycheck. I really didn't do it." Alex anxiously replied.

"Then where we're you on the night of July 8?" Winchester threatened. He had just planted the tip of his knife above his eye, slowly pulling it down to about his eyebrow.

"How can anyone remember exactly where they were on some random night two months ago?" He actually meant that, memories of that night were foggy enough, and was too distracted by the new cut on his forehead.

Winchester sharply yanked the knife down, just barely missing his eye and met the skin below. Alex grunted in pain. Winchester had done similar things to him for the past month, but he still wasn't entirely used to pain, yet.

Instead of asking another question. Winchester started untying him. This was new, Winchester never stopped a torture session early, and he would never untie a suspect. Was the actual mercenary caught? Because Alex was getting pretty sick of being a murderer's fall guy, more so considering the punishment.

Winchester grabbed Alex by the wrist, dragging him back to a small cell. He opened the steel bar gate, threw him inside like garbage, and locked the door. Then, the agent spoke.

"Kid, you haven't given me anything remotely useful since the day we brought you in. But there is one use for you." Alex perked his head up, he agreed when Winchester said nothing useful came out of the ordeal, but he didn't exactly see how he could be of any use as a prisoner.

"For the safety and security of this country, you and the other traitors are being executed. Today. You have five minutes left to live. If you have any more to say, the guard is right out there." Winchester coldly finished. He walked away, giving Alex time to think.

The day he was arrested had to be one of the worst days of his life, the government burned his home to the ground, knocked him out, and his family? That was too painful to think about. What Alex didn't understand was what Winchester said about 'other traitors'.'Were they wrongfully accused and imprisoned like him, or were some actually guilty? He figured at least one of the others had to have been involved.

He wiped his new wound with his hand, leaving red smeared across his palm. This wasn't his first wound. He'd been electrically shocked, stabbed, beaten, even shot once or twice. But in spite of all of that, he still wasn't fully used to this kind of pain.

A guard opened his cell and cuffed his wrists and ankles. The guard was still nervous even pacifying him. Seriously, he did kill two SWAT guys during his arrest, but even he wasn't cunning enough to get out of it, besides. He was already tired and weak.

Alex was dragged to a small room with 4 posts in a straight line, and the guards immediately tied him to one of them. It wasn't hard to notice the line of soldiers carrying rifles pointed in his direction. Death by firing squad was seldom used simply because it was barbaric and ancient, but they must've decided that if their bosses were shot to death, so would they, or something like that.

The first suspect had to be carried inside, he was incredibly frail. Alex felt a pang of sorrow for the kid. He looked like he had been in the prison for at least a month before him. He had cuts and bruises on every inch of him, and looked malnourished.

The second was already chained on his post. This guy was better off than Alex was. He wasn't as wounded as Alex was. This boy looked to be about 16, built like an NFL linebacker. His head was shaved, but this guy had facial hair that could double as steel wool.

The third was, to Alex's surprise, a girl. About, say, 15 years old. Shoulder length lightish-brown hair, and. Let's just say if looks could kill, the guards would be long dead by now.

As soon as they were all bound to their posts, Agent Winchester walked behind the executioners and spoke.

"If there's anything any of you have to say, this is your last chance." The weakened child to the far right coughed, prompting the Agent to walk over to him, the kid mumbled something that Alex couldn't hear, and when Winchester leaned in closer, the kid spat into Winchester's shades.

The operative wiped his sleeve over his sunglasses and stabbed the poor guy between the eyes and just left the knife stuck in there, scarlet dripping to the floor.

"Ready!" Winchester yelled to his men, immediately, three guards point their weapons at them, the inevitable looming closer and closer.

"Aim!" He screamed again. Alex could've sworn he heard something beeping, and one of the guards turned his head to find the source of the noise.

The ceiling above appeared to crumble down in front of him. Fire lapping in from above. He saw a canister drop to the ground on front of them. The sounds of gunfire roared in the small room as smoke filled the room. The two men fought, one hitting the other with the butt of his gun, as the second fell to the ground. The smoke cleared, and he saw a man in his late teens with ashy blonde hair, similar to his, grabbed a key ring from the unconscious body of Agent Winchester.

"Took you long enough, Jäger." The girl said. Jäger, huh? This is the guy Alex was mistaken for. He unlocked the girl's chains and she took the key ring out of his hands and got to freeing the other suspect.

"Zip it. Can you finish up here, we have to go." The other suspect said

"Mordecai, fancy seeing you here!" Jäger snapped at 'Mordecai'. Well, Alex guessed most of these people were involved. He was apparently the odd one out. Wouldn't be the first time.

"Kat, what are you doing, this guy isn't one of us!" Mordecai scolded. To his surprise, this 'Kat' person was unlocking his chains and pulling Alex up.

"Come on, you expect us to leave him here?" Kat pleaded. Alex didn't quite know the answer himself, but thank god someone was helping him.

"She's right, Mordecai, he can help us with something." Jäger agreed. Now Alex was obligated to help them with whatever they needed me for. The last thing he needed was to join the very people he was blamed for being part of and tortured for it.

Kat must've noticed Alex's reaction to that statement, because she looked Alex in the eye and told me

"Listen, aren't you mad at these guys for torturing and almost killing you? We're trying to help."

"Fine, what do I need to do for you guys?" He groaned inwardly, he was in enough trouble as-is. He didn't need to be in more.

"For right now, kid. Grab that rope, we're pulling you up and taking you to HQ." Jäger ordered. Just because Alex was a little skeptical doesn't mean he wouldn't take help where he got it. Alex grabbed the rope, and was pulled into a helicopter. Upon entering, Alex was greeted by the man holding the rope.

"Glad to see you're still among living, Kat, who's the kid?" He asked.

"Don't worry about it, we've just recruited another member to our cause." Mordecai stated matter-of-factly, as if it really didn't matter to him what happened to me.

"Welcome to the Kahn's Militia, kid, what's your name?" Jäger finally asked.

"Alex. Alex Walker." He responded, they saved his life, he may as well be honest.

"Correction, Private Alex Walker." Mordecai said.

-Meanwhile-

September 11, 2016

Dear Twilight,

Thank you for your report, I am glad to hear you've been settling in to your new castle, I know it may be daunting at first, but you will eventually come around.

The main reason I wrote this is that you tell me if anything unusual happens, due to certain events in my life, It's imperative that you tell me these things, while I know you have proven yourself time and time again, I fear you may still be too inexperienced to properly handle such an event. If anything does happen. Write me a letter immediately, and I will be there as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Celestia

Author's Notes:

Well, part two of the first four instant chapers!
I know you may be asking 'why is Destoyer posting four chapters to his story immediately?"
It's because I'm already on an inspirational streak and the fact that this story will likely be really, really long.

Act I, Chapter 2: Welcome to the Show

'It has been two hours since Jäger, Mordecai, and Kat picked me up. How long is this flight?'

Alex thought to himself. He was now in a helicopter, on his way to the center of Kahn Militia HQ, from what he could remember, it was somewhere on the California-Nevada border. He was still curious as to why Kat saved him, but he was in no place to ask.

"Glad we have the militia back up to full strength, the Task Force that Locke ordered has been getting closer to finding us." Jäger said.

"What task force?" Alex asked, this was bad, if there really was someone hunting him, he was in trouble.

"Task Force Crimson. Those mercs caught me creepin' out near the Pacific, that's how I was captured." Mordecai spat angrily

"The C.I.A basically hired some of their old Operators and say, 10,000 other PMC guys, formed a task force dedicated to bringing us and anyone who helped us down. Mordecai's just mad that they got him so quick, you must've been arrested very early on to not know what Task Force Crimson was, who carried out your arrest?"

"Agent Winchester and the FBI. Crazy pricks burned my house down." Alex responded.

"We're here, gang." Jäger announced. The base looked like an old warehouse in the woods, they had to land on a duct tape circle to land. I was helped out by Kahn Militia medics and Kat.

Alex was taken inside the warehouse, there a middle aged man walked out, and this guy looked like he had been in active combat at least once.

"Kat, welcome back, who's the kid?" The man asked her.

"Alex, this is our leader, Colonel Silas Kahn. He fought in Operation Desert Storm before he formed the Militia." Kat told Alex. Well, at least he assumed correctly

"Sir, this is Alex, the Feds thought he was Jäger and captured him."

"Really? How could they mess that up?" Kahn asked Kat, to be honest, even Alex himself didn't see the similarity between him and Jäger.

Kat shrugged, and walked to a makeshift booth of weapons.

Kahn turned to Alex.

"Welcome to the Militia, Private. Just call me Silas." He insisted,

"Okay, Silas, is there anything I can do?" Alex asked.

"Our battle plans won't be presented 'till 9:00, grab yourself a weapon and uniform."

"Okay, sir." Alex politely replied back, he headed towards the booth Kat was in. Kat herself was currently holding a Barrett M82, with a small carving of a cat on the scope of the gun.

"Hello, Private Walker, Corporal Anderson was just telling me about you, what would you like?" The man inside said.

He looked at the vast array of rifles and Machine guns, he knew a good amount of them by name. Until he knew exactly what this mission was, he better take an all around weapon.

"I'll take the Scar-H with the M203 launcher and the ACOG scope." Alex told him, pointing to the rugged battle rifle with the grenade launcher welded under the barrel. The Armorer grabbed the weapon off the wall, grabbed a bandolier of grenades, he then handed him some mags and a dozen boxes of rounds.

"How about a pistol?" The Armorer asked.

This time, at least the choice was obvious.

"The Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum?" Alex requested. He had some experience with the revolver before. He knew he could handle the recoil.

The Armorer handed him the revolver, some boxes, and a holster.

"Thank you." Alex said as he put on the holster and the bandolier.

"You seem to know a lot about firearms." Jäger said.

"Not really, aside from what I was taught." Alex admitted.

"Anyways, it's time for the briefing." Jäger told him. Alex ran into the room and sat down in a spot

----

"Okay, team." Silas began,

"Today we'll talk about our biggest attack yet. Our target is the Infamous Area 51. Our mission is to find 'Project Odyssey', or as many know it, Die Glocke. Our hacking division discovered that the machine was sold to the U.S by Russia, and They are currently testing it, this is out only opportunity to find out what they are planning to do with it. One team will fly in with C-17 planes filled with explosives, draw as much attention away from us as possible, then, The other teams will blow holes in the rooftops and fight their way inside. If our sources are correct, the machine is an Inter-dimensional transporter. The machine must be destroyed before the Government can cause harm to anyone. Base team 1 will consist of Myself, Jäger, Mordecai, Kat, Alex, and O'Leary. Base invasion team 2 will be Samuels, Kaiser, Thorne, Stanley, and Rogers. Move out!"

-Meanwhile-

Twilight had just received her letter from Princess Celestia a couple hours ago, and was currently asking her friends, the Elements of Harmony, if they had seen anything strange.

Like her, most of them hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary, which was different because usually they don't last a week without anything going wrong.

"Are you sure none of you have seen or heard anything?" Twilight asked again, for the millionth time.

"Um, no...thankfully." Fluttershy said. She, like most, was glad nothing went wrong. The animals needed here care, not another scary adventure.

"Once again, no, Twilight, I didn't see anything." Rainbow moaned, exasperated to the point where she just wanted to fly out of the window and into a cloud bed.

"None of you have seen anything?"

"No!" Everyone practically yelled, like Rainbow, they wanted to leave, they all had plans that night and didn't need their friend's paranoia butting in.

"If you're sure." Twilight sighed. If there really was nothing, why would Celestia tell her to look out?

-September 12, 2016, 0400-

Alex, now on his first mission, was drowsy from the early morning start, the helicopter was getting closer, they had to leave early to accommodate for the planes, the base was in eyesight when he noticed two large explosions, and dozens of soldiers flocking over to investigate.

"I saw explosions!" Alex shouted, at least he wasn't on board those planes.

"Pilot, move faster!" Silas yelled towards the front.

"Okay, team. Silas, Alex, Mordecai and Myself will fast-rope in. Kat and O'Leary, provide cover fire for the other teams, Move!" Jäger informed. Alex clipped the lanyard to his bandolier, and followed Mordecai in fast-roping. Then, things took a turn, the rotor of the helicopter was hit!

"We're going down! Mayday! Mayday!" The pilot yelled as the helicopter spun uncontrollably closer to the roof of Hangar 18, no doubt this would hurt, a lot.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

Author's Notes:

Things are escalating in the third of four initial chapters!

Act I, Chapter 3: They Can't Stop All of Us!

"Is everyone ok?" Alex heard Silas ask, their Helicopter had crashed and burned.

Jäger went to help Mordecai get up, and Kat gripped Alex's hand to help him up.

"We're okay!" O'Leary yelled. O'Leary was a 25 year old man with a PKM, Alex knew already not to mess with a machine gunner.

"Mordecai, place the charges. Alex, get the ropes from the helicopter. Jäger, throw smoke as soon as the hole is blown, Go!" Silas ordered. Alex ran over to the crash, pulling out his Swiss Army knife. He got to the crash site and cut six reasonably sized ropes, and ran back to his unit. Jäger had a canister and Mordecai planted some C4 on the roof. Silas then ordered everyone to back away. Silas clicked the detonator, causing a decently sized explosion. Jäger pulled the pin on a smoke grenade and threw it in the hole, Alex gave everyone a rope, which they attached to the scrap metal, they roped in and started shooting.

Even though the planes caused a sufficient distraction, there were still enough soldiers to give us a run for our money, we took cover behind some crates and started shooting.

A few soldiers went down fast, but there were still enough to slow us down until reinforcements could arrive.

"Grenade!" Alex shouted, pointing the Grenade Launcher at the soldiers once they formed a nice group, The resulting explosion left a few stragglers. Jäger went to one of the injured troops, pointed a pistol at his head, and threatened him.

"Where is 'Odyssey'? Answer me, NOW!"

"There's a hatch in the office down the hall, once you go down, make a right. Then follow that hall until you find elevator 1-D. It'll take you down to our operations. It should be obvious where the device is by then!" The soldier buckled.

Silas grabbed his radio. Probably to tell everyone our findings.

"Attention all units, move to Hangar 18, The device is underground, I say again, Die Glocke is underground, move to Hangar 18, over!"

Alex had one question in mind about the mission.

"How did a machine developed by the Nazis fall into the hands of the Russians?"

"Die Glocke was built by Nazi scientists in Poland. When the Nazis lost, the Russians occupied Poland after the war, they found it and did their own tests on it, it wasn't until a few years ago that the U.S bought it from them." Kat answered.

By now, they were climbing down the ladder to the underground section of the Hangar. But we were met by significant resistance upon entering the intersection.

O'Leary hip-fired his Machine Gun, killing a bunch of them at a time and leaving the floor a bloody mess of flesh and bone.

Kat was shooting multiple backup squads long before they could be a significant threat.

Mordecai, Silas, and Jäger continued moving down the hallway, killing anyone unfortunate enough to be stationed there that night. Alex was shooting enemies in the chest, covering the path behind all of them while they pressed ahead.

It wasn't long until the team reached the elevator. Alex shot his last enemy while Silas worked on the elevator.

"That's the last of them!" Alex called to them.

"Dammit! The elevator's busted, Alex, fire a grenade at the door, but first, Mordecai, place the plastic explosive."

Mordecai places the C4 on the elevator and everyone ran back, and Alex shot the grenade at the bomb and blew the elevator doors apart, obviously Silas' intended effect.

"You still got our ropes, Kid?" O'Leary asked. Alex responded by handing everyone their ropes, he tied his to a locked door, and started going down.

Kat started talking, he wasn't sure why she had to whisper, that sorta concerned him.

"Do you think the machine is operational, Alex?"

"I don't know, probably. The machine is being tested by the government, it's more likely then not fully operational." Alex responded. The machine was definitely operational, it's in the hands of the Military.

"Good, because I have my own plans." Kat answered mysteriously. Uh, oh.

"What plans?" Alex asked anxiously. This was probably going to suck.

"I'll 'test' the machine, then you blow it up." Kat excitedly whispered.

"What?! Why?!" Alex asked, frightened.

"It's completely obvious what they're going to do, they're going to use it for their own ends, for greed. I can't let that happen." Kat told him, where were these wild accusations coming from?

"If you had access to such a device, would you use it?"

"Kat," Alex began, "I'm only here because I have an obligation, I owe them."

"Wrong, you owe me. I can't let Silas use the device to hurt innocent people. I'm only using it to get away from this militia, it's for the greater good that you destroy it." Kat determined. If they she was telling the truth, then...

"Why did you rescue me?" He asked.

"I need someone to blow it up, everyone else is loyal to Silas, I need fresh blood to do this."

"Fine." Alex gave in. Besides, even he didn't trust them.

"Thanks for saving me, if you're right, we need to stop this." Alex actually didn't fully trust her, especially since he would definitely die. But if she was right, he would have to do it.

They reached the main room, with a dilapidated bell-shaped device in the back end of the room, bearing the Nazi, Soviet, and American flags. This was definitely it.

"Okay, it's go time." Kat signaled him. Whatever happened, he figured he owed her this.

Alex ran over and planted the explosives after Kat entered the machine.

"You sure you know what you're doing, Kat?" Alex asked as he fitted the last explosive.

"Yes, they replaced the old German buttons with English ones, I know what I'm doing, Thank you, Alex."

With that, the machine flashed blue, then red, then in one white flash, Kat was gone.

Alex was about to hit the detonator when he heard someone yell at him.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He gasped, looking behind him, he saw Silas, he looked worried, like 'someone about to discover your secret' worried.

"Following your orders, you told me we had to destroy it, sir." Alex remembered the debriefing.

"Not here, back at the base, get the explosives off of there!" Jäger yelled.

"He knows, Jäger, why else would he destroy it here?" Silas whispered.

"Oh, no." Kat was right. And he was standing right there in front. He had to get the hell out. Now. But how could he... The Machine! He could use it and detonate it from the inside as it's in use!

More Militia ran in behind Mordecai.

"Open fire, shoot him! KILL HIM!!!" Silas shrieked

They all shot their weapons at him, he scrambled over to the machine, a few shots hitting him. Sending wave after wave of pain through him. Alex returned fire, but no amount of firepower could be enough to withstand such impossible odds

Alex heard screams of dying militia, Could that be the Task Force?

Alex then saw, in the distance... The, unfortunately, familiar visage of Agent Winchester.

He kept running away, he realized the Agent was shooting at him. And he was actually hitting his chest, continuing the onslaught of pain in his still-wounded body.

Alex got in the machine. He noticed the 'shuffle' button on the control panel inside. And he pressed the 'activate' button. 'Die Glocke' resonated a large hum, charging up to sufficient power for the transport as bullets punched inside the device's hollow interior, a few blasting into Alex, leaving him crumpled to the ground.

His vision flashed blue as he lifted the detonator to eye-level. Vertigo rushing into Alex's head and making him feel sick to his stomach. The room changed to a very bright red color, Alex felt the ground beneath him becoming less stable as he tried to stand, he pressed the detonator, making the explosives outside the hull beep one last time as the ground seemed to collapse from underneath as the resulting explosion burned his face and chest as he continued falling faster and further down the purplish hole, noticing the hole under him made it perfectly clear, he was nearing an alternate universe, being the second person (to his knowledge) to do so. Alex fell hard against the earth as the portal above him spat him out, flames burning his flesh as the portal dilated like it never was to be. Alex was safe, at least for the moment.

Alex, left with a moment to rest, finally noticed how tired he was, and how badly his wounds hurt. He needed to get to the hospital. Looking around, he noticed a town occupied by...small horses? Eh, what did he expect from an alternate universe. He needed help, bad, but in his condition, he wouldn't last long. He needed help. For the moment, he figured he should put away his gun. They probably wouldn't take to kindly to a man with a live weapon at the ready, so to get in the least amount of trouble, he should at least put it away. With the gun at his back, he went to find help, any help.

-Moments Later-

Cloudchaser left the party nearby and figured it would do some good If she took a walk, besides, her sister, Flitter, practically pleaded her to do so. Not that she would argue, it was a nice night after all, may as well enjoy it.

The two Pegasi walked side by side down the path leading near the Everfree. She liked the sounds of the forest at night, always did. The two sisters started talking.

"So, Cloudy," Flitter began.

"Yeah?" She responded.

"How's everything?" She asked.

"Everything's fine, sis, I finally got that promotion. I'll try asking them to give you the same job, we work well together, that's all I have to say." Cloudchaser informed. It was true, they did work well together, that was just how it worked, no question about it.

"What is that?!" Flitter gasped fearfully, pointing to a bipedal figure limping nearby.

"I don't know, looks like one of Lyra's drawings." She muttered that last part to herself.

"Hey, buddy, over here!" She yelled to him. To be honest, he looked like he had seen better days.

It must've heard her, because it started talking,

"Help...shot...hospital." He groaned painfully.

Flitter looked shocked. This thing was hurt. Bad.

"He needs help!" They had gotten close enough to notice he had been burnt, and was covered in some type of wound.

Cloudchaser agreed, whatever it was, it needed help. She flew over to him, grabbing one arm and instructing Flitter to take the other arm.

The two sisters flew the creature to the Ponyville hospital, doctors could hopefully help him. But one question occupied her thoughts.

"What the hell happened to you, kid?"

Author's Notes:

And that's that! Four chapters, released straight away!

Act I, Chapter 4: Out of the Ashes...

'Ow... What happened last night?'

Alex, immediately upon waking up, was in very deep pain. The events that transpired the previous night had taken it's toll on him. And, wow, it hurt!

Alex then tried to recollect just what the hell happened to him. Not with much difficulty, though not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing.

'Okay, first, the arrest, government burning my house down, killing my family..'

Those memories made it clear that maybe, just maybe, that his little 'escapade' should be kept to himself. If he told anyone, they might turn him in again.

'What else..? Winchester sadistically torturing me, the botched execution... Being recruited into a terrorist cell..' Alex agreed that being strong-armed into the Kahn Militia was far from his best moment. He wasn't sure what fate would've befell him if he hadn't joined Jäger and Kat.

'Joining the Militia in an attack against Area 51... Kat informing him of her correct assumptions about Silas... The Task Force and the Militia trying to kill me... And, what else?'

It didn't take long for Alex to realize that he was alone, in a hospital, or something. Alex then decided to get up... Which was immediately met with severe pain. Looking down, he noticed a blood-stained patch on his chest, remembering full well the origin of such wounds. And then Alex remembered.

'Getting the bloody hell away from Winchester and Silas... Using Die Glocke to escape... And getting escorted to a hospital by small, winged horses.' Alex wasn't sure whether or not that last part was a hallucination from the blood loss, but what he saw next debunked that theory...

Those same small, winged horses entering the room.

"Um...hi." Alex nervously greeted with a wave of his hand. He wasn't sure how to handle the situation. On one hand, he actually made it to an alternate universe... On the other... That alternate universe was inhabited by creatures who looked like they were from a little girl's TV show.

Looking at them again, the two small, winged horses... 'the Pegasi", he figured. Looked very similar, like they could be related, or something like that.

"Hello... Whatever you are..." One of the Pegasi awkwardly replied. This particular Pegasus had very messed up, almost spiky, whitish hair with a blue streak at the ends. Alex could tell she was having as much fun as he was. Meeting new people was hard enough, after his situation, the fact that they were Pegasi didn't help at all.

Regardless, Alex figured he may as well try and be friendly. Make it easier for them.

"I'm Alex." Was pretty much all his confidence would get him,

But, eh, it was a start.

"My name's Cloudchaser, and this," pointing to the other Pegasus, "Is my sister, Flitter."

Flitter, unlike her sister, had, green hair, swooping over at the bottom, with a bow tied on. Clearly she was enjoying this as much as Alex and Cloudchaser.

"Hi..." Flitter introduced shyly.

"I just wanted to say thank you for helping me, I probably would've died out there or something." Alex said. He figured that they did go through the effort of carrying him to the hospital, he may as well be polite.

"You're welcome, Mr..-"

"Walker, my full name is Alex Walker." Alex interrupted Flitter. Well so much for being polite.

"'Alex Walker'? What kind of a name is that? It sounds like something some idiot author came up with in, like, five seconds!" Cloudchaser said.

"Hey, 'Alex Walker' is a perfectly normal name where I come from!" Alex scolded. Although he had to kind of admit, she may be right.

"Which is..?" Filtter asks nervously. At least someone was trying to be nice.

"Yeah, where are you from, Alex?" Cloudchaser asks.

"Umm, Earth... I'm pretty sure I'm from a different universe, so good luck finding that on a map." Alex answers, rather rudely, even by his standards.

"Oh... How did you get here?" Cloudchaser inquires.

'Oh, god, this question. Alex thought reluctantly. He couldn't exactly tell them every terrible thing that happened to him. He was pretty sure they could tell whether or not Alex was lying. But he had to give them some kind of answer.

"I...um, well, you see..." Alex stammers.

A Nurse walks into the room just as he was about to answer, a white unicorn, Alex notices the horn sticking out of her head.

"Hello Cloudchaser, Flitter, and...um..."

"Alex." He replies, thanking whatever gods might have been for preventing him from answering.

"Right," The nurse replies,

"What's my situation?" Alex imposed.

"Well, let's put it this way, your head, neck, and shoulders are covered with second and third degree burns, you're also peppered with some unknown type of wound, and we found this..." she informs, holding up a small bag of what appeared to be a bullet, distorted at the end from the shot, and covered in what appeared to be Alex's blood, "..Inside one of the wounds."

"Ouch." Alex responded, stunned. "How long will that take to heal?"

"With our magic, about a week, we just need to apply some salve on your head and shoulders, and a few healing spells every couple of days and you'll be good as new."

Alex was thunderstruck. "That's it? On my world it would take a few days in an ICU for the gunshots and it would take even longer for the burns."

"Why, do you not have magic in your world?" Flitter asks.

"Not really." Alex answered.

"I'm going over to tell Princess Twilight about you. If you don't mind." Cloudchaser tells him.

"Ah... I don't know, I usually get into some type of trouble with authority figures." Alex answers nervously, remembering the FBI, Agent Winchester, and Silas.

"Don't worry about it, I think she wants something like this to happen, in fact, she's been asking everyone in town if they've seen anything." Flitter reassures.

"One other thing, nurse?"

"Yeah?" She asks

"Can I have a mirror, if you have one?" Alex inquired, he hadn't seen his reflection in months since the arrest.

The nurse levitated Alex a small, portable mirror, he grabbed it, nodding his thanks to the nurse.

Alex's eyes stayed the same, ice blue color, but he was now covered in cuts, the most prominent being the one he received from before the execution, his brownish blonde hair wasn't entirely gone, it was about an inch from being a full blown buzz cut, some of it curling a little bit. The scar Winchester had most recently given him started a half inch above where his eyebrow would be and ended at his cheek, never to disappear like the other cuts eventually would.

Handing the nurse back the mirror, he took out a small journal he'd gotten from his time in the Kahn Militia, an entry already written inside, practically asking for another, so that his experiences, unlike him, would never perish. Although this was a new world, it was hardly a new beginning.

Alex just needed to clear up a few more details.

"Where is my stuff?"

"Oh, those things? The larger object will be ready for you once you leave, we left the smaller one with you." The nurse replied, pointing to a small nightstand. The gun was still in the holster, sitting on the table.

"The doctor said something about letting Princess Twilight study it." Cloudchaser informed.

"Fine by me, I can tell her all about it." Alex responded, while there was still a good amount of ammo, he still might need more, he wondered if there was a forge so he could build his own bullets, did they even have gunpowder? There were so many questions.

"Well, Cloudchaser and I kinda have to go, It's 7:53, and we need to get to work by 8:00." Flitter realized, as if they had lost track of time.

"Oh, wow, you're right. We have to go, like now. You'll be okay, right? Cloudchaser asked.

"I'll be fine, thanks again." Alex answered, for the moment, it was probably true.

The two Pegasi left the room, leaving Alex alone again. He figured he should probably get some sleep, it would be a long road to recovery, but at least he was safe, at least for now.

A new thought entered his mind, a rather unpleasant one at that.

'What if they find me here?'

Author's Notes:

Well, here we are, the first chapter after the 4 chapter rush!
If anyone has anything to say to help me improve as a writer, feel free to comment!
(I am such a noob.)

Act I, Chapter 5: Rude Awakening

Alex was back inside his cell. Tied to a small folding chair, and very weak. No matter how much Alex struggled and pulled against his chains, he wasn't able to break free.

Distracted by his attempt at escape, he did not notice the cell door slowly creak open, or the silhouette that entered the room. Said cell door slammed shut, fully gaining Alex's attention.

"Hello again, traitor." The shadow coldly greeted as it bashed something against Alex's head. The shockwave of pain knocked him against the cold, stone floor.

The shadow turned on the one incandescent light hanging loosely above Alex, now he was able to clearly see the gun being pointed at his chest.

The dark figure stepped closer, revealing the identity of his captor.

Agent Winchester.

Alex stared in horror, what was he doing here?

"Where is the Militia, answer me, now!" Winchester threatened.

Alex tried to speak, to tell him where he had last seen them, so he could beat up some other poor sap besides him. But he couldn't.

"Typical martyrs." The Agent scoffed, placing the barrel firmly against Alex's rib cage, he fired one shot, the sound booming into his ears.

"Are you okay, wake up!"

Alex bolted up from his hospital bed, frazzled and breathing wildly. It didn't take him long to realize what just happened.

He was having a nightmare, in full view of a pony. Alex somehow figured that didn't bode well for him.

"What happened, are you okay?" The lavender pony in front of him anxiously inquired.

"I'm fine, it was just a dream." Alex reassured, more for himself than her.

"I don't think you're fine, should I come back later?" She asked.

"Now is fine, don't worry about it." He said, regaining his composure.

"Oh...okay then, Mr. Walker, if you say so.." She obviously didn't fully believe him, not that Alex particularly cared.

Alex remembered Cloudchaser mentioning someone named 'Princess Twilight', and that only the staff, Cloudchaser and Flitter, and this Princess knew about him. Oh, crap. He just had a full blown nightmare in front of royalty.

"Aren't you this 'Princess Twilight' that Cloudchaser mentioned?" He asked, from what the staff told him, the Princess was an Alicorn, a pony with both wings an a horn, noticing said appendages, this had to be her.

"Yes I am, Cloudchaser and Flitter told me about you earlier this morning. I just had to come over and meet you!" She beamed excitedly. Oh great, questions.

"Cloudchaser also said something about you wanting to study my equipment." Alex said, remembering what the Pegasus had told him in her visit yesterday.

"Oh, yeah, can I? Please?" She pleaded. Damn, she is really into this whole 'alien tech' thing.

"Why not? Better yet, I can tell you a bit about it, I only ask that you not-" Alex could hardly finish talking until the Alicorn levitated the SCAR into the air above him and dissected the thing, leaving each individual part suspended in the air, some flew over to Twilight for closer inspection.

"What is this called?" Twilight asked, levitating a Magazine towards Alex's direction.

"This is a Magazine, mag for short, people have also called them 'clips'." Alex stated, revealing what he knew on the subject.

"So which is it?" Twilight asked.

"Technically, it's a mag, but I can't tell you how many times I called it a clip by accident, it's a pretty common mistake." He answered.

"What exactly is the difference?" Twilight inquired again, at least these questions weren't about his past.

"A clip is when the ammunition is exposed, held together by a small metal band, a mag is basically a box where you put the ammunition inside yourself." Alex told her.

"...what's ammunition?" She asked, yet again.

"We'll discuss that later, just tell me the important stuff, deal?" He was getting a little tired of the 'Firearms 101' thing.

"Deal." Twilight agreed as she reassembled the gun right in front of him. Wow, it took her four seconds to do what he would in a half-hour, give or take a long ass time.

"I know you're here for some other reason then to learn about my armaments, so...what is it?" Alex asked.

Twilight cleared her throat, oh boy, this was going to be long.

"Hello, my name is Twilight Sparkle, former protégée of Princess Celestia and The Princess of Friendship, and I would like to formally welcome you to Equestria!" Damn, she seems to have done that same speech a million times! How often did alternate dimensional creatures just drop in here?

"Thank you for the introduction, Princess. I just have a couple of questions." Alex said.

"Shoot." Twilight seemed ready for a barrage of questions.

"Is there a forge near here?"

"Yes, the Ponyville forgery is about 2 miles north of here."

"Do you have any access to gunpowder?" Alex asked, for safety's sake, it would probably be best to reload, which is hard when you only have what you took with you.

"My friend Pinkie might know, she does have a party cannon, so she might know someone." Twilight answered.

"Is there much I need to worry about?" Alex inquired, he didn't want another Bohemian Grove to ruin his life here like it did back there.

Uh, oh, Twilight seemed a bit nervous about answering this one...

"Ponyville has more than it's fair share of monster attacks, and our friendship problems usually cause some type of collateral damage, plus, there's usually some threat to Equestria about once or twice a year. Sorry." She finished.

Alex was baffled that all of that could be condensed into one place. Holy hell.

"Also, where am I going to live once I'm released from the hospital?" Alex asked one last time, he was an alien, after all, he couldn't be a homeless alien.

"There should be a few places, a couple of ponies moved away after that whole 'Tirek' situation." Well, at least He had options.

Alex and Twilight continued talking for a while, until Twilight finally had to leave because of some diplomatic talks at her castle... Something like that, leaving Alex alone with some time to think.

Alex still felt a sickening sense of fear since his arrest, that only amplified after joining the militia, and more so once he discovered Silas' true colors. He still remembered what happened between him and Jäger on their way to the Militia HQ...

-Aircraft Refuelling Station, 63 miles south of Portland, OR, September 11, 2016-

"Team, we're stopping here to refuel the helicopter, we have a 10 minute break." Jäger announced. The chopper landed onto the pad with ease, Alex felt the bump that accompanied a landing.

That being said, The pilot, Kat, Mordecai, and the other personnel went into a small convenience store inside, leaving Alex and Jäger alone.

"So, now that I'm in the militia, what exactly is my job?" Alex asked.

"It's simple enough," Jäger stated, "You're going to act as infantry on our missions, the ops are usually simple, kill High Value Targets, gather intel on anything the Government has to even the odds, and weaken their military. Simple."

Alex was not entirely okay with this.

"I was just blamed for being in the damn militia and tortured for a month! Do you expect me to confirm their suspicions? I don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison or with you murderers!" Alex affirmed. Being accused of being part of a group of killers was bad enough, actually being in the group was a whole other level.

Jäger pulled a pistol out of his holster, shoved Alex against a wall, and held it in his face, switching the safety to the 'off' position.

"You listen here, you are getting a gun, some ammo, and a uniform. You want revenge on these pricks for what they did to you, don't you?" Jäger threatened, this was serious, Alex wouldn't get a say in whatever happened to him.

"Uh... Yes sir." Alex nodded, scared out of his mind.

"Good, if we get captured, they'll finish what they started, if you're even alive by then, so show some respect when someone offers you a job!" Jäger shoved the barrel into Alex's forehead, his head hitting the wall. Jäger clicked the safety back on and put it back in his holster.

"Our ten minutes is up, regroup at the helicopter." Jäger said, the pilot ran out the door with a soda bottle. Mordecai, Kat, and the other guy falling in behind him.

"Don't ever let me hear any of that again, you hear me?!" Jäger yelled.

"Yes sir!" Alex said, still fearful of what he would do if he disagreed.

"Good! Now get to the chopper, we've got places to be!" Jäger screamed again.

Alex, still stunned at what transpired, ran back to the chopper. Getting back into his seat, Alex sat down, fear encompassing his mind.

- September 13, 2016, Ponyville hospital, present day-

Alex let the events of that day play again in his mind, as he finished the small meal.

'The past is the past, it's probably a bad idea to let anyone know about that, if I do, I'll be in a crap ton of trouble.' Alex decided. Who knows what would happen to him if they found out he fought against his government, that he killed people. No matter what, this was a new world, it would be best if Cloudchaser, Flitter, Twilight, or anyone else didn't know what he's been through, they might try to help, but he considered that a very unlikely outcome.

Author's Notes:

Boom, chapter.
I know I promised a chapter dedicated around the Mag vs. clip thing, this wasn't it, but it will come up soon enough.

Act I, Chapter 6: Future Circumstances

'It's been 5 days since Alex entered the hospital.'

And frankly, Alex was quite bored, between the doctors applying the burn medicine, Cloudchaser and Flitter's regular visits, as well as constant updates from Princess Twilight, there wasn't much for him to do but sit there and think. About his joining the Kahn Militia, about Kat, about his own future.

He, once again, thought about the possibility of Task Force Crimson following him, The government had just under a century to study it, they might even rebuild Die Glocke, and finish what they started.

The door to his small room glowed golden as it slowly opened, Alex sat taller on his bed, As he instantly realized who may be on the other side. Twilight had told Alex about her former mentor, Celestia, and how they still corresponded to deal with major issues, which, for right now, was him. Some crap about being the first Human in Equestria.

The tall, white Alicorn slowly entered his room. Alex wasn't kidding about the 'tall' part. Around normal ponies, Alex would have to watch his step, for fear of tripping over them, as they stood at about 3 and a half feet, Celestia, however, was at least 6 feet tall. Alex, at roughly 5'8 was just shorter than her.

"So you are Alex Walker, My faithful student has told me so much about you." Celestia greeted, as far as rulers went, Celestia seemed quite trustworthy and kind, but not enough to fully gain Alex's trust.

"Likewise. I'm sure my condition is a bit of a concern, is it?" Alex asked, it was likely that Celestia would be more inquisitive about Alex's past.

"I must say, how did this happen?" She asked, Alex wasn't sure how to react, proud that he was right, or worried?

"Ah...well, it's quite simple, I-"

Alex could barely finish his lie when Princess Twilight burst into the room, with 5 other ponies.

"Hello, Alex!" Twilight greeted. Alex wasn't sure about these others. While he knew there was a friendship council, he had no idea who was in this council, regardless, his luck saved him from having to answer about his past.

"Hey, Twilight, These are your friends, right?" Alex asked with difficulty, the pink one was bouncing on his chest, obviously exited at the mention of an alien entering the dimension.

"Yep!" The rainbow haired one exclaimed, flying in next to Twilight.

"Um... Hi." The other Pegasus whispered, barely audible.

"Hello." Alex nervously replied, waving a hand in greeting.

The orange one in the Stenson grabbed his hand and violently shook it, Alex figured it would be best not to question how she was grabbing his hand with a hoof.

"Howdy, Mr. Alien, name's Applejack!" She smiled, still trying to dislocate it, or something.

"My goodness, Darling, you're a mess!" A purple haired one shouted, fainting as though she was looking at his old bedroom at home. Looking at himself in the handheld mirror the nurse had given him, his hair had grown about half an inch since having it singed off, but the scar was still present, his eyes bloodshot from the lack of sleep.

"Well, hello to you too." Alex muttered, rolling his eyes.

Then, the pink one started talking, her voice about as high as an Xbox live squeaker, she was talking so fast that Alex could only make out 'Pinkie Pie' and 'welcome to Ponyville party'.

The scene before him was quite chaotic, but also welcoming in some weird way.

Celestia spoke again, after some time.

"Hello, Twilight, I did not expect to see you here, or your friends, for that matter." She commented

"I couldn't stop them, they all wanted to meet him really bad." Twilight told Celestia.

"How did you get here?" The rainbow headed one asked him.

"It's easy, he found either a natural or artificial wormhole, fell in, and effectively ended up in this part of the multiverse " Pinkie answered... Okay, HOW did she know about quantum physics?

"...huh?" Applejack pretty much had the same reaction as Alex.

"No, like, how, what's his story?" Rainbow head asked again.

"I fell into a sewer and ended up here." Alex lied, hopefully, that and Pinkie's physics lesson would click.

"...A what?" The purple headed one asked again.

Alex explained to Rarity, which was apparently her name, what a sewer was. By the end of that conversation, she seemed thoroughly disgusted. Much to Alex's amusement.

"Well, I do hope you've showered." Rarity shuddered, grossed out by Alex's ruse.

"Then how do you explain your wounds?" Twilight questioned.

"I fell on the pipes, that 'projectile' were slivers of metal." Alex lied. Trying to keep his alibi as airtight as possible.

"There are still a lot of holes in your story, but I'll have to take your word for it." Twilight relented, not willing to go much more into this, probably wanted to study the SCAR more.

"You!" Pinkie pointed a hoof at the author, "What's he hiding, tell me or I'll jump right out of this computer and-"

"Who are you talking to, Miss?" Alex asked the pink horse pointing at the sky.

"Trust me when I say this, 'she's just being Pinkie Pie' is a perfectly acceptable answer around here." Twilight said.

"...Is this sort of thing normal?" Alex questioned, just then, Pinkie's tail twitched, said pony leapt off of her bed, with the other Pegasus flying into a corner as an incandescent light fell on his head.

"I'll take that as a big, fat 'yes'." Alex said.

Applejack walked over to the nightstand, picking up Alex's .44 Magnum.

"What does this do?" She asked, pointing the barrel at Alex's direction.

"Don't point that at me!" Alex took the gun from her, unloading the weapon.

"W-why, is it dangerous?" The Pegasus in the corner asked, quite frightened at Alex's reaction.

"Yes! Very!" He scolded. Why he kept that loaded all that time was beyond him, but, hey, hindsight is 20/20.

"Then, why do you have it?" The rainbow one asked.

"I'd rather not get into that." Alex responded.

Twilight levitated one of the rounds over to her for closer inspection.

"Kahn Militia .44 Remington Magnum." She read on the back of the bullet,

"The what?" Asked Rainbow.

"What's a 'Kahn Militia?" Rarity worriedly backed up.

The word 'militia' was more than enough to sent the yellow one as far back into the corner as possible, the rainbow one flying over to Alex threateningly.

"You'd better have a good explanation for this, Fluttershy is literally crying in the corner!" She yelled.

"It's just the manufacturer! It's for self defense!" Alex defended.

"Girls, can I talk with Mr. Walker... Alone please?" Celestia asked in a neutral tone.

The 6 ponies left the hospital room, leaving Alex alone with a sun goddess, and not in the best situation. This could get very messy.

"I can tell there's much more than you are willing to let on, Mr. Walker." Celestia began.

"...Am I that transparent?" Alex moaned. Clearly those acting lessons were useless.

"No, but you are a horrible liar." She said.

"...How much do you know?" He asked.

"My sister is the one looking into your dreams, ask her if you get the chance." She commented.

"I said how much do you know, with all due respect." Alex chose his words carefully.

"Listen closely, Alex, this is one of those problems that will solve itself, but I know enough to be able to tell it won't be easily solved."

Oh, crap. It's over, well, he had a good run.

"What's going to happen?" Alex nervously questioned, his fate was in the hands of a pony princess, how bad could things be, or not be?

"Like I said, this is a problem that will solve itself. I won't tell my student anything, I will put their minds at ease for you. But my help ends there, whatever happens, it is your issue." Celestia told him.

"Why?" He asked.

"I'm letting you keep your secret, Alex, so let me keep mine." Celestia offered.

"Okay, deal, but what about this... 'sister'?" Alex questioned.

"I'll ask her to not look in your dreams." She promised.

"This seems way too good to be true." Alex said with an edge of doubt.

"Do not worry. I'll do you that favor, but you must promise me something, Alex." She told him.

"Anything." He promised, anything to keep him safe for another day.

"Do not harm my citizens or my guard."

"I promise." Alex promised.

"Okay, then. I'm glad we could reach an agreement, I will talk to my pupil." Celestia finished. Now Alex had just one more question.

"How will everything work once I'm released?"

"My student used her wealth and bought you a house down the road from her castle, as well as full citizenship and personal Items. I'm sure there are jobs that may require your...skill set. Twilight also mentioned your interest in metal-working and gunpowder, so she gave you a full membership at the Ponyville Forge, and I will contact my demolitions experts. You've been given more chances than most, I advise you not waste them."

Damn, been in Equestria for 5 days and already have a job, a home, and a hobby.

"Of course, Princess." He said.

"Thank you for cooperating, Alex Walker." Celestia nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind her.

----

Alex sat alone in his hospital room, the day had already passed, and Twilight and her friends apologized for their interrogation, as promised. They then discussed how Alex may fit in. Twilight suggested that he be Ponyville's resident Mercenary, as monsters frequently made a mess of things. Pinkie then did something unusual: she moved his welcome party to after his first job, long after full recovery.

"It's the least we can do for scaring you, silly filly!" She had said in her usual squeaky voice.

Rarity was generous enough to give Alex a full wardrobe, to be finished a day after his release, free of charge.

The others offered to give him some kind of help assimilating into the town due to his being a human.

It was now about 8:59, with about a day and a half left, Alex figured he shouldn't get too worked up. He was already receiving aid from his equine benefactors, perhaps too much. Alex looked back on his past, noticing what could have been done to stop it. To know how to stop it from happening again. Yep, things seemed to be looking up for him.

But one could never be too cautious, he held his .44, placing it on his nightstand, ready to defend himself at a moment's notice.

You can take it, whatever they throw your way. You're a survivor now.' Alex thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep.

Author's Notes:

Obvious Mob Of The Dead reference is obvious.

Also, just a quick thing, what do you think could be done to improve the general story?
Leave a comment below and I'll get back as soon as I can.

[good god, almost 2000 words.]

Act I, Chapter 7: Movin' in

Alex woke up with a start, he overslept..

In his time here, Alex figured that a lot of his time would be spent sleeping, but he had overstayed his welcome, upon the realization, he bolted to the main lobby. The pain accompanying his bullet wounds was entirely non-existent, but the burns still stung a bit, so the doctors had told him not to do anything too crazy for a couple days. With that note, the first human in Equestria was released from the hospital.

Cloudchaser and Flitter immediately greeted him upon exiting the hospital. Happy to see that he had made a full recovery.

"Hey, Alex, how are you holding up?" Cloudchaser asked.

"To be perfectly honest, pretty good." Alex said, for the first time in a month or so.

"We heard from Pinkie that you were going to be Ponyville's Mercenary in residence." Flitter said, impressed.

"Apparently, I have the right set of skills for the job, how often do monsters just pop up around here?" He asked.

"More than you think." Cloudchaser admitted, "Princess Twilight usually has these sort of problems about once a week."

"What kind of things usually attack the town?" Alex questioned.

"All sorts of things, timberwolves, ursai, I think I saw some type of 'bug bear' a while ago." Flitter answered.

----

Alex walked over to a small type of house, Cloudchaser and Flitter's lunch break was over, so they said their goodbyes and flew away. Noticing the house nearby, Alex saw that the workers were already putting some large crates outside the door, a few levitating crowbars and opening them up, revealing couches and tables and things.

Alex still was not entirely sure what to think of this. Sure, first alien in Equestria was a huge frickin' dealio, but holy hell, he did not expect this kind of treatment. An earth pony in a suit walked up to Alex with some papers. The deed to the house, which he had to sign, and a few bills he had to pay by the end of the month, like the mortgage of about 44,000 bits a year. The Utility bill, about 250 bits a month, basically all that stuff that nobody tells you when you buy a house. Thank God that Monster Hunters get paid so much.

Alex noticed a small record player being unboxed alongside the extra-large bed. He enjoyed listening to music back home, hopefully they had something good here. He grabbed the medium-sized bag of bits Celestia had given him to start out, and walked over to a record store close by.

----

Alex hit his head on the top of the doorway upon entering the record store, he hoped that his hipster buddies were right when they said music sounded better on vinyl. Hey, he lived in a Portland suburb, there were plenty of hipsters around there.

"Welcome to- oh, my goodness, you're tall!" The stallion behind the desk gaped, staring in awe.

"Hi, as you can already tell, I'm new here, so what would you recommend?" Alex asked. He needed something decent, he always did, between the teenyboppers and the hipsters that flooded his schools, he needed something truly original, remembering every time that a Taylor Swift or a Nirvana song played on the school intercom. Thinking back, he didn't miss Earth's music that much.

Alex's reverie was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder, or rather, his shoulder blade. Turning around, he noticed a unicorn made with an electric blue mane and sunglasses.

"Um... Hi." He waved.

The unicorn didn't say a thing, instead, she walked a little ways deeper into the store, waving a hoof as if to say 'follow me'.

Alex obliged, following the mare to the back left of the small store, she pointed a hoof at one of the shelves, Alex looked at that particular shelf to see... That same unicorn on the cover, labeled DJ-PON3 at the top.

Alex couldn't help but chuckle a bit, shameless self-advertising, his one true comic weakness.

PON3 didn't look as amused, rolling her eyes and sighing with annoyance.

"Sorry, sorry." Alex apologized. Continuing to browse music, picking out a couple more of her albums, as well as a few others. Before making his way to the counter.

"That'll be 50 bits." The clerk said.

Alex just barely grabbed the bag when DJ-PON3 paid for him, placing 50 gold coins on the counter.

"Thank you." He said.

The mare again, did not reply, instead, she gave him a small business card, with the name 'Vinyl Scratch' typed near the top, as well as a phone number. It didn't take long for Alex to figure out what she actually wanted.

"Oh, you want to play your music at the welcome party." He concluded.

Vinyl nodded, smiling broadly.

"Well, it's the least I can do, I'll be sure to tell Pinkie. Thanks again." Alex said

He left the record store with a bag in tow. Returning to his new home nearby, the workers finished placing all of his stuff and were just now finishing.

"That'll be 400 bits, sir." The foreman said.

Alex looked in his bag, counting out 400 coins. He gave them to the foreman and went into his new home.

He had to admit, they did a pretty good job. The record player near the couch with a small shelf nearby, obviously for albums and stuff.

Alex placed one of Vinyl's records into the player. It was basically dubstep mixed in with some classical. Not much different from what he listened to back in his old world, that and Alt Rock.

Alex then figured it was necessary to go to the forge. It was a good mile away from his house, he'd better get moving, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a couple of shell casings and ran like hell in the forge's general direction.

----

About 10 minutes later, Alex walked into the small forge, a .44 and a 7.62 cartridge in his pockets as a reference.

The metalworker there welcomed him, saying if he ever needed help, to not hesitate to ask.

Alex then showed the blacksmith the cartridges. Asking how to make exact copies of those casings specifically.

The blacksmith then looked at each one, writing down exact measurements and giving them to Alex, telling him to make a mold with the casings he had, then filling it with brass, and then a crap ton of other things to do, like making a hole for the primer, hollowing out the casing, stuff like that, and then to always check that the measurements were exact. And with that, Alex got to work.

-8 hours later-

Alex made about 330 .44 magnum shells, and 690 7.62 shells, figuring he'd get to the whole primer, powder, and projectile thing soon, according to Celestia, the shipments of Nitro glycerin and magic propellant would be mailed to his house tomorrow. Then he would figure out how to build more Magazines for the SCAR and use the extras for grenades for the M203.

Alex lugged the massive haul of shell casings in a two large bags behind him. They were really heavy, and Alex knew one thing for sure, he would sleep like a baby that night.

Opening the door with his teeth, Alex placed the casings on the couch, noticing a note on his closet door. How did someone get in the house? And, on that note, who?

Alex picked up the note, It didn't take long to figure out who wrote it.

Alex,

It's me, Vinyl, y'know, from the record store? You weren't home when I stopped by.

Thanks again for promising me a gig at your welcome party, business has been a bit slow lately, and I need the money, you know how it is, right?

So, anyways, call the number on that card I gave you to let me know when the party is. And if you somehow lost it, just come over to my place, apparently, we're neighbors. I live literally right next door.

Thanks again,

Vinyl.

Alex moved the note over to his phone, and placed the card on the table, he would call Vinyl tomorrow.

Right now, he was beat. He stumbled over to the bedroom nearby and plopped right on.

Alex fully appreciated the value of a good night's sleep, the bed at the prison wasn't even a bed, he didn't get to sleep in his time with the Militia, and that hospital bed was uncomfortable as all hell, but this was actually quite soft. Wrapping himself in the flannel blanket, keeping him warm in spite of the early fall chill, and went directly to sleep. The work at the forge sapped Alex of all his energy. And, hell, given what happened to him the past month, he felt the universe owed him this one.

----

Alex was awoken by electronic music, the sound exploding from the house next door. Not the best way to wake up, sure, but it was better than torture or interrogation by visitors.

Alex looked at the clock on the wall adjacent to his bed. 6:44, it read.

Who plays dubstep that loud at 6 a.m?

Alex then remembered the record store, the note, and immediately figured out the pony responsible.

Vinyl. Who else?

Alex got ready for breakfast, these ponies didn't eat meat, apparently, so he got to work on some French Toast, cracking the eggs into a bowl and heating the pan on a stove.

Grabbing some cinnamon from a cupboard, and getting the bread, he made his morning meal quick, remembering how to make food from back on earth, thinking back, Earth wasn't all that crappy.

Alex couldn't quite get how his fridge was already stocked, or how fast that the workers set this up, he only spent a half hour at that record store, right?

Grabbing a glass of milk from the fridge, he drank the liquid in a few gulps. He didn't need to eat very much.

The rest of the morning pretty much consisted of showering, getting dressed, all that stuff. When he looked at the clock again, it read 7:23. Before any of this, he would be spending this time lazily moping around the house, while his parents all but pleaded for him to do something. But his parents were now dead, and in an alternate universe, far beyond his reach, and now he had a job? He had pretty much become an adult in the span of a month.

Then, there was just the small matter of his past. Rainbow Dash, which was apparently the rainbow headed one's name, still looked doubtful and almost vindictive at the hospital visit. She was probably the one who he should be the most concerned about. Knowing full well that people weren't made to always have to hide, or lie about their past. However, it didn't seem like he had anyone to turn to about it, and that the more time he spent around ponies, the higher the likelihood he'd let something slip, and he'd be done for.

'How will I be able to handle this?' Alex thought hopelessly to himself.

Author's Notes:

Well, boom, more on Alex's personal life besides the whole
'Tortured by the government, betrayed by rebels, and riddled with gunfire, multiverse, blah blah blah' stuff, I bet most of you were waiting for this sorta thing to happen, well, here.

Act I, Chapter 8: A Little Hunting Trip (EDITED)

Alex had pretty much nothing to do..

This was a very rare opportunity in his new life. While he hadn't once been called to hunt monsters, between planning a party that would probably never happen, and his hobby at the Forge, he had a busy life, although distant from Twilight and the others, only visiting her amethyst castle once for testing, but at least something important came out of it, that magic propellant was damn powerful, one shot from the test cartridge sent him flying backwards, now remembering to use two grains of propellant, three or four for larger opponents.

Alex himself was listening to more of Vinyl's music and reading a book he'd gotten from Twilight. He'd finished building his ammunition, rounding out at roughly 354 .44 Magnum bullets and 672 7.62 bullets, he told Pinkie to have Vinyl DJ at his welcome party, and had gotten his wardrobe from Rarity, his favorite being his hunting outfit, making him ever more eager to receive his first target.

In regards to Alex's occupation, Mayor Mare would call him, where he would then discuss with her and Twilight's council about what to do in regards to the threat, and Alex would respond accordingly. It seemed simple enough, and a very good idea, Alex couldn't say how many times he went into something without seriously thinking about it, his temporary stint with the Militia being his biggest.

Alex closed his book and finished the iced tea he had been drinking, looking again at the clock, 2:23. The day felt long enough to him, in spite of the time, and figured it was best to take a small nap, so maybe he would find some way to spend the rest of his day.

He barely got out of his chair when suddenly, the phone rang, probably Vinyl asking what songs she should play at the party. Regardless, it would be best to answer the phone, he wasn't very tired anyway. Alex picked up the telephone.

"Hello, Alex here, how can I help." He began. This was pretty much his standard intro. It worked for him.

"Hi, Alex, this is Mayor Mare, could you come over here, it's pretty important." The voice at the other end said. Oh, crap, was this his first job?!

"I'll be over there as soon as I can." Alex said with urgency.

"Thank you." Mayor Mare finished.

Alex, now giddy with anticipation, ran into his bedroom, opening the closet and grabbing his gear.

Alex first changed out of his casual wear, leaving him in nothing but his undergarments. And quickly put on the pants that were part of his uniform. Placing several magazines into the pockets. Then the undershirt, grabbing his old bandolier of grenades from the militia, and a new one, meant to accommodate the .44 bullets. Alex then pulled on the jacket, placing more mags and .44 bullets inside the pockets. Next, Alex put on his holster and put the Colt revolver inside. Alex then strapped the SCAR-H on his back, triple-checking that the safety was on and the gun was unloaded. Finally, Alex grabbed his satchel, with some water, food, and a thick cloth that would be used to keep sand out of his eyes, or to shield him from cold in higher altitudes. Finishing the look with a pair of black sunglasses, he left his home, to begin his first assignment.

----

Alex entered the city hall about 3 minutes later, and the secretaries there kindly got him into the conference room for debriefing.

"Hello, Mr. Walker, have a seat." The mayor greeted. Alex sat down, still ecstatic about his first day.

"What's the situation?" Alex asked, containing his excitement.

"We seem to have some sort of a dragon problem." Rainbow scoffed, obviously not caring about this at all.

"A dragon made it's nest inside of a cave on the outskirts of town, we've been having the same problems with it, it keeps coming back." Twilight said dejectedly.

"Where is the cave?" He asked.

"There." Applejack pointed towards a very high mountain, Alex noticed a small hole just under the summit. The Dragon's Lair, no doubt.

"Okay, what are my options?" He asked, in the time he was here. He learned that killing was a massive taboo in Equestria, pretty much a capital sin.

"When we tried this the first time, diplomacy, charm, and kicking it in the face didn't work." Rarity chimed in, obviously thinking back on that day.

"How about, I don't know, asking nicely?" He asked in a mocking tone.

Alex was stunned when he learned that Ponies, for the most part, were mostly pacifists. He thought back to his arrest, when he would've done anything to escape the 'authorities', including killing two members of the SWAT team.

"Nope! It just flew back a few weeks later!" Pinkie yelled, very close to Alex's eardrum. Ow.

"... That was right in my ear." Alex complained.

"What are we going to do? Even when I stood up to it, it came back." Fluttershy murmured desperately.

"So all I have is 'no diplomacy, charm, petty assault, asking nicely, or yelling at it'. At least we narrowed it down, any other options? Say, teleporting it away?" Alex suggested.

"That won't work. Even If I do teleport it, dragons have a keen sense of direction. All that would happen is that my magic would be drained to basically nothing and the dragon would be back a few weeks later." Twilight sighed. This was getting difficult.

"Any other ideas?" Alex asked, although killing it was, for him, the best way to go, it would be very bad for his reputation.

"I suppose we have no other option." Mayor Mare glumly concluded.

"You're not telling us that Alex is going to-" Fluttershy could barely finish that sentence before she started weeping. Oh, crap, this is serious.

"It appears so, Fluttershy. Alexander, I need you to evict the dragon, and seal away the cave." Mayor Mare replied.

"You're sending me to force out a dragon at least 5 times my size, blow up the rocks above the cave, and somehow escape the ensuing avalanche of death? Biggest middle finger I ever received." Alex commented. The mountain was huge, blowing up such a large chunk of it would mean that several-ton boulders would crush him to death if the Dragon didn't.

"You have weapons, don't you?" Rainbow asked him.

"At all times, but what the bloody hell is that going to do to a huge dragon and solid rock?!" Alex asked, almost infuriated that his request was fulfilled. Be careful what you wish for.

"I have diagrams of weak points on the dragon, the eyes..." Twilight started as Fluttershy continued crying her eyes out, with greater intensity.

"Yah do know that dragons keep a huge haul of loot with 'em, right?" Applejack questioned.

"What good is a reward if you aren't around to use it?" He asked.

"Darling, stop being such a baby. You signed up for this, didn't you?" Rarity chided.

"...okay, yes." He relented, so he would be keeping his secret to his grave... Or to his charred remains.

"We've tried everything else. If you can, find another solution." Mayor Mare sighed.

"I'll try, Is there some sort of finder's fee I have to pay?" Alex asked.

"The proper term is 'taxes', Alex." She said.

"Do your job, we'll be ready for you once you get back." Rainbow said.

"Before I go, do any of you have like a large bag? Like a huge burlap sack?" Alex asked, if Applejack was right, he would be carrying in a large haul.

Twilight tossed Alex a small, onyx-colored octahedron adorned with white markings.

"I've done studies on pocket dimensions a while back, move all the treasure into the pocket dimension and you can access it anytime you want." She said proudly.

"Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go get myself killed." Alex left the room after that.

----

Alex soon got to the base of the mountain, assessing the peak, he could take the path, but it's a lot of extra work, he could climb up there, doing the same amount of work faster, but he'd be too tired to fight. Alex decided to take the scenic route, donning the cloth, wrapping it around his nose and mouth. And pulled out the SCAR from his back, and started walking.

The walk wasn't absolutely horrible, Alex moved up the path with ease, already about forty feet or so up, but the rest of the path moved in a corkscrew type motion, leading up to the mouth of the cave. He continued walking when he thought he saw something further up the path. Alex loaded his weapon, pressing the button on the side that chambered in the first round. Now jogging over to a rockier part of the path. He looked around for the source.

"Hello?!" Alex yelled, "It's not the best idea to do this kinda crap with me!"

Alex felt something pull him to the ground, and he felt like he was being held down by a...hand?!

He looked up in horror at the sight before him.

Agent Winchester, holding a gun up to his forehead.

"You should have died in 51, kid." He contemptfully spat.

Alex grit his teeth as he saw Winchester pull the trigger, the muzzle flashed, and the figure faded away to nothing.

What he saw next was even worse.

Rainbow Dash. In full view of him hallucinating.

"You okay?" She asked, almost genuinely worried about him.

"Yeah, it's just the lack of oxygen." He lied.

"Really? We're not even halfway up the mountain." She scolded

"...Damn it."

"Why were you freaking out like that, we're you in a crime or something?" She asked.

"Why are you following me, isn't this a solo mission?" Alex questioned.

"Hey, someone needs to drag your corpse to the party." She said.

"Seriously, Rainbow, go help with the decorations." Alex ordered.

"No." She said

Well, this sucked. She caught him in the middle of post-traumatic hallucinations and she got to watch him die in a fire. Today sucked.

"You know what? Screw this, you can follow, but don't think I'm going to tell you my life story or something." He said. At this point, he was willing to compromise.

"I can fly you up there." She suggested.

"Don't trouble yourself, I have two perfectly good legs that aren't broken." Alex said.

"Are you sure? I can get you up there in ten seconds flat." She asked.

"And what if I say-" Alex could barely finish before Rainbow grabbed him and flew him to the summit. Fully aware that he was really far up.

"Buck! How much do you weigh?" She asked through the strain.

"Don't flatter yourself." He exhaled.

She got him to the summit a few seconds later, and dropped him, relieved.

"Ten...seconds...flat." Rainbow panted. She literally carried him up here. Still unnecessary, but, eh.

Alex only had to look at the mouth of the cave to tremble a bit.

"Abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Alex said to himself.

"What?" Rainbow asked.

"Just stay close." He said, walking inside.

The stench of brimstone filled Alex's nostrils as the two snuck inside, hopefully unnoticed.

Alex heard something inhaling deeply, it seemed to echo throughout the cave walls, Alex immediately knew what was about to happen.

"Rainbow, get down!" Alex yelled as he dove to the ground.

Fire swirled above Alex's head, the image of his entrance into Equestria flashing through his mind, sending splinters of pain inside his head.

As soon as the flame dissipated, Alex rolled behind a rock, pulling out a diagram of the Dragon's anatomy. Twilight had circled sensitive spots in red ink, the eyes, belly, joints...other areas. He looked at the dragon again.

It was a huge beast, crimson red scales, exhaling smoke and ash and sickly green eyes. Eyes that made the best available targets.

"Well, I'm royally screwed."

Alex fired several rounds towards the dragon's eye, the rifle digging into his shoulder as he squeezed the trigger. It seemed to work, the dragon held it's eye, roaring in agony and arching into a bridge type shape.

"Dash! Hit his belly, knock him over!" Alex yelled.

Rainbow reared back as far as she could, leaping into high speeds and punching the dragon, knocking it into an upright position.

Alex switched the SCAR's safety switch from 'semi' to 'full' and unleashed a torrent of gunfire, ripping through the beast, screeching and spewing flame. Alex then put a grenade inside the launcher, pulling the tube back.

"Rainbow, get out of the way!" He screamed. She immediately complied, flying far back as Alex fired the grenade. The magic propellant resulting in a huge, cerulean explosion. Alex continued spraying lead towards the weakened beast.

"Alex! Move!" Rainbow yelled. Alex rolled over to the right side of the cave In time to see a large fireball blow the rock he had been using for cover to cinders. Alex inserted a magazine labeled '4' to indicate the grains of propellant he used. The rifle's kickback threatened to dislocate his shoulder.

"Kid, use one of those...uh..." Rainbow seemed lost for words, but knew what she meant. Loading in another grenade into the launcher, one he called 'the big boy', which he had filled the remaining propellant into the projectile.

Alex fired the grenade, causing a much bigger explosion than the one preceding it. Rainbow then sped like a bullet through the cave, the dragon screeching in pain as rainbow flew out.

Alex funneled the rest of the mag into the dragon before pulling out the .44.

Loading six shots into the cylinder, pulling back the hammer and sending bullets screaming into the beast. The recoil was quite unforgiving, more so than the SCAR.

"Alex, grab my hoof!" Rainbow ordered, Alex grabbing the Pegasus, who was in full speed at the moment.

Alex pulled out a large kitchen knife that he carried with him in the satchel. Pointing the end towards the dragon's heart, Rainbow released him, sending him barreling into the dragon's chest. The cold steel blade burying itself into it's flesh. Using it for support, he fired six more bullets into the dragon's chest.

The dragon's screams died down to a murmur as it's body went limp and fell forwards, Alex still grasping the knife.

The dragon was stone dead.

"Woah... Y-You just.." Rainbow gasped in surprise.

"It was him or me, Dash. Maybe even you, too. On the plus side, we don't have to worry about the ensuing rockslide that would've happened if I had to seal the entrance." Alex scoffed.

Alex pulled the knife out, placing it back into the satchel. Alex rolled over, breathing raggedly, tired. Rainbow herself landed nearby and plopped down, panting with exhaustion. Alex's head turned over to the right, noticing the massive amount of gold and jewels. This would pay for more that his little house, this would be able to buy him a whole mansion!

He walked over to the haul, pulling a large bag out of the satchel. And began filling it with treasure. Tying it up once it felt full, he lifted it, testing it to see if he could carry it. The bag weighed something like 80 pounds, but it was possible.

Pulling out a flask, he placed the contents near Rainbow, who looked up at him in confusion.

"Here's your cut." He said.

"I can't-" she began.

"The water is my way of saying 'thank you'." Alex said. "But the money... Well, it's a bribe."

"For what?" She asked.

"All I want is for you not ask me too much about my past. Also, don't tell them about what happened with 'Puff the Magic Dragon' over here."

"That? Wait, you were involved in a crime?" She asked

Alex looked at her with an expression that said 'shut up for the love of god'.

"Why is this such a big deal? The whole dragon-killing, I get, but who doesn't want to talk about their life?" She contemplated.

"You're looking at him." He said as he opened up the pocket dimension, tossing coins into it indiscriminately.

"Look, I get that whatever might've happened to you wants you to lock that in your head, but you can't hide that sort of thing forever." She said.

"So?" He asked.

"...It's not your fault." She sighed

"I know that." He snapped.

"Alex, look at me... It's not your fault."

"Don't even try that, I've seen Good Will Hunting."

"It's not your fault."

"Knock it off, please."

"Okay, fine! I thought that would work out better." She relented.

Alex was nearly done moving the treasure into the pocket dimension, all things considered, she was kinda right. He was blamed for being someone he wasn't, tortured for weeks because of that suspicion, and forced into fighting with the Militia. The only thing that was, was his entering Equestria, and even that was a lucky shot.

Alex closed the Pocket Dimension, placing the black octahedron into his satchel.

"Come on, Alex, I won't tell anypony else, I'm not the Element of Loyalty for nothing." Rainbow tried.

"Who are you loyal to more? Me, a stranger that someone scraped off the street that you only knew for, how long, a week? Or are you more loyal to your friends, who you've known for, probably years? Using powers that could rival gods, which is strengthened by that resolve?" Alex questioned her. It was a completely valid argument, as Rainbow herself was lost for words. He felt bad for invoking an existential crisis on the poor mare, but she was too persistent, she would've been at this until he cracked like an egg.

Alex and Rainbow walked out of the cavern with their riches in tow.

"Do you need me to fly you down?" She asked.

"I got it. See you at the party, Dash." He said, sliding down the mountain on it's side, which was probably more dangerous.

On the way down, Alex again thought about the subject.

'How long can I keep this up? Certainly not forever if she keeps asking. But is this really the best way to cope? I have a legitimate condition, I need therapy, bad, but they'll know something's up. Why am I the only god damned person to deal with this?' Alex knew that last part was not true at all. Kat must be going through something similar. How would she react to seeing me like this? She was able to figure out Silas's plan and he didn't suspect a thing!

In the skies above, Alex noticed a streak of what appeared to be a rainbow headed for the town. No doubt it was Rainbow, on her way to tell her friends about his freaking out. This was gonna suck.

"Well, Alex, you stupid prick. Better get to that party." He said to himself. This was freaking pitiful. Regretting decisions that weren't his own.

Author's Notes:

You people probably wanted to see some more action, as that's probably what drew you into this story in the first place, so Skyrim Alex. Yeah.

[3000+ words!? How did I do that?!]

[EDIT:]

I changed some details of the story so Alex's outing was more or less of an eviction 'gone wrong' sort of thing, rather than pastel horses hiring a hit man.

Also helps to establish Alex's mindset throughout the story, more or less of a Darwinist philosophy; adapt or die.

Act I, Chapter 9: Worst...Party...Ever!

Alex Walker was bone tired.

He just fought a huge dragon alongside a winged horse, carried every last cent of the treasure haul the dragon had kept into his pocket dimension, and yet again reevaluated his decisions. All he wanted to do was sleep, but his party came first.

From what Alex and Pinkie discussed, the party would be at Sugarcube Corner, the local bakery and Pinkie's home, Alex figured it was a bad idea to have Pinkie live upstairs from the town's bakery, but hey, their choice.

Alex wondered if he could drink, hell, he was practically an adult, with a home, a vastly overpaying job, and was acquaintances with a local celebrity. All things considered, he needed this.

The bakery was not far from where he now was, complete with a 'Welcome Alex' banner over the entrance, and the whole inside of the bakery bustling with ponies.

Alex opened the door, the entirety of the town's residence welcoming him, including Vinyl, sitting behind the turntable, as promised. He sat down at one of the tables, and that one table was instantly filled, Twilight, Cloudchaser, and Flitter greeting him happily.

"Alex! Congratulations on...well, surviving!" Twilight smiled.

"What? You'd think I'd go down that quick?" He joked, smiling for the first time in ages.

"So, what was your life like before coming here, Alex?" Flitter asked, eager to hear a story of some type.

"Well, I was born in Reynold, Oregon. Lived there pretty much my whole life. My parents were wonderful people, and my father taught me everything there was to know about weapons by the time I was about 12." He started.

"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask, how old are you, anyway?" Cloudchaser asked.

"Fifteen and a half, I'll be sixteen in March." He said.

"You're only 15? And you held your own against a dragon?!" Flitter asked, bewildered.

"I can't take all the credit, Rainbow followed me up, probably would've died in about 15 seconds of that fight if not for her." He said.

"Oh, yeah, we couldn't take a chance on you doing anything drastic, so we sent her up there for you." Twilight sheepishly admitted.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that he's fifteen and killed a dragon?" Cloudchaser asked.

"Why, how old are you?" He asked.

"Twenty-two, but that's not the point!" Cloudchaser defended.

"Alex!" Pinkie yelled, carrying a tray of cupcakes.

"Hello, Pinkie." He greeted.

"Pinkie, did you know Alex here is only 15?" Asked Flitter.

"Well, duh! His voice cracks all the time!" She scoffed.

"My voice doesn't crack!" Alex said.

"It just did!" Twilight said, laughing.

"Hey, AJ, settle a bet, would you, does my voice crack?" He asked the orange pony.

"Like an egg." She giggled.

"He's as red as a tomato!" Pinkie yelled in between laughs, pointing at his cheeks.

"Yeah, bartender, the strongest you've got?" Alex asked.

"Okay, sir." He said, handing him what looked like a root beer, after one sip, he noticed that it was.

"Isn't this root beer?" He asked.

"Sorry sir, you have to be at least 18 to drink."

"Eighteen?! In my world it was 21!" He said, bewildered.

"Okay, I can make an exception. Age 21 to drink?" The bartender laughing.

"What is this? A 'pick on me' day?" He asked.

Alex looked at the door, seeing, in horror, a scene from his worst nightmares.

Four humans, all dressed in military uniforms, carrying SCARs and MP-7s, and a picture of Alex under a 'Wanted, dead or alive' caption, in bold.

Alex quietly unholstered his .44 Magnum, loading six rounds into the cylinder.

"Hey, is something wrong, Alex, you look like you've seen a ghost." Cloudchaser said.

"You could say that."

"Miss, we're looking for a Mr. Alex Gabriel Walker, have you seen him?" One of the soldiers asked Vinyl. He could just barely hear the conversation from his seat.

"Who, Alex? He's over there with the princess." Another pony said.

"Thank you." The soldier finished.

Alex waited until the soldiers could move away from the other guests, they were going to be quite pissed at him for what he was about to do.

"Cloudchaser, can you get my contact lens, I think it fell under the table."

He lied, her head was blocking his view of the soldiers, he didn't want to accidentally kill her.

"No probs, I'll look." She said, ducking down.

In the second that Cloudchaser ducked under the table, Alex pulled out his Colt, Aiming it at the soldier closest to him.

The first shot hit the Soldier right in the middle of his visor, blood splattering out the gaping hole in the back of his head as the bullet hit the wall.

The second bullet screamed into the next soldier's neck, holding his throat as he went on his knees. Gurgling and coughing blood.

"Suspect at Sugarcube corner, repeat, High Value Target is at the bakery." The third said into a transmitter as the third and fourth shots crippled and killed him, respectfully.

The fifth shot bounced off the last soldier's helmet and into the second soldier's chest, killing him.

The last bullet went into the fourth soldier's neck, grasping his neck and spluttering to the ground, choking on his own blood.

Alex immediately noticed the look of horror on everyone's eyes, a few running over to the dead soldiers, trying to help them, to no avail. He was clearly trembling, with the realization of what happened hitting him like a brick wall. His suspicions confirmed, their suspicions confirmed, and the effect of firing all six rounds, all of them four-grain.

In his fear, Alex got up, stole a walkie-talkie from one of the corpses, loaded the SCAR, and ran like all hell was at his heels, which it probably was.

The other ponies tried to process exactly what happened, to them, a newcomer, someone welcome in their home, their society killed four people, whom they knew nothing about, all carrying similar weapons to Alex's, and Alex himself didn't say a thing about the soldiers, why was he so mortified?

----

Alex ran through the streets of Ponyville as fast as his legs could carry him, trying to find which channel their COs were giving orders, all the while evading and killing more soldiers, all fire teams. Alex stole a large butcher knife from his newest kills, putting that into the satchel. He flipped through radio channels at a constant pace, and continued to do so until he heard a female voice from the other end.

"High Value Target, This is Spectre 0-1 calling on a private channel, I repeat, High Value Target, respond, this is Spectre 0-1!"

Alex wasn't sure what to think of this, Spectre wouldn't communicate on any open channels, yet she seemed to want him to answer with urgency, he figured he should respond.

"Spectre 0-1, this is the HVT, I'm all ears, over!" He yelled, shooting the SCAR as well as a stolen MP-7 at another squad. He clearly had no idea where to turn, Twilight and the others would find him any minute, if Task Force Crimson didn't gun him down first.

"High Value Target, I'm going to direct you to a nearby safe zone, follow my instructions precisely and you should make it in one piece." Spectre responded.

"10-4, Spectre, I'm currently a half-mile away from a large purple castle to the east, I'm listening." Alex responded, he needed all the help he could get right now, and if Spectre was going to turn him in, that would be her mistake.

"High Value Target, I'm picking up feeds that an armored patrol is moving in your direction, recommend you move a half- click north. What's your inventory?" Spectre asked.

"SCAR-H ACOG sight and M203 attachment and a Colt Anaconda, over!" He responded.

Alex ran as far as he could, returning fire at any Crimson soldiers who dared to attack. He really hoped that Spectre wouldn't turn out like the Militia, using him to her own ends.

"Spectre, I'm seeing helos coming in from the south, what's your recommended course of action?" Alex asked, looking at the three Apache helicopters above him.

"Stay low, move a half click more to the west."

Alex was bewildered, that led him straight through the heart of town!

"Spectre, where is this safe zone?" He asked.

"Northwest corner of Ponyville, just before reaching the Orchard. Over." Spectre responded.

"Wilco, moving west." He continued charging through the town, firing at anyone holding a gun. Alex moved on to using his .44 Magnum, the SCAR's barrel was another mag away from melting before him. Pulling back the hammer and unleashing a volley of bullets in that direction.

Dammit! A bullet zipped inches away from his hand, hitting the Colt Revolver, leaving him with a piping-hot SCAR-H and a knife.

He charged at his opponent, dodging shots from his M4 Carbine. He lunged for his aggressor's neck, jabbing the blade into his throat and stealing the gun.

"High Value Target, I just picked up some comm chatter, enemy Humvees coming your way, recommend using your grenade launcher and running." Spectre warned.

Oh, crap, they were everywhere, and on each one was a Minigun, it's barrels rotating as they sighted him in. Alex pulled out his SCAR and fired a grenade at one of the Humvees, blowing it to cinders and sending the gunner flying. Then using his M4 to pick of the remaining gunners, blood splattering the cars as he ran like hell.

"High Value Target, Crimson fire team Metal Storm moving fast in your direction, use the rooftops." Spectre ordered. Alex charged for one of the houses, climbing onto the roof without struggle. Sweet Apple Acres wasn't too far away now, just gotta jump these rooftops and avoid being spotted.

Pain! God! A red hot splinter seared into his leg, Alex had been shot!

Looking down, he noticed several men bearing M249 SAWs, absolutely tearing this house apart.

Alex returned fire, picking off two soldiers, but there wasn't much he could do without getting shot again.

"Spectre, I'm pinned down on the roof about a half click away from your quote-unquote 'safe zone'." He complained.

"Roger, friendly mortars inbound." Spectre responded. She had artillery?! That would've been much more useful when he was cornered.

As promised, a large explosion blasted in front of Alex, the house caving in as he leapt off, sending more pain into wounded leg. The soldiers pinning him down were obviously blown to bits.

"Spectre, I'm wounded." Alex said into the speaker. Limping frantically towards the safe zone, he was likely very close .

"Where are you?" Spectre asked.

"Pretty damn close to the safe zone." He said.

"I see you, popping flares at safe zone now." Spectre said. Sure enough, a brilliant red light popped up about a quarter mile away from where he was right now.

Alex dropped his M4, the shock of being shot was in no way, shape, or form a new experience, but it still hurt a LOT.

Moving as best he could with a hole in his leg, he noticed a young woman with hair as dark as the night sky waving a flare, no doubt it was Spectre, did she work alone?

Spectre noticed his difficulty, running close to him and helping him into the spider hole.

"Hello, you are Alex Walker, I assume, is that correct?" She asked.

"Yeah. Thanks for helping me out."

"Anytime, an enemy of Winchester's is a friend of mine." She smiled.

"How do you know about Agent Winchester?" He asked.

"I was his comrade from an old CIA unit, He offered me a job at Crimson as soon as it formed. When I found out the full extent of his actions, I left." Spectre sighed, as if the fact that Winchester would kill kids was new to her.

"Then why help his target?"

"I only needed to read your file once to know you were innocent. I knew it, he knew it. The only reason he didn't let you leave was because he didn't want to look like a failure, he knows if you got out, you would tell everyone what he did." Spectre said.

"I didn't tell another soul, in fact, I made myself look like a total ass in front of a potential friend just to hide it." He admitted.

"What?! Why?" Spectre seemed bewildered. Maybe he was wrong to hide it.

"I'm just scared to death of what will happen when I tell people. Murder is a condemnable crime here, I felt like if I were to talk, it would be like giving my gun to Winchester and saying 'here, kill me'." Alex said. He truly did feel like if he did talk, Twilight and the others would turn him back in as soon as Crimson got here.

"You can't always expect everyone to betray you, you have to put trust in someone." She said.

"Why the hell not? The Kahn Militia certainly felt it was a reasonable idea." Alex sarcastically stated,

"You joined them?!"

"It's not like I had much choice! It was that or die a slow, painful death!"

"Did you ever think the reason bad things happen to you is because you're a dumbass?!" Spectre chided.

"Now that you mention it, yeah." Alex relented.

"Look, I can't promise anything too fancy here, any opportunity I see to help us take down Winchester, I'm taking it. From now on, you do as I say until you can somehow get on your feet. Got it?" Spectre asked.

Now, Alex could think about this. One one hand, he was working with an ex-C.I.A operative who could slit his throat in his sleep if she so wanted, until luck finally returned to Alex's side, he was stuck. But on the other hand, Spectre was offering Alex a second chance, an opportunity to kill the man who ruined his life twice now.

"I'm in." Alex decided.

"I think that's the first smart decision you've made in a while." Spectre seemed to approve of this choice.

"What's the plan?" Alex asked.

"You hunted monsters before this, right?"

"Once, I killed a dragon, and that was today." Alex said.

"Wow, you've had one hell of a day, don't dragons have a treasure haul?" Spectre asked.

"Right here." Alex said, pulling the Octahedral pocket dimension. "Princess Twilight gave me this to put the treasure in."

"Good, I have a mission for you. You still know people who trust you, right?" Spectre asked.

"That's up in the air right now, I shot four people to death in front of all of them." Alex said.

"I figured you would say that, I need you to buy some Equestrian Steel."

"What's that?"

"It's a metallic alloy used in royal guard armor, It's damn near indestructible, but expensive."

"Why do you need this?" Alex asked.

"A suit of armor for your next missions. Imagine yourself charging through the battlefield, unaffected by gunfire and mowing down your enemies." She fantasized.

"I'm a fugitive, how am I supposed to get some?" He asked.

"I know someone." Spectre said casually.

"When do we start?" Alex asked.

"Tomorrow, I bet you need some sleep, you've done nothing all day but fight. You need your rest."

Alex looked around the spider hole, and he saw the basic minimum of living standards, two small cots and two thin blankets, a few radioes, and a hit list. A small fire lit up the room, and the only ventilation there was the door, with a few small holes drilled into it.

"One more thing, what exactly is your name?" He asked, he couldn't always call her 'Spectre'.

"Oh, I nearly forgot, my name is Karis."

"Good meeting you, Karis. I haven't heard that name before."

"It's not very common." Karis admits.

"Well, then, I'm tired as all hell, I need some rest."

"Sure, good night, Alex." Karis yawns.

"Night." Alex responds.

Here we go again, Alex thought, back to the old, unpredictable life.

----

Twilight, her friends, and Cloudchaser and Flitter sat around the table in her castle, discussing what to do about Alex, he killed at least 18 soldiers, and none of them knew why.
"Does anyone know anything about these other humans?" Twilight asked her friends.
"I just remember Alex looking really scared about something, then he told me he lost his contact lens, next thing I know, he killed four other humans." Cloudchaser searched her memory, and didn't find much else.
"I saw Alex hallucinating on our way up to fight the dragon, then he tried to bribe me into not asking about it!" Rainbow clearly felt betrayed.
Twilight scribbled down some notes on a piece of paper for her next letter to Princess Celestia.

"Why do you think he would do that?" She asked.
"In my experience, it would mean that Mr. Walker is getting desperate." A deep voice bellowed behind them.
Twilight turned around to look at the source of the voice, he was a tall, able-bodied man with brown hair, turning gray at the edges.
"Um, who are you...?" Fluttershy asked, cowering further into her chair.
"My name is Agent Timothy Winchester, C.I.A. I believe I know a thing or two about your... 'Friend'." Agent Winchester said that last word full of anger and contempt.
"Like what?" Rainbow asked.
"Alex Walker is not the man you know, he is a menace, very dangerous, and fierce in active combat. We believe that Mr. Walker was in cahoots with the Kahn Militia, a social reform group gone violent, responsible for a massacre that killed almost 2,000 people, and a raid on a recently declassified testing facility known as Area 51." Winchester continued.
"If that's true, how did he get here?" Flitter asked.
"Mr. Walker used Die Glocke, a century-old device recently acquired by our government. He used it, obviously, to escape the Kahn Militia, and destroyed it before we could follow him." Agent Winchester answered matter-of-factly.
"Alex told us he fell in a sewer, through a wormhole.." Rarity said.
"He must have told you that to divert suspicion, terrible liar, always was."
"I won't let you call my friend a murderer! He told Cloudchaser to duck when he shot your men! There's something you're not telling us!" Rainbow yelled. Even Agent Winchester was surprised to hear her defend her friend.
"Rainbow does have a point, did he kill any ponies?" Cloudchaser asked.
"It would appear not. He trusts you as much as that one," Winchester said, pointing to Rainbow Dash, "trusts Mr. Walker, and Ms. Sparkle, you, as well as all your friends are on a need-to-know basis."
"What is up with these humans always keepin' secrets all the time, it ain't healthy." Applejack muttered.
"What are you suggesting here, another 'welcome to Ponyville party, perhaps?" Pinkie says, smiling deviously.
"No. As of right now, Alex Walker is Public Enemy #1, nowhere is safe, we will send garrisons all across this land, anyone who opposes will die. If any of you pastel horses have him in custody, I will demand you turn him back in, upon doing so, he is United States Government property."

----

Vinyl walked home, head downcast, while the party was a success for the first hour or so, the guest of honor screwed everything up, for himself and his friends, she wondered how Twilight must be handling this.
Ow! She stubbed her front hoof on something, it stuck out of the ground at an angle. Levitating it with her magic, she noticed it was the weapon that Alex used to kill the soldiers. In the short time she knew Alex, Vinyl knew he wouldn't use it without good reason. She pulled back a switch and saw the cylinders pop out of the weapon. While she her job description was 'disk jockey' she also had to build highly advanced speakers all by hoof. It's not like they had huge speakers before she came along, not good ones, anyway.
Vinyl knew what she would be doing for the next week or so, she would give this gun an upgrade, DJ- PON3 style.

Author's Notes:

First off, I originally thought of naming Karis 'Akira', but then I read 'Black Ops: Ember' and, for the sake of artistic integrity, used something different.
Second, what do you think of this story, leave a comment telling me on how to do better, always room for improvement.

Act I, Chapter 10: Aftermath

'Alex, wake up.'

Karis poked at his arm for the third time, threatening to pull him out of dreamland, where at least nobody tried to shoot him dead...well...

"Come on, we won't be able to kill Winchester if you're asleep." Karis poked Alex's arm again, and again, and-

"Okay, fine! God forbid someone actually gets some shut-eye! What time is it anyway?!" Alex asked, flustered and drowsy from yesterday's several encounters. Alex killed a dragon alongside Rainbow Dash, and like an hour afterwards, got chased out of town by Winchester's goons.

"If I'm right, it is... About 0600 hours." Karis answered, looking through a hole leading to the outside world.

"You woke me up at 6 a.m?! Need I ask?"

"We'll be meeting up with one of my contacts in about a half hour, I advise getting on some different clothes. I have some here." Karis tossed him a small bag, they seemed to contain some olive colored cargo pants, a t-shirt, a camo jacket, and a balaclava. Alex acted accordingly, fear of Karis killing him if he didn't overriding the general awkwardness of changing in front of a girl, lord knows he's had plenty of that when Rarity sized him for clothes.

"Who is this contact, anyway?" He asked.

"She's sort of the treasure hunter-y type. She would do anything for whatever you have in that 'pocket-dimension' of yours." Karis replied.

"Where do you find these people?" Alex felt like he shouldn't even need to ask that.

"Everywhere, you meet a lot of weird people in the CIA." She replied, almost casually, as if that sort of thing happened all the time.

A dark thought crossed Alex's mind, Applejack lived around here, what if she found their hideout?

"What if someone, or worse, some pony, sees us walk out from the underground?" He asked.

"I've got you covered." Karis said.

She led Alex down a hole, and a tunnel that seemed to go on forever and ever. Barely able to see anything.

"Where the hell did this come from?"

"What do you think I was doing while you slept?"

"Planning the best time to slit my jugular?" He asked.

"You really aren't the trusting type, are you?" Karis asked.

"Weren't you with that Winchester psychopath?" He retorted.

Karis didn't say another word until they reached an incline, pushing up on whatever was there, Alex was nearly blinded by Celestia's piercing light.

"Ah! My eyes!" Alex yelled, unable to see much with the sudden change of light.

"Your eyes will adjust, you big baby." Karis seemed annoyed with Alex's noobishness.

Karis and Alex must have waited for hours until a yellowish Pegasus with a monochrome mane and tail stalked out of the Everfree before them.

"Hello, Daring." Karis introduced calmly.

"Well, well, well. if it isn't Ms. Karis Thorne, I was wondering if you'd show up at all, who's the kid?" 'Daring' asked.

"Don't mind him. Remember the deal?" Karis asked.

"I believe it was '500,000 bits for 500 five-by five sheets of pure Equestrian Steel'. The most top quality metal I could find." Daring replied.

"Show me the goods, first." Karis demanded.

"Okay, miss. Brutus!" Daring yelled.

A large Minotaur the size of a two-story house started piling the metal sheets before them, putting a small one foot by one foot square at an angle. The metal was almost a gold-ish copper mash up. From what Karis told him, the stuff was very malleable when heated up, and very difficult to punch through at room temperature, making it ideal for armor and weapons.

"Kid, can I borrow your gun?" Karis asked.

Alex handed Karis the SCAR-H that he still carried with him. Karis then clicked off the safety, loaded a mag, and fired the whole thing into the little metal square. The bullets flew off the metal like raquetballs, bouncing off the metal square and hitting the dirt around it.

Karis handed him back the SCAR, quickly placing it behind his back once more.

"You've got yourself a deal, Ms. Do. Kid, the pocket thingamajig!"

Alex opened up the pocket dimension, the portal opening an 8 by 4 foot rectangle, looking like the night sky inside the pocket dimension, and, of course, the massive amount of gold, jewels, and other assorted riches inside.

Daring pulled out a large bag and walked inside the dimension, hearing the clatter of coins filling up the bag, Daring walked out after about two minutes of being inside.

"Glad we could do this without much trouble, Brutus, you and Karis' little friend get the metal inside that hole!" Daring ordered.

Alex moved over to the pile, where he and the Minotaur started lifting the steel. They came in reams of, like, fifty. And even though it was supposed to be lightweight, it was still rather heavy.

This went on for about five minutes, by the time they got the last ream of fifty inside, Alex felt really tired and sore.

With both parties satisfied, Karis and Alex left. Going back in the hole.

"So, kid, you knew a blacksmith, right?" Karis asked.

"Yeah, I think his name was Hammering Sickle, or something."

Alex responded.

"Was he at that party?" She asked again.

"Actually, no, his anniversary was that night, he couldn't make it."

"Good. I need some tools to get to work on this armor."

"You're building the armor?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, I already know all of your sizes in clothes?" Karis responded.

"How?"

"While you were whining like a wuss at the tunnel, my A.I did a diagnostic on your dress sizes."

"A.I, why do I feel like this is turning out like Red vs. Blue?" Alex asked.

"Red vs. Blue; a web series developed by Rooster Teeth, starting out in 2003 after the release of Halo: Combat Evolved and still on-going." A small voice coming from Karis' wristband said.

"Who is that?" Alex asked.

"I am the A.I program known as Veil; developed by the Central Intelligence Agency and designed specifically for Field Operative Karis Victoria Thorne on September 25, 2015."

Alex was astounded. Sure, they had things like Evie or Cleverbot, but nothing as advanced as this.

"Veil, why isn't Karis getting any armor?" Alex asked.

"Agent Thorne's position is in Logistics, Weapons design, and assassinations. Not for active combat. You, however, seem to have a natural ability to fight, and will benefit the most from wearing this armor." Veil said.

"Karis Victoria Thorne? That's your full name?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Karis says.

"Notable Missions on Agent Karis V. Thorne include overseeing the assassination of former Kahn Militia leader Viktor Rutherford Kahn in 2014, assassination of Syndicate leader Anthony Vincent, and-"

"That will be all, Veil. Alex, get to Hammering Sickle." Karis orders.

"Will do." Alex said, getting back in the main hole and leaving.

----

Alex got to the Forge a while later, panting in exhaustion, he had to run, for fear of being discovered.

"Hammering! I'm here!" Alex panted.

A heavyset stallion with a black goatee walked out of his office.

"Ah, Alex! You are here! I did not expect to see you! I thought the humans killed you!" Hammering said in a thick Russian accent.

"What, you heard about that?" Alex asked.

"Da. Do not worry, I do not trust the Agent or his men." Hammering said.

"Thank you, listen, there's this girl-" Alex began.

"Listen, when Mare and Stallion love each other very much-" Hammering interrupted.

"Not like that! She wants to use the forge!" Alex yells, in embarrassment.

"Oh! My bad! Of course she can use forge! You are nice guy, she probably nice too. What will she work on?"

"She's building a suit of armor with Equestrian Steel." Alex said.

"My! How expensive! But if she need help, I will not hesitate to assist" Hammering assured.

"Thank you, sir." Alex said.

"No need to thank me. I am just doing my job." Hammering said.

"Okay, her name is Karis, she's got incredibly black hair, a bit taller than me, and a bit of a- never mind."

Alex didn't want to finish that last part, she was apparently some kind of master of stealth.

"Okay, Karis, beautiful name." Hammering says.

"Thank you." A voice says from above.

Karis dropped down between Alex and Hammering.

"So you are girl Alex is talking about! Very nice to meet you!" Hammering says.

"Likewise. Alex, we have to go, someone called Crimson, we gotta go!"

"Oh, crap! The Task Force!?" Alex asked in bewilderment.

"Go out back, I handle Agents." Hammering says.

Karis grabbed Alex's hand and they ran to the back, the door led to an alleyway that they would easily escape into.

"Hello, newcomers! Would you like to work in shop? Maybe an extra something for your boss?" Hammering asks, distracting the Death Squads.

--POV Shift: Vinyl--

Vinyl continued tinkering with Alex's weapon. Beautifully designed, but left wanting in firepower. Vinyl then thought of something, suppose this called for a new propellant entirely, and she knew just the one. Sound.

She heard of nerds at home making ridiculously small speakers and condensing them into one super speaker, Vinyl herself used that technology, and the holes the bullets were meant to go into were just big enough to place six into them, but something like that required mass quantities of power to make a bullet fly fast enough to do some damage. So maybe in the middle, she could condense some of her own magic into an infinitely producing power source, though it took some very powerful unicorns to pull that off. No matter what, this gun was going to be badass by the time she was done!

Looking back at her unfinished masterpiece, she had spray painted an eighth-note logo in white on the grip, added some glow-in-the-dark purple lighting for the rear sights and some thing similar in yellow towards the front. The cylinders were also painted in luminescent, light blue paint. The barrel was also switched from a 6 inch barrel to a 7 inch barrel, to improve accuracy. Looking back at her sketches, the cylinders would have the setup in the back, the high powered speakers in each cylinder, and the generator right in the middle, for this to work, there wouldn't be any casings, just the bullets, so whenever one needed to reload, Alex would only need to drop six bullets, or 'caps' as she called them, into the front of the cylinders, where they would be magnetically held in. Oh, yes. Things were certainly coming together.

--POV Shift: Karis--

Karis entered Hammering's establishment, it was dark now, and Alex was so chock full of questions, they talked all day, about her occupation, her partner, everything! He was rather inquisitive to say the least, unfortunately for her. He had no idea about what really was going on. She pitied him, she really did.

"Hello, Ms. Karis, ready to get to work? May I help?" Hammering walked in.

"Huh? Oh, sure, I just need to know where everything is." Karis innocently replied.

"Oh, sure! The blowtorches used for Equestrian steel are over there, the hammers by the iron bars, and the protective gear is right by my office."

"Thank you." Karis said.

Grabbing everything she needed, Karis set out to work.

"Veil, put up model...5." Karis ordered.

"Right away, ma'am." Veil said.

A hologram instantly popped up in front of her, a perfect scale on Alex's physique. Also in front were the several pieces making up the armor. This, according to Veil, was the best jack-of-all-trades armor. Good maneuverability, brilliant all-round protection, and looked pretty damn cool to say the least.

Karis suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder blade, interrupting her intense focus. She turned behind her to see a white unicorn with an electric-blue mane and tail with purple sunglasses.

"Can I help you?" Karis asked.

"Do you know what the best metal is for, say, projectiles?" She asked.

"Well, Lead is a perfectly suitable projectile metal."

"Anything else in mind? I need a magnetic metal that can fly really far when shot out of a gun." She said.

"How about iron, it's magnetic, cheap, and pretty easy to manipulate." Karis said.

"Wow... Thank you. Alex is really going to be happy when he sees this."

"Alex, as in, Alex Walker?" Karis asked, thunderstruck.

"Yeah, he paid me for a gig at his welcome party, well, before it all went to hell." The unicorn said.

"I'm helping him too. Mostly because he's helping me with something." Karis said

"What?" The mare asked. She seemed a bit nervous, as if she hadn't been expecting to talk this long.

"It's a long story." Karis responded.

The two talked for a little while more. Vinyl, as she was called, had made a few hundred metal caps that looked like bullets before fitted with the cartridge. As for Karis, she finished making the boots and greaves, nearly done making the codpiece.

"It's been nice talking to you." Karis said "But I really need to get back."

"Same here, it's almost sunrise already." Vinyl groaned.

"Bye."

"Oh, uh, see you around." Vinyl waved her goodbyes and walked out the door.

Karis herself had a bit of time to think. Alex had a difficult time trusting people, and for good reasons, her old comrade had tortured the poor kid for a month after killing his parents so he wouldn't look bad, the Militia betrayed him for their own ends, seeing him as merely an expendable kid with nowhere else to turn. And when he was closest to actually being accepted, Winchester screwed him over a second time. Alex was not ready to know what is actually going on, and he may never be ready, but at this rate, it's just a matter of when. She knew that killing Winchester would not solve everything for him, there is too much going on behind the scenes. She just hoped that the CIA would at least do this final favor for her.

--POV Shift: Unknown--

"Ugh... Where am I?"

A man in a red and white leather jacked groaned as he stumbled up from the dirt. Pulling out his AP Pistol and aiming it anywhere that felt unfamiliar.

He walked backwards and felt his leg scrape against something. Turning around, he picked up a brown and white owl mask, complete with large, yellow eyes and a sharp-looking beak. He put on the mask, looking for any of his friends.

"Ow...shit. What the hell kinda glitch was that?" A man in a light blue hoodie wearing clown makeup grumbled in pain. He slowly staggered upwards, slipping on a hockey mask, complete with red markings that looked like lightning bolts on the cheeks and eyebrows of the mask, pulling out a hatchet.

"Delirious, where the hell are we?" He asked, looking around at the mess of unconscious bodies.

"I don't know, Vanoss, when the hell did GTA 5 turn into freaking H1Z1?" Delirious asked.

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered, 'my name Jeff'." Vanoss said, laughing as he remembered that game.

"Yeah, but seriously, we should build some shelter, before zombies come and eat our faces or something."

Just then, out of the darkness, a voice that sounded like it was coming from above them landed just out of sight.

"Hey, who are you?!" A brash, angry voice asked from what seemed like nowhere.

"AAAAAAAH!!! ZOMBIES!!!" Delirious screamed, running around until he hit a tree.

"NOOOOO!" Vanoss shrieked as he put a pistol up to his head and shot himself, before his corpse blinked three times and disappeared.

A few other humans, obviously soldiers, walked around, getting a good look at the scene before them, eight men were unconscious in the forest and the other two...reappeared right in front of them.

"Stay where you are! Put your hands up!" One soldier ordered, the man had a two patches on his right arm, one a red hawk-like bird, and the other a cloud, shooting out a red, yellow, and blue lightning bolt.

"Hey, what do you call a magic owl?" Vanoss asked the soldier in front of him, the yellow eyes staring daggers into the man.

"God damn it! I already have thousands of that joke on my twitter, you dick!" Delirious groaned, knowing full well what was about to happen.

Vanoss himself pulled an AK-47 from out of nowhere, and finished his joke.

"HOO-DINI!"

The soldier was completely unprepared for the onslaught of gunfire that ripped through him. Vanoss shot a full extended mag's worth of bullets into him, reloading as he fell to the ground, dead.

Delirious pulled out a hatchet, burying it into another soldier's head before violently yanking it out and repeating the act two more times.

"I'm the real Delirious, bitches!" He yelled as he yanked the now bloody hatchet from the corpse.

"Uuugh... What are you two idiots doing?" Asked a man wearing a pig mask and a white motorcycle helmet, as well as a fluorescent green hoodie and similarly colored undergarments.

"Aaaugh. Arnold needs a nap really bad." Another man groaned, in an obviously bad Austrian accent.

"Zzz. Cockatoos..." Snored another man, wearing a pink polo shirt in an albeit extremely racist accent himself.

The remaining soldier had to stop himself from laughing his ass off, but still terrified of what would happen to him.

"Honestly, can you guys shut up? I'm trying to sleep you fockin' pricks." A man wearing a paper bag, a green button-up shirt, and an adult diaper whisper-yelled.

"Okay, fine, Jesus." Vanoss nonchalantly pulled out an RPG and aimed it at the last soldier.

"This is how we do it in Team Canada!" He yelled again, blowing the soldier into a pile of ash.

"Good job, Evan, now can we go back to sleep?" Another man asked, agitated beyond belief.

"Okay, fine, Marcel." Vanoss relented, passing out after finishing that sentence.

Only one other pony now knew of the existence of these men. That mare hid behind a cloud, peering into that scene, unable to look away.

The one, the awesome, Rainbow Dash.

She knew of other humans. The first one seemed scared to death, none of them knew why, the others, they were after him, and they wouldn't say why.

But these guys, they were something else entirely. She knew she was supposed to let Agent Winchester know about these men, but she figured she should only entrust Twilight with this information. It wasn't treason, it was just... She didn't know what this was anymore. The job for her was simple; be awesome, zap villains with her combined strength with her friends, maybe reform them, but now, with all this...complexity, all this being kept in the dark. This was too much. Now Rainbow herself had her own secret.

And she was not above keeping it.

Author's Notes:

Yeah, remember when I said the crossover tag was for future events in the story?
This is only a glimpse. I may lose a huge amount of my audience in doing this, but there is also a chance this could help things. We are dealing with multiple universes after all.

Act I, Chapter 11: The Canterlot Raid: Part 1

The past week spent with Karis had been turblent to say the least..

And Alex enjoyed absolutely none of it.

He still suspected that Karis might betray him, that their hideout would be discovered. That either Twilight, Karis, or Winchester may be the ones to take what little of his life was left. The nightmares had gotten much, much worse. Now featuring his former equine allies, and Karis. It was never a good feeling to not trust anyone, but he more or less got used to it.

At the moment, Alex had an iron grip on the SCAR-H, Alex's only remaining weapon, loaded and ready to kill in an instant, Karis was out doing god knows what, leaving him alone and very afraid. He wasn't sure what was worse for his well-being, Karis being gone, or not.

"I'm back!" Karis yelled from the other end of the tunnel she dug, leading to the very edge of the Everfree. Karis pulled out the pocket dimension emitter from her pocket, she had been taking that thing with her everywhere, what she was doing, he could only guess.

"Hello, Karis. How was your trip?" Alex asked.

"Well, Alex, first off, I have a gift for you." Karis beamed. This was unsettling, Karis never seemed visibly delighted, or even pleased. To see her like this was unthinkable.

"You're serious?" Alex asked skeptically.

Karis opened up the pocket dimension, and brought out multiple pieces of the Equestrian Steel, Alex assumed it was the armor.

"Allow me to introduce... The Goliath Mark. V armor, capable of full maneuverability and speed, while providing an impenetrable defense against bullets, knives, even Magic."

Alex looked at the chest piece, it was remarkable, Karis was one hell of a craft maker. The piece was adorned with silvery markings, standing out amongst the overwhelming gold-ish copper color, a marking of some type of skull at the front.

Alex put on the chest piece, to his surprise, he hardly felt any weight, maybe a little...

Next, he put on the Shoulder plates and the Codpiece, the shoulder plates also featuring a skull on each one, the codpiece was pretty standard.

Then, Alex put on the shin pieces, elbow pads, wrist pieces, gauntlets, greaves, and boots, leaving Alex with substantially covered and protected throughout his body.

"Wow, this is actually really good! Thank you, Karis." Alex respectfully nodded to her, smiling as best he could.

"There's more good news, Alex." Karis said excitedly.

"What, you found Winchester?"

"Yep! He's in Canterlot right now, overseeing a garrison transfer, probably to augment the regular guard."

"Wow, what's your plan?" Alex asked.

"DJ-PON3 is going to Canterlot with Twilight and her friends to keep anyone from disturbing the full transfer. But you're not killing him." Karis said.

"What?" Alex asked, that was their end goal, was it not?

"I received word that some sensitive files were being transferred with Winchester. You find them, get the word out that Winchester can't be trusted, and get the hell out."

"How the hell do you expect me to do that?" Alex asked, with a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"The train Ms. Scratch is going to Canterlot in will leave in roughly an hour. Sneak onto the train, hide yourself inside the luggage, let the men sneak you in so you won't have to."

"And...?"

"In case you're discovered, I advise wearing the Armor. You'll be protected from most, if not all, damage that will normally kill, but if you can? Sneak out, the next train leaves tomorrow that morning. You'll have to hide in the alleyways, the streets, anywhere." Karis orders.

"And you'll be doing what? Sitting pretty in your little cave while I go out and die?!" Alex questions, bewildered.

"Just do what I tell you, it worked last time, didn't it?" Karis retorts.

"Fine." Alex coldly replies. He nearly walked out the door when Karis whistled at him.

"You may need this!"

Karis tossed Alex what looked like a helmet, the eyes seemed to have a yellowish glow to them, the eyes were jagged and uneven, but symmetrical at the edges, like that guy's mask from the E3 2015 Star Wars Knights of the Fallen Empire trailer, there was no mouth, only holes for breathing.

Alex nodded his thanks again, grabbing his Battle Rifle and putting on the Helmet and mask before walking away, possibly forever.

----

He waited at his spot two miles north of the train station, waiting for the train to pass so he could sneak on unnoticed.

Alex had waited in that same spot for a while now, it was noon when he got there. Alex was alone with his thoughts until he heard a loud horn and a distinct chugging noise.

The train! Alex bent down as the train whizzed past his visage, waiting for the best moment to climb on... Almost... Now!

Alex nearly slipped and fell off the train, he headed for the luggage cart, still hanging off the side, just under the windows. This went on until Alex found what he was sure was the cart.

Climbing in through the window, Alex looked around for any and all guards that may be attacking him, to his surprise, there were none. Just boxes of audio equipment that he assumed belonged to Vinyl. He looked around for a compartment that looked to be his size and snuck in, letting the dark envelop him.

Damn! He heard hooves clopping his direction, this was definitely a pony in here. And by the sound of it, the horse was getting closer. Alex braced himself for the onslaught as the compartment door opened, revealing a very familiar white unicorn with magenta sunglasses.

"Vinyl?" Alex whispered. She seemed to know who he was, even without seeing his face, why, he didn't know.

Said unicorn smiled at him, nodding as she ruffled through a saddlebag. She pulled out what appeared to be his .44 Magnum, but very heavily modified, featuring some glow in the dark paint jobs and extensions of the barrel, it looked badass to say the least. She levitated the new weapon over to Alex, picking it up to look at the gun more closely.

Then, she handed him a few bags of what appeared to be the bullets, no casings, just bullets, Alex took them, realizing that the gun was no longer set to accommodate regular .44 bullets, instead, they were replaced by...speakers?

He would have to find out how that worked later, he had a job to do.

"You aren't going to give me away, are you?" Alex asked. Vinyl shook her head, closing the door in front of him. Alex put the SCAR on his back, he would have to try out this beast of a gun once the mission started.

----

The soldiers placed Alex's hiding spot among the rest of the equipment, leaving as soon as their job was done. Alex slowly crawled out of the confined space of the spot. Looking in the direction of the castle, which wasn't far at all. He lowered to a crouch and moved as fast as he could.

Alex hid behind several corners and walls, realizing that stealth was a massive pain in the ass, he wasn't even inside yet!

Groaning in dissatisfaction, he snuck up behind a human soldier, brandishing the butcher knife he stole on his escape. Covering the soldier's mouth before stabbing the blade into his neck. Killing him almost immediately before dragging his body away. Hiding it in a nearby bush.

Alex was inside now, the fear of being found out was not new, so it didn't affect him as badly as it could have. Sneaking past royal guard ponies and killing any human soldiers in his path. He had to be close by now. Eventually, Alex made his way towards the archives, which were apparently top-secret to anyone. Alex was able to get inside using a key he had stolen from one of the many corpses. The door slowly clicked open, so Alex could wall inside.

Alex wandered around more until he noticed a small guard patrol, he had been seeing more ponies than he expected here, he thought they were all at the concert with Twilight and the others, who he knew 100% that they were there. Regardless, he made a promise to Celestia about not killing any ponies, he may as well keep some promises. Besides, it would result in less confrontation if he was somehow discovered.

He snuck around the archives, stifling his way through several archaic spells and runes until he came across a Manila folder bearing the seal of the CIA.

He opened the folder and found his picture, along with a physical description and a bio.

Alex flipped through several pages, including a picture of the Kahn Militia Logo, Die Glocke. Jäger, the man he was mistaken for, and, the big finish.

'Alex Walker stands accused of Perpetrating the Bohemian Grove Massacre of July, 2016. There is no evidence that Walker was even involved, however, the Agent responsible for his capture still believes Mr. Walker is a valuable source of information on the attackers, despite not providing any new knowledge.'

Bingo! He placed the files into his pocket dimension, using a 1 inch by 1 inch square of Equestrian Steel as a paperweight before heading back out and closing it. Placing the octahedron back into the duffel bag, he snuck out of the archives, hearing two voices talk about something.

"I know that, princess, but he is dangerous!" One voice said.

"I have seen into this young man's nightmares! You've irreversibly damaged him!" The other retorted.

Alex listened closer, were they talking about him?

"Good. With nowhere to run or hide, the fear will cause him to turn himself in." The first coldly discussed.

"Fear is unpredictable, the boy may just kill you to spare himself!" The other defended.

Alex looked for a place to run or hide, only to run straight into...

Agent Winchester and who he assumed was Princess Luna.

Well, crap.

Luna looked surprised at the sight of the armored man in her castle, but saw that she seemed to notice the immense fear and pain clouding his mind. She flew off somewhere, he didn't know why.

Agent Winchester merely looked angry and pulled out his P226, and kickedAlex away.

"All soldiers, HVT is inside the castle!" He yelled into his microphone.

Alex ran away from the scene, only to be met with more soldiers going in a straight line down one hallway, and another, and another.

Eventually, Alex was surrounded by Winchester's men, all bearing SCARs, MP7s, M249s, anything and everything

"Open fire!" Winchester commanded.

The gunfire rang out indiscriminately in Alex's direction, feeling almost nothing and hearing the projectiles plink as the hundreds of bullets bounced off of his armor, a few even hitting the soldiers. Smoke filled the intersection as more soldiers kept firing every last bullet at their target.

Alex, dazed but unharmed, stood up, pulling out the .44 Scratch, as he preferred to call it.

"My turn."

Author's Notes:

Well, a one chapter gap between two battles and a full overhaul on Alex's arsenal.
Leave a comment below, feel free to tell me what you think could be done to improve the story in any way, basically:
Constructive Criticism is very highly recommended.

Act I, Chapter 12: The Canterlot Raid: Part 2

"My turn."

Alex was currently surrounded by Winchester's soldiers at the Royal Castle in Canterlot. Alex went there to steal some sensitive CIA documents about his imprisonment, which were now in his possession. Now for the tricky part;

Getting out alive.

Alex pulled out the .44 Magnum that Vinyl had modified for him, which he now called the .44 Scratch, in honor of the mare who had gone through the trouble of fixing it and revamping it. He raised the new weapon in the direction of a cluster of soldiers, pulling the hammer back as he found his targets.

BZZZZZOW!

The weapon produced at least thrice the recoil of the original gun, even when using 4 grains of magic propellant. The iron bullet burst out of the gun, producing a visible sonic boom, and it left a thin trail of lightning behind the projectile. As for the soldiers, they were blown away, all 5 of them, dead. Leaving only the still-echoing sound of something similar to a gunshot combined with a dubstep bass drop.

Alex ran as fast as he could down the hallway containing the corpses of his attack, with more soldiers firing their weapons, making a slight plink every time a bullet hit his armor. Firing another round of the .44 Scratch. Killing more and more soldiers.

Where could Alex go? Soldiers were pretty much everywhere, occupying each hallway as Alex continued to move. Trying to head towards the main entrance. It wasn't the best way to go, but he was running low on options. More soldiers popped out from the direction of the entrance, blocking Alex's path and shooting at him. Alex fired the .44 Scratch again and again in attempts to thin out the crowd.

Where else? Maybe there's a back exit of some type. But again, soldiers occupied the halls of the castle. How many soldiers were there in this damned death trap? Alex reminded himself to flip off Karis if he survived this. It was about then that Alex figured he should try going out through a window.

Nope. Bad plan. Celestia would be pretty mad if she found out that Alex jumped through one of the very expensive windows. Sure, he could pay for it, but that would drain the wealth in Alex's pocket dimension entirely.

Where else?! Alex was starting to worry. These A-Holes were everywhere, all of them shooting their weapons at him.

Ow! A bullet punched through the armor! It must've worn out since these guys were firing at him nonstop. The wound wasn't serious. It hadn't even broken the skin!

Alex reloaded his .44 Scratch for what was quite possibly the third or fourth time. The weapon blasted away many of his foes in just a few shots, but the sheer firepower was proving tiresome for Alex, and downright painful, this thing could break something!

Pulling out the SCAR, he fired a grenade out of the launcher into a group of soldiers, blowing them back to the Stone Age. He fired about 11 rounds into the next group in front of him, slaughtering them. Alex then ran towards a long staircase. He figured it was that or die down here. He ran up the stairs, closing the wooden door behind him. As Alex ran up the stairs, he saw more of Winchester's men.

"HVT spotted going up the stairs!" One soldier reported.

Alex shot him first, right in the neck, blood oozing out of the wound and choking him to death. The other soldiers returned fire, a few more rounds piercing through his weakened armor. The hot red metal burning him from inside his chest and leg.

Alex looked out the window and saw something that made him wet himself a little.

A large, blue hued energy wave, coming right for him!

Alex leaped out of the way as the energy obliterated everything behind him in a blaze of dubstep. Looking down, Alex noticed a group of soldiers, kinda far off from the main party, with a large speaker connected to it.

Alex ran for his life as the beam followed him. Shooting and killing a couple more soldiers, Alex looked up the staircase. Damn, how high up was this?!

From there, one of two things happened;

1: The soldiers broke through the wooden door, and were ganging up behind him.

2: Another beam shot out behind another group of soldiers further up the stairs

Alex had to think about this, he could retreat, but what good would that do? Or he could fight his way up, shoving the soldiers into the beam.

He went with the latter.

Alex charged for the soldiers, the men shot him with pistols and machine guns, while Alex kept Sparta-kicking, uppercutting, or whatever he could to throw the soldiers into the beam. Then, for some reason, the beam stopped.

Using this opportunity, Alex sprinted up the stairs, occasionally turning around and shooting them, until...

The SCAR blew up in his face. His one untouched souvenir from the Militia was destroyed right in front of him, the projectile blowing up the barrel of the gun. Desperate, he threw the gun at the soldiers, hitting one in the leg as the others kept shooting, further weakening the armor.

Alex came across a locked door, shooting it with the .44 Scratch, he smashed the door open. Alex got a pretty good view of the concert from up here, but he was cornered.

The soldiers ran through the door, Agent Winchester falling in close behind.

Alex could end this right now! He aimed the .44 Scratch directly at Agent Winchester's neck, a more painful way to go, cocked back the hammer, and-

*click*

No ammo!?

*click*

*click*

*click*

"... Well, this is embarrassing." Alex muttered.

The soldiers and Winchester fired another torrent of bullets at Alex, forcing him to run towards the railing and leap off the edge, screaming bloody murder on the way down.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Out of practically nowhere, a cyan blur picked up Alex before he could reach terminal velocity. Alex looked to the left to find out the identity of his savior.

"R-Rainbow Dash!?"

Alex was horrified. She had been the one to follow him up the mountain to fight that dragon. He hadn't seen her since that day. Alex then noticed that she wasn't flying him back up the castle perch to turn him in, if not that, then what?

Alex had another moment to rest. Looking at the vast plains intersecting north of Ponyville and west of Canterlot. The sun was just beginning to set as the day prepared for the arrival of the night.

Rainbow lowered him to about ten feet above the ground.

And dropped him.

The impact sent more pain to his wounds and tired muscles. Grasping his leg, he staggered up to find Rainbow glaring at him.

"What the hell was that?!" Alex asked in disbelief.

"I should be asking you the same thing! Killing four of your kind in front of everyone, attacking the castle, not telling us anything!" She stared daggers at Alex, who was still very afraid of what would happen to him.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe there are some things you shouldn't know? For god's sakes, show some restraint!" Alex retorted.

"Alex! You've been hiding something since you got here, I can tell! There's no use hiding what you did in Bohemian Grove!"

So Winchester fed her false information. He did kind of see this coming, but he started to get angry at the suggestion that Winchester lied to them, and she believed it.

"Do you honestly think that's what happened," Alex began, growing more and more enraged by the second. "Do you really believe that I would do this?" His voice started to shake.

Rainbow's eyes widened, she had gone too far.

"Alex..."

"I had nothing to do with that damned massacre! I would've had nothing to do with the Militia if Winchester hadn't gotten desperate!! And I NEVER WOULD HAVE COME HERE IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR THOSE PSYCHOPATHS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!"

Enraged, he opened the pocket dimension, stormed inside, and went out carrying the file on his case with the government.

"YOU LIKE READING ADVENTURE BOOKS!?! WELL READ THIS!!! IT'S NON-FICTION!!!!!" He finished angrily. Dropping the folder on the ground and kicking it to Rainbow.

She seemed astonished that this had gotten him so angry. Alex had released his repressed fear, anger, anxiety, pain, everything. Everything he had felt the past month and a half. He had been through hell, back, and into hell again.

By the time she had gotten to the details on Die Glocke, she was trembling. He would be lying if he said he didn't feel bad for her. Now she would know all about him. As she turned the next page, he knew this was probably the worst part.

"Full details on the interrogation of Alex Walker... Electrical shock...waterboarding...forced removal of molars..." He heard Rainbow read out loud, reading off everything that Winchester did to him. She occasionally looked up sympathetically at him. Tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

By the time Rainbow finished reading the file, she looked like she could barely stand, falling into a sitting position, stunned.

"Winchester and the FBI came to my house the next day, a neighbor reported that I looked like the police sketch of one of the Militia's men. The Feds killed my parents and burned my house into a pile of ash. He did it for the reward money. $50,000. That was the value they placed on our lives." Alex himself was starting to shake.

"That sick bastard Winchester tortured me for weeks. Then, once they seemed me worthless, they were about to execute me..."

"S-Stop!" She pleaded.

"...if it hadn't been for the militia, I would have died. I was forced to fight for the Militia after they rescued me, but they manipulated me. If I did what the militia told me, I would have died. So, yes, next time I saw these people hunting me down, I lost my shit, WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU DO!?!?!"

Both Alex and Rainbow sat in silence. Now Rainbow understood his pain, his fear, all of it. Though he wished he didn't have to go about it like that. He now moved into a laying position, hardly having any energy to move. He just revealed his darkest secret to Rainbow Dash, and in one of the most cruel ways imaginable.

Despite his tiredness, he got to work removing the armor. The chest plate was shredded and mangled. He threw it inside the pocket dimension like garbage, then, he got to rest of the armor. And chucked it all in the pocket dimension, he also took the file from Rainbow and placed it inside there as well, neglecting to notice a few pages had been torn out.

Upon completion of his work, he took out the small bottle of alcohol and some bandages and started tending to his wounds, feeling the painful sting as he dabbed some on one of the cloth bandages, and crudely wrapped the bandage on top of the wounds.

The sun set behind them, and Alex sat down. What would happen to him now that someone knew the truth. Would she help him, or hurt him?

Rainbow walked up to Alex, tapping him on the shoulder.

"I...I didn't know it would be that bad... I just...I'm sorry." She said in a low, respectful tone.

"Don't be. You had nothing to do with it, I was wrong to treat you like that." Alex said back to her.

She sat down next to him, watching the sun set in an explosion of orange, pink, blue, and red.

"Hello, Mr. Walker." A voice sounded behind them. Alex turned around to see an Alicorn as dark as the night itself, she looked sypathetic.

"Princess Luna?" Rainbow questioned, bowing.

"How much did you hear?" Alex asked.

"I didn't need to hear very much. Your mind may be an enigma, Mr. Walker, but you cannot hide from your fear forever." Luna told him.

"I've noticed." Alex said, referring to his confrontation with Rainbow.

"I admire thy resolve. Not many ponies have such will."

"What are you getting at here?" Alex asked.

"As thine sister hath said, the fight is your own, but you are not alone." Luna said

"What do you mean?" Alex questioned.

"I believe Ms. Dash can answer that." Luna says.

"After you left, I found these weird guys inside the forest, they killed Winchester's soldiers really quickly. and when they got shot... they didn't die.. They just... 'Respawn'." Rainbow reluctantly admitted.

"How did Luna find out?" Alex asked Rainbow.

It was Luna who answered.

"'Twas simple. Rainbow told Twilight, Twilight told Celestia, and Celestia told me."

"Do you think they will be any help?" Alex questioned.

"They have already been acquainted with Rainbow, and she seems to have told them about you." Luna informs.

"Good, there's just one more tiny little detail I need to clear up." Alex said.

----

"Karis!" Alex yelled "I'm not dead!"

Karis walked out of the spider hole, looking indignant.

"What the hell are you thinking?! Don't attract attention!" She yelled.

"Too late." Rainbow Dash walked out from behind some bushes. Karis responded by holding Alex's mouth, pointing her M1911 at the mare.

Alex moved out of the lock, pointing her gun away from Rainbow.

"Calm down, she's with me." Alex says.

"Why are you here?" Karis asked.

"We found some people outside the Everfree, Alex said you should be able to help him." Rainbow said.

"I think you may know something about it." Alex said.

Karis seemed to understand what was going on.

"Project Immersion was a CIA test on certain video games, seeing how test subjects would work together. I pulled some strings, and had the CIA pull in a team that had been dominating the youtube charts for about 4 years now." Karis explains.

"Oh, god... You don't mean..." Alex says.

"Yes. Them. They work well together, but lack any sense of professionalism, I had a friend of mine send them here to see how they would fare in this situation." Karis replied.

"Who are we talking about?" Rainbow asked.

"You'll find out in the morning, meet us back here at 0800." Karis said.

Rainbow saluted, then moving to Alex, spoke to him.

"Again, I'm sorry, about everything." She said, hugging him.

"It's not your fault. Rest up, we have a long day ahead of us." Alex comforted,returning the hug. It still felt awkward. But, he actually felt slightly better.

Rainbow flew off, and Alex and Karis went inside the spider hole again.

"Did you complete the mission, at the very least?" Karis asked.

"Yep, how do you think I have Rainbow helping us?"

Karis gaped.

"So you just... told her everything?"

"Yes. It's just...I hate this. I hate all of this." Alex admitted, tired.

"I understand. We will get you through this, Alex. Just trust me." Karis comforted.

"Okay, okay, enough with the pity party." He gruffly laid down on the cot, still uncomfortable as all hell, but it was better than sleeping on the ground.

"One more thing, Karis." Alex said

Karis turned her attention towards Alex, who lifted up both middle fingers, looking really mad at her. She just sends him out to do this crap without another thought? What kind of crap is that?

"My point being that you really do suck." Alex scowled.

Karis stared him down as she put on a pair of brass knuckles.

"Ah, crap."

Author's Notes:

Well, boom, third or fourth major chapter in the story and possibly the darkest, as you find out why Alex was framed.
I also figured he should have like a mental breakdown as he's telling Rainbow everything, to me, he was starting to look too much like a Mary Sue type character, god knows what that would do to my reputation, am I right?

Act I, Chapter 13: Gaining Allies

Vanoss sat in the makeshift encampment that Rainbow Hair helped them make.

It was a bit of work setting up and maintaining, but it gave him time to chill with his youtube friends.

"Hey, Vanoss! Check Mini out!" Wildcat yelled from across the camp.

God dammit. He had things he wanted to do today, he walked over to where Wildcat was, only to see Mini Ladd with his hands in the air, with a Sticky Bomb on his back.

"Wait, wait, I had nothing to do with the blue stuff!" He yelled.

Delirious walked over to Mini, inspecting his condition, walking away shortly after.

"Yeah, yeah, there's no hope for him." He said through that mask.

"Hold on, let me observe this-" Nogla walked over to Mini Ladd, who exploded; killing them both.

Pretty much everyone started laughing at Nogla's corpse launch.

"Ha ha, 'let me observe this', kaboom!" Vanoss was still laughing.

Lui Calibre ran towards the group, he looked like he had something important to tell them.

"Vanoss, Droidd found these guys outside the camp, follow me!" Lui said.

What? He thought that this would be secluded. Who was there?

----

"Let me out of these ropes!" Alex yelled at a guy in a pink shirt.

"No can do, Sénor. Vanoss!" He yelled again.

"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Alex asked Karis, who was also tied up.

"At first, I was, but now I'm having second thoughts." She admitted.

Just then, the guy with a red and white jacket and the iconic owl mask ran over alongside the other guy in the monkey mask, another guy with a hockey mask, and this other guy wearing the pig mask.

"Who are these guys?" The owl asked.

"I-I don't know Vanoss! These guys just showed up over here!" The monkey masked guy said, in a rather high pitched voice.

"Ah, so were they born in the darkness?" This other guy asked, clutching a Pringles can and doing his best Bane impression.

Alex groaned, he was already getting pretty damn sick of this.

"So then, who are you?" The guy wearing the pig mask asked them.

"Alex Walker." He replied.

"I'm Agent Karis Victoria Thorne, CIA." Karis said.

"Well, I'm Vanoss, the badass of the group." Vanoss egotistically introduced.

"I am H2O Delirious, the axe murderer!" Delirious yelled, splitting Piggy's head open.

"You sound a lot like this guy I know called the Masturbating Fisherman."

"Well, you sound like this other guy I know called-" Delirious was about to finish when Vanoss so rudely interrupted.

"HOO-DINI!" Vanoss yelled, shooting Delirious in the face with a musket.

"NOOOOOO! YOU BITCH!!!!!" Delirious yelled, falling off a conveniently placed cliff.

"Anyway, the Pig is Wildcat," Vanoss said, pointing to this Wildcat person.

"Are you ready, Kids?!" Wildcat asked, pulling out a mini-gun.

"...what?" Alex asked.

"I can't hear y-" Alex shot Wildcat in the face by his .44 Scratch.

"Alex!" Karis scolded.

"What?!"

"Why the hell did you do that?"

"Sit down, you punk bitch!" Vanoss yelled.

Vanoss swung at him with a 9-iron. Alex deftly evaded the blow, spun behind Vanoss, wrestled the golf club out of his hands and swung at his neck. The Owl clutched his neck, giving Alex another opportunity to attack, before he was surrounded by the crew, all pointing various weapons at him.

"You've gotta be kidding me." Alex grunted, pointing his own weapon at them.

They all shot at him, but he dived down, all of their shots missed, and hit the others.

"AAAAAH! IT'S BATMAN!!!" Delirious screamed.

"Where did he go!?" Another man wearing a paper bag asked, looking around.

Alex stood behind him, getting close to his ear.

"I'm right here." He said, sliding between him and the Monkey Masked fellow. Paper Bag guy shot his weapon at another guy.

"Nogla! Don't shoot me!" A guy with a Mohawk and a multicolored t-shirt said.

"C-c-c-combo breaker!" Someone else said as Alex kneed some guy in the face, placing a foot on his chest once he was knocked over.

"Marcel, you noob!" Delirious laughed.

Alex pointed his gun at Delirious' face, then he flipped on the safety, putting it back in a holster.

"Look, you guys' combat skills are...average at best," Alex began.

"Alex..." Karis warned.

"...But still good, I have a proposition for you." Alex continued.

"What kind of proposition?" Vanoss asked.

"Perhaps he is the instrument of our liberation?" The guy with the Pringles can said again.

"Shut up, Terroriser. What do you want?" Wildcat asked.

"Rainbow told you about me, right?" Alex questioned.

"Yeah, mentioned you killing people in front of everybody." 'Marcel' said.

"...well, there's a reason behind that." Alex started to explain.

"Get to the point."

"I'm going to need some help getting through this crap, so I'll pay you all to help her and myself kill a rogue CIA agent, I'll pay you all about...10,000 bits." Alex proposed.

"Pfft, we could get more money by doing a heist," Vanoss scoffed."150,000."

"100,000 bits." Alex said.

"125,000. Final offer." Vanoss had given him an ultimatum, there were at least 10 of them, this would completely drain his resources! But he had no other choice.

"Deal." Alex raised out a hand, Vanoss shook it, and demanded his money up front.

"Sure." Alex opened up his pocket dimension, and handed everyone a bag.

Vanoss and friends went inside, each coming out with their bags full of loot.

"Okay, now my first order as your boss, untie her." Alex said, pointing to Karis.

Delirious cut Karis out with his axe, and helped her up.

"Okay, team. You're going to go about your daily lives until Karis and I need you. Sound like a plan?" Alex asked.

"125,000 gold coins to do nothing? Sounds good to me." Mini Ladd said.

"Well, I think it would be best to reintroduce ourselves, especially since Alex here tried breaking Evan's neck. Sound good?" Karis asked.

"Okay, I'm Vanoss, and that guy in the mask is Delirious," Vanoss began

"'Sup, bitches?" Delirious introduced, brandishing an axe.

"And these guys are Lui, Mini, Nogla, Terroriser, Wildcat, and...who else?"

"I'm Basically." Marcel said.

"And these other guys are Droidd and Moo." Terroriser finished.

"Good meeting you all, I'm Alex." Alex said.

"Agent Karis Thorne." Karis introduced herself to the other men.

"Okay, Alex, now that we've been paid and already introduced ourselves, what exactly is the plan?" Mini asked.

It was Karis who answered.

"I'm going to dig up what I can about Winchester, that's the guy we're paying you to help us kill, Alex is going to do some extra special missions for me, and we'll call you guys if we need you." Karis instructed.

"Question, what the hell does Alex have, exactly?" Wildcat asked.

"Yeah, that's one hell of a gun." Basically said, admiring the gun.

"Yeah, it looks epic as shit, where did you get it?" Moo agreed.

Alex thought back to Vinyl, always a trustworthy mare, she helped him on his first day in town, and gave him the weapon after it got damaged in his first scuffle against Crimson after getting here.

"The gun got broken during a battle, and this mare, Vinyl, fixed it up, made it a thousand times cooler that what it already was." Alex said, remembering the events play back in his head.

"What do you guys have?" Karis asked the crew.

"We have our phones and some money, we could buy, like, tanks and helicopters and shit." Delirious said.

"One more thing, is there an extra tent somewhere? It's a little cramped in our old base camp, and they probably found it by now." Alex asked Vanoss.

"Well, we have Delirious' extra tent, though you may want to burn it, or clean it, or at least spray some febreeze inside..." Vanoss' voice trailed off, thinking about some dark subject.

"Hey! Don't judge my special spongebob time!" Delirious defended himself, looking indignantly at Vanoss.

"That reminds me, remember that giant spongebob trap?" Vanoss asked, laughing.

"Don't remind me..." Moo facepalmed.

Rainbow Dash flew in looking like she missed the bus, looking around, and noticing that Alex and Vanoss had already been aquainted.

"Buck! I'm late!" Rainbow looked rather flustered, as though she had just woken up from a nap.

"Yes, yes you are." Nogla rolled his eyes through his paper bag.

"Wait, Nogla, why do you wear that paper bag over your head?" Karis asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Wildcat asked.

"...No." Alex said.

"Oh, fock you guys!" Nogla looked pretty mad, it was kinda funny.

And with that, Rainbow helped Karis and Alex move into the tent, Karis decided it would be best to try and redesign the Goliath Mk. V armor to better handle gunshots.

As for Alex, he figured it would be best to train Vanoss and Friends in combat as best he could. Looking back, Alex had no idea how he managed to survive his past encounters, he had backup at first in Area 51, and got wounded pretty badly after they turned on him. The fight against Task Force Crimson at Sugarcube Corner, maybe the need to escape, plus Karis' instructions helped him get there without dying an awful death, but he still got shot in the leg and other various spots. And his most recent attack, he survived because he always wore that armor. Thank god for Karis' handiwork.

He still wasn't sure what was going on back in his old world. And he thought about Kat for the first time in weeks. He wondered how she was doing...

--POV Shift: Kat--

Kat fell out of another portal, landing hard against the rocky ground.

Writhing in pain, she staggered up, only to back away in terror as she was standing over the edge of a cliff overlooking a base of some kind.

"Where the hell am I this time..?" Kat groaned inwardly. She knew she shouldn't have pressed 'shuffle' again!

In any case, she ducked out of sight. She didn't know where she was, and considering how things went last time, they weren't exactly going to treat her well.

"Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air!" A voice demanded. Kat thought the man sounded kind of odd, since he sounded like he was talking through a cheap voice-changer from Target.

"Who are you?" She asked in a low whisper.

"I should be asking you the same thing." A tall man, about seven feet, in fact, introduced. He looked like he was in some type of military.

"I'm not from here.. My name is Katherine Anderson, former Corporal of the Kahn Militia." Kat introduced herself.

"My name is Kaiver Locust, Commander of the Adenien Ryder Corps. And you're going to help retrieve something for me."

Author's Notes:

Well, I'm trying to get the word out about the story as best I can.
And without people telling me how else I can improve, I have no safe method on how to help you guys read a good fan fiction.
Also, I told you about Crossover elements being added into the story, so here it is. What do you guys think of my adding Vanoss into this, like, I know it's been done to death already and I also know this may seem like a Cheap shot for likes, but truth be told, the way I wrote the story makes it so that these elements are interwoven into the storyline from the get-go, so it would seem obvious looking back.
Also, one last thing, a certain web-series will be crossed over in this fan fiction, can anyone guess what that web series is?

EDIT:
I've been making edits to most of the chapters to better segue the story in the direction it was going.

Act I, Chapter 14: Plan B

Alex never could be able to tell a good idea from a bad idea.

But now, at least it was clear. This was one of those plans that were pretty much doomed to fail (not unlike the story). Vanoss and his crew were usually ok, but, much like his brief assimilation into Ponyville, there were a fair amount of shenanigans.

Firstly, was their moving in. Someone mentioned 'Delirious' Special Spongebob Time', and Alex had feared the worst. Really, it was just Delirious hauling in a crap ton of snacks and watching Spongebob, but this was Delirious, and often, he would make a huge mess every time and not clean it, so the floor of the tent looked like the floor of a movie theater that the janitor just hasn't gotten to yet. Cheetos and Pringles and other assorted snacks left an inch-thick layer of sugary, disgusting crust on the floor, the occasional soda spill, all of that. Much to Alex and Karis' annoyance, they forced him to help clean it all up.

"I ain't cleaning that shit off the floor!" Delirious yelled.

"Hey, I don't care about what shows you watch, but for the love of god, at least clean up after yourself!" Karis had told him.

"NOOOOOO!"

And then there was the constant killing, exploding, and all sorts of crazy things, maybe even a race now and then.

Alex still remembered their musket fight, lead balls flying to and fro, nearly hitting Alex or Karis, and ripping huge holes in the tent, but at least they had a bunch of small windows now.

Alex was now trying to tape up any holes that resulted from their little Revolutionary War reenactment, and Karis... She was somewhere else, probably building his new armor or getting information on Winchester. Until Alex had finished, Vanoss would be in charge, he prayed for his sanity, but not from the constant nightmares and that other crap, which was very different.

KABOOM!!

"Holy shit! Delirious!!!" Vanoss yelled from across the camp.

"What?" The masked killer asked in an innocent tone.

"What the hell happened?"

"Nogla took off his bag, so I threw a grenade at his ugly face."

"Oh, okay, sounds reasonable, carry on."

"For Fock sakes, Evan!" Nogla angrily screamed.

Alex was getting quite annoyed, but he just had to finish taping back this one last hole...

"Lui, are you sure you know the controls to this tank?" Terroriser asked.

"Yeah, the controls seem pretty straight-forward... What does this button do?" Lui asked, confused.

This could only mean one thing...

Alex leaped out of the tent just in time for a large tank shell to rip through his tent, right where he was standing.

"Jesus! I almost died!" Alex was really starting to get tired of this.

"Marcel drew a dick on the wall!" Someone yelled.

"It's a brontosaurus! How many times do I have to tell you!" Basically yelled.

"Anyone else think that this 'Destoyer' guy is reenacting old videos because he has no original ideas?" Mini Ladd asked.

"Me!" Wildcat agreed.

"Could you guys go two seconds without drawing on the wall, or blowing stuff up, or breaking the fourth wall!?!" Alex yelled, exasperated.

"...No." Moo said.

Alex looked up at the sky, and put his middle finger in the air.

"Do you see what I have to deal with here? Why couldn't you have crossed this story over with something cool like... I don't know..."

"How about this one web series called R-" Destoyer asked, his voice booming from the sky.

"Don't...say it... You know what? I will go along with this." Alex said, with an air of determination in his voice.

Droidd crashed a car into a nearby tree.

"Droidd, what are you doing?" Alex asked in a neutral tone.

"I-I just wanna go to Cockatoos." Droidd responded.

Delirious also stumbled out of the car, obviously drunk.

"Really, Delirious? It's not even noon." Alex chided.

"You don't know my life!" Delirious retorted, his voice slurred.

Karis walked back into the encampment with Alex's pocket dimension, looking around at the chaos around her.

"Really? I leave for, like, two hours and this place looks worse off than it was when I left." Karis said, just...disappointed.

"At least I tried to fix things around here!" Alex defended.

"You really are helpless, you know that, right?" Karis rolled her eyes.

"Yeah... Idiot authors and their desperate attempts to ingratiate themselves to their audience..." Alex muttered contemptfully.

"I don't know about 'idiot'...but the whole thing about redeeming themselves to the reader...yeah... He did kinda fu-"

"Don't... He's going to try and keep this slightly kid-friendly." Alex scolded.

"To who exactly?" Karis replied.

"...yeah, you're right." Alex relented.

"So, you want the good news or the bad news?" Karis asks.

"Bad news. Just get it out of the way." Alex said.

"Okay, Princess Twilight gained Winchester's trust, probably on account of the destruction of the castle." Karis said.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I didn't see it coming." Alex admitted.

"There is some good news..." Karis began.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I figured out how Winchester and Crimson got here, in the time the Government had studied Die Glocke, they made more than just the one." Karis said.

"That would explain things, how did they find me?"

"They probably traced your signal after you blew up the original." Karis concluded.

"Oh..."

"And I also learned that Princess Twilight has a Die Glocke of her own, probably as a gift from Winchester."

"Really?"

"Yeah... But there are still a few problems." Karis admitted.

"What, the like-to-dislike ratio?" Alex asked.

"No. Twilight's castle is very heavily guarded, Crimson, Your old Militia, the Guard..."

"What?! The Militia?!!? How?!" Alex gasped, the militia was after him, too? How did Winchester do that?

"I don't know." Karis said.

"What are our options?" Alex asked.

"The only way to handle this is to wait, build up our resources, wait for a weakness and exploit it."

"...sounds reasonable." Alex said.

"Also, I got to work on the Goliath Mk. VI, it should be done in about 6 days." Karis said.

"Okay, so we have at least a 6-day wait. I'll tell Vanoss to start buying up as much equipment as possible. They have us outmanned and outgunned, we may as well try to stand a chance." Alex said.

"Okay. Tell the crew, I'll be repairing those giant holes in our tent." Karis said.

Alex walked over to Vanoss and friends, and sat down.

"Team, we have some developments." Alex began.

"Like what?" Terroriser said.

"We found out that Winchester is working with Ponyville's hero,

Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Isn't she Rainbow Face's friend?" Mini asked.

"Yes. Winchester's men completely outnumber ours." Alex said.

"You want us to kill the Military men?" Nogla asked.

"Not just yet. We're going to wait a minimum of six days so we can prepare for the assault, which brings me to our first order of business." Alex said.

"You need us to buy a bunch of Valkyries, Insurgents, and Hydras?" Lui asked.

"If by that, you mean buy a bunch of equipment, yes." Alex told him.

"How about a Cargobob and a tank?" Delirious asked.

"Anything as long as it can kill a bunch of soldiers." Alex nodded.

"Is this a heist?" Wildcat asked.

"No, the priority is getting to a machine called 'Die Glocke' and getting the hell out as fast as possible, killing Winchester is second on the list."

"Oh, what does this machine do?" Basically asked.

"It's a machine that is capable of inter-dimensional transport."

"What?" Basically asked again.

"It's like the teleporter from zombies, but it can take us to different universes." Vanoss said.

"Oh."

"How is this any different from what you tried last time?"

Rainbow Dash walked to Alex and the others, the cyan Pegasus had heard everything.

"This time, I'm going to tell people what happened to me, instead of just waiting for someone to lie and incriminate me, like what happened here." He said.

"I know this seems like the only way out of this, but..." Rainbow tried to reassure him.

"It is. I'm being hunted down by everyone, there isn't anyone I know for sure I can trust, and to top it all of, the rulers of two different countries want nothing more to cut my head off and mount it above their fireplace, or something!" Alex said.

"What about us," Vanoss said, "you paid us to keep your ass safe, you're asking us to buy military equipment, and you're trusting us enough to stay in the same place as us."

"I'm sure if I didn't pay you guys, I would be nothing but Swiss cheese right now." Alex retorted.

"So your best option is to just leave?" Rainbow asked, appalled.

"Yes, the way Twilight sees it, I'm too dangerous to be kept alive." Alex said.

"That's not true, and you know it!"

"I don't know for sure, but if it is as bad as it looks, my only chance is escape." Alex said.

"Fine. I won't say anything to Twilight or the others, but if you do attack the castle, I will hurt you." Rainbow said.

"Deal." Alex said for the umpteenth time.

Rainbow flew away, angry and confused.

"Well, let's just give up, Alex just lost the war." Moo said.

"No! I'm not living my life in fear anymore! We're getting out of here in a minimum of six days, we're going somewhere else, that's final." Alex said.

"You just pissed off the only other pony who was actually willing to help!" Vanoss said.

"I have NO other choice!" Alex argued.

"Not entirely true, Mr. Walker." A voice said.

Alex turned around, staring at a being that was part pony, part dragon, part...everything. He remembered everyone's description of who this was.

"Discord." Alex scowled.

"Clever observation, boy. I see you have yourself quite an army." Discord complimented.

"AAAAH! IT'S THE FLYING DUTCHMAN!!!!" Delirious yelled.

"What? Oh, him. Never really liked that guy, always going on and on about that little yellow guy."

"Get to the point." Alex said.

"You seem rather desperate, enough to turn away help from Ms. Dash. Shocking to say the least."

"What do you want?"

"Well, it would seem as if someone doesn't trust me. I'm hurt." Discord said, wiping his eyes with a tissue.

"I have a history of trust issues, it's to be expected. What do you want?" Alex asked again, hardening his voice.

"I have a proposition for you."

"What kind of proposition?"

"It's simple, really. You help me with something, and I help you with your predicament."

"I don't need your help." Alex bitterly replied.

"Well, someone doesn't know about Inquisitors, then. If you really don't want my help, I will take my leave." Discord scoffed.

What were Inquisitors? Alex didn't like the sound of that at all.

"What?"

"Oh, just a secret society of inter dimensional warriors bent on conquering the multiverse. If that's what you're asking, but, no, you don't want my help, goodbye." Discord poofed away, leaving no trace.

What was he talking about? This kinda scared Alex. He had no help with this.

Alex walked back to his tent, starting to rethink his decisions. He made a lot of bad choices, but this probably took the cake.

If he went face to face with an inquisitor, what would he do?

Author's Notes:

Well. I added more about Alex's thoughts on the Vanoss crew, and more than a few fourth wall breaks.
At this point, I'm really starting to reconsider putting this up, but I'm still going to keep writing, because, well, why not?
I'm also giving another story development, more antagonists, that kind of stuff.
Also, the plan in this chapter plus my hints=...well, you'll find out eventually.

Act I, Chapter 15: Abandon All Hope... (Edited)

It's been 3 days since Alex, Karis, and the others started a rough sketch of the plan.

Alex went over the details he and Karis made together. They narrowed it down to two options that would seem to work, depending on how the crew wanted it to go. Alex brought over the boards that contained both methods of escaping Equestria.

"Vanoss, get you and your crew over here, it's important!" Alex yelled. Karis set up the cork board containing a map of Equestria, a technical readout of the castle, thanks to Veil, and two lists of things they would need for either plan.

Vanoss and the others walked to the center of the camp and sat down.

"Okay, team, we have two plans on how we can successfully escape the dimension. Which would you like to hear first?" Alex asked, pointing to the two manila folders containing both plans.

"How about the one on the left?" Nogla requested. Alex picked up the folder and started setting it up.

"Okay, what we would do in this plan is have two teams of three, one in each Valkyrie helicopter, provide air support, one is going to fly lower to the ground, shoot a few targets, and get as many enemies as they can as far away from the castle as possible. The other will fly in later in case the former needs help. Then we're going to have two Cargobobs. One pilot in each, fly us into the entrance. One Cargobob will constantly be carrying a tank, providing support when we need it, the other is going to drop in an Insurgent pick-up. As soon as both Valkyries have sufficiently killed the targets they lured away, they'll fly back to give more Air support. There are 5 possible locations for Die Glocke to be, once we find it, head back in, clear out as many targets as you can, and we get the hell out of here." Karis rambled.

"Holy shit, that plan sounds over-complicated and ridiculous." Vanoss said.

"Yeah, but it sounds epic!" Wildcat added.

"What's the other plan?" Mini asked.

"This other plan will only need one Valkyrie, four people in it, eliminate any targets in the vicinity as you can. Four more will gun down any targets the Valkyrie missed in the Insurgent. The other four will search the castle for Die Glocke while clearing out any infantry inside. Once we find it, the four inside will defend the location until the other Eight can get here."

"Sounds a little smarter and more tactical." Moo said.

"Both plans sound epic, I don't know what to choose!" Basically commented.

"Yeah, both sound like a Michael Bay movie." Lui said.

Alex figured it was best to put this to a vote.

"All in favor for the first one?" Karis said.

At least 4 people rose their hands.

"All in favor for the latter?" Alex asked.

Six people rose their hands.

"It seems less complicated to me." Droidd said.

"Which one of us gets to GET TO THE CHOPPA!?!" Terroriser screamed.

"We'll form teams, Karis leads one, Alex leads the second, and I'll lead the third." Vanoss suggested.

"Good point." Alex commented.

"Okay, Terroriser, Lui, and...Moo are on my team." Karis said.

"Delirious, Wildcat, and Nogla are with me." Vanoss chose.

"I guess that leaves me with Mini, Basically, and Droidd." Alex nodded.

Well, that settled it, but who would do what?

"What about our jobs?" Basically said.

"Okay, Alex's team is going to search the castle, Vanoss' team will drive the Insurgent, and My team is going to ride the Valkyrie." Karis decided.

Everyone seemed to agree. At least there wasn't too much harm done.

"Okay, Alex's team. You're getting a map of Princess Twilight's castle, my team is getting Tracer rounds, and Vanoss' team is getting...how about an IPod with Bluetooth, so you can listen to music as you attack." Karis said.

The groups nodded.

"How about team names? I call dibs on the Red Hoodinis!" Vanoss yelled.

"God dammit, Evan!" Wildcat groaned indignantly.

"Sounds fun, I call Blue Flares!" Karis called.

"Okay...how about..." Alex started

"THE TERMINATORS!!! AAAAAUGH!!!" Terroriser burst out.

"That was right in my ear." Alex groaned

"It's settled, the mission starts in 3 days." Karis said.

"Meeting adjourned!" Alex yelled.

The teams left the center of the camp, with a mission in their minds.

Alex was left with some time to think. Was this really the best way to solve these problems, go in, wait for your past to come back with a vengeance, only to escape again? He could have told Twilight and the others, if only he had let go of his paranoid delusions when he had the chance. And now he antagonized everyone he tried to befriend.

Only that wasn't true. Karis had helped him escape Crimson as soon as they found him, and built him armor he needed to retrieve his key to liberation, and now she was building him new armor for this mission.

Not to mention Vanoss and the others. Despite having to pay them, they seemed ok. Alex figured if they were to keep their rampant escapades in check, they would be good soldiers, and, above all, good people.

Alex got back to his tent, and started to rest.

"Alex, can you come over here for a second?" He heard Karis ask.

"Sure... What is it?" Alex asked.

"I want your personal opinion on my work." Karis said.

"You wouldn't be the first, I'd be happy to come over and help you."

Alex walked inside the Pocket Dimension, noticing Karis hauling over some more armor, it looked cool to say the least.

The project was an up-armored variant of the Mark V, and the mask looked different, now it looked similar to something from Halo, or something, in terms of the larger visor.

The armor itself looked much bulkier and would likely take more damage without breaking down

As quickly as it had with that whole charade in Canterlot.

"Wow... I didn't expect you to finish it that quick." Alex said.

"It isn't, I still have to temper it and add some final touches. But it's still usable now, if you really wanted to move the op ahead." Karis said.

"Is it still resilient and repels bullet fire?" Alex asked.

"Yes, and it will last longer than the Mark V."

"Then I'd be happy to use it now, if the others are comfortable."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind." Karis said.

"Okay, let's get this out of the way as soon as possible, we're spending too much time."

-The Next Day-

Alex, Mini, Droidd, and Basically sat in a bush near the Castle, waiting for their signal.

"Where the hell is Evan, he should be here by now." Basically groaned.

"I don't know, Sénor." Droidd said.

"And why the hell did we let Terroriser name our team?" Mini asked.

"I don't know, either." Alex admitted.

Explosions ripped apart the space in front of them, The Valkyrie!

"Incoming, bitch!" Wildcat shouted into the radio.

The Insurgent drove past, gunning down several guards and soldiers, with Wildcat on the M2.

"Vanoss! Drive around the castle in circles, nobody in or out!" Lui yelled.

"Got it. Alex, go in whenever you see an opening!" Vanoss told him.

"10-4. Moving now." Alex said, pulling out the Carbine Rifle Vanoss let him borrow.

"Move it, Mini!" Basically groaned, trying to move him.

"I'm too fat!" Mini retorted.

Alex shoved Mini Ladd out of the bush, shooting the Carbine at several Crimson soldiers.

The team ran into the castle, killing several soldiers in the process.

Royal Guards! Coming straight for them with spears!

Alex charged into the fray, stealing one guard's spear and slaughtering the rest with vicious precision.

Alex noticed another soldier coming right at him, placing the spear in the barrel of the gun, he fired, the spear going through the soldier's gut, killing him.

He grabbed another one, throwing it like a javelin at another group, slaughtering one as Basically, Droidd, and Mini finished off the rest.

"Split up!" Alex said, grabbing another spear and placing it on his back.

Alex moved down the eastern hallway, gunning down several royal guards and Crimson soldiers. He breached every room he could and killed everyone unfortunate enough to be inside that day.

A violet bolt of energy knocked Alex over, sending him reeling backwards, gaping in horror at who attacked him.

Princess Twilight.

Alex backed up, putting as much space between him and her as possible.

"I have no choice, princess, people are going to die, I can't let that happen." Alex insisted

Twilight didn't move an inch, her horn glowing purple as she seethed with aggression.

"Please don't make me do this." Alex pleaded.

Again, Twilight didn't move, her horn glowing with greater intensity.

She left him no choice.

With a battle cry, he charged at her, dodging bolts of magic as she evaded or blocked his bullets.

Alex raised a foot, preparing for a strike that would hopefully end this fight quickly.

Damn! She blocked his attack and blew him away, firing more magic at him.

One bolt bounced off him, sending it towards the wall and destroying a part of it.

Twilight's eyebrows rose, an opportunity!

Alex deftly rolled over and shot at the ceiling, sending more bullets down, further distracting her.

He sent one more kick towards Twilight, holding it back with her magic.

Her magic held his foot in place, hopefully distracting her, he fired one more shot directly upwards, ricocheting down. Twilight blocked it, weakening her defense against Alex.

Alex's foot met her horn, injured, she lashed out with her forelegs, with a palm heel strike, he sent Twilight further back.

Twilight picked him up with her magic, lifting him into the air.

"How could you... How could you cause all this destruction?!" She asked, pained by this attack.

Alex lifted his .44 Scratch, pointing it at her.

"I had no choice." He responded darkly, firing the gun, distracting her to the point where she dropped him.

Landing on his feet, he fired another two shots at her, unable to cope with his onslaught.

Twilight refocused her defensive spell into an attack, turning her dome into a spear, propelling it at him.

The construct dissipated, though forcing him back.

Twilight sent more spear constructs towards Alex, the Equestrian Steel Armor protecting him.

Alex charged towards Twilight, evading the constructs and grabbing her by the horn.

"Now. I have my own question; how could you trust Agent Winchester?" Alex asked, calmly.

"He's...been telling us...about you...everything that you did..." She groaned, pained by Alex holding her by the horn.

"Winchester left out a few crucial details about me." Alex told her.

"What...what...do you mean?" She asked.

"Ask Rainbow Dash, I'm sure she'd be delighted to answer." Alex coldly said.

Alex dropped Twilight.

"Where's Die Glocke?" Alex interrogated.

"Why do you want to know?" Twilight asked, holding her horn.

"You'll find that out later, right now, I need to know. Where is that machine?"

"Further down this hallway, take a right, and take the third door on the left..." She answered.

"Thank you, Princess. You saved my life." Alex said.

Alex left her to heal herself. He knew where it was, time to contact the others.

"I know where the machine is! Follow my radar!" Alex told them.

"Kick ass!" Vanoss applauded.

"Good work, Alex!" Karis complimented.

"Thank you. Team! Regroup at Die Glocke location C!" Alex instructed.

"On our way!" Mini yelled.

Alex took Twilight's instructions, and sure enough, there was the machine.

He powered it, set the receiving universe called 'Oum Alpha 0-12; Remnant'. Alex figured that possibly, that universe would seem more welcoming.

Mini, Droidd, and Basically ran into the room, taking defensive actions and killing more guards.

"Hold them off while I get to the others!" Alex ordered, running out the door and killing more troops.

Alex ran to the entrance, where Vanoss, Delirious, Wildcat, and Nogla held off more troops.

"Follow me!" Alex ordered.

"DIIIIIIEEE!!!!!" Delirious yelled as he fired his SMG, following the others to the east hallway, killing as many troops as they could.

"The device is down that hallway, then move to the right! The machine is in the third door to the left!" Alex instructed, the crew went down the hallway as they were told, killing more soldiers and making a mess out of Princess Twilight's castle.

"Karis! Vanoss and his crew are En Route to the machine, what's your ETA?!" Alex asked.

"Right about now!" The helicopter landed outside, with Karis, Lui, Terroriser, and Moo running out, shooting more enemy troops.

"On me!" Alex yelled.

Alex and the other barely made the turn...

Until Alex was punched in the face by a woman in dark armor, that seemed to glow orange, as did the eyes...

"Who the hell are you?" Moo asked.

The woman snickered.

"Just call me...Sigma." She answered.

Alex's spine turned to ice and dripped down his back. This was an Inquisitor!

The others shot at Sigma, who blocked the bullets with her bare hands.

Karis kicked Sigma away.

"Go! Alex and I will hold her off!" Karis yelled. The three ran down the hall, high-tailing it to the device.

Alex pulled out his spear, lunging at Sigma, who evaded it skillfully, giving Karis a chance to strike, punching her in the jaw.

Sigma backed away, her hands burning as she summoned two vicious looking blades, she simply scoffed.

Karis pulled out a machete, holding it in a defensive stance.

Alex spun his spear, twirling and tossing it in the air, as he went into an offensive position.

It was Sigma who made the first move, kicking Karis away and summoning a volley of glass, Alex dodged it, only to be hit in the head.

Karis swung the machete, Sigma blocking it with one sword as she swung with the other. Karis dodged it, attempting to hit her again.

Alex lunged in for Sigma again, who blocked it with both swords, leaving her open to Karis' attack.

The strike worked, sending Sigma flipping back.

"Persistent." She scoffed.

Alex spun his spear again, only to have it meet Sigma's blades, he spun the spear, succeeding in dazing Sigma, stepping back.

Karis swung her machete in a wide arc, and Alex lunged in, Sigma blocking both blows with either sword. Alex could tell she was holding back.

Sigma kicked Alex away, and in the same instant, spun her blade, disarming Karis.

Alex got up and threw the spear at Sigma, distracting her as Karis retrieved her weapon.

Sigma merely torched his spear, burning it into cinders.

Karis swung the machete again, Sigma merely holding the bladed end in a gloved hand.

"You and your...apprentice, decent fighters, I will admit. But no match." Sigma pulled away Karis' machete, swinging it towards Karis' neck, who quickly dodged it.

Alex pulled out the .44 Scratch, loaded in six caps, and started shooting.

Sigma seemed to notice this, as she blocked the bullets again. Open to Karis' attack, trying to put her in a headlock. Sigma moved just in time to evade the hold, and picked Karis up by the head.

"Fools. You're just like all the rest, trying to protect your worlds to your last breath."

"Alex, go!" Karis ordered.

Alex looked at the hallway, then back at Karis.

"I would follow her advice, kid. This is your only warning." Sigma threatened.

Alex looked at that hallway again, considering his options. Karis was probably going to die, and Sigma was giving him an opportunity to escape.

"Do it!" Karis yelled again.

Alex made one of the hardest decisions of his life. He ran. Only hearing the slash of the blade meeting flesh, and a dull thud on the ground as he ran as fast as he could down the hallway. Sigma was shooting at him, seeing arrows explode on the ground past him. Firing the gun back without looking. Evading arrows and running for his life.

Alex eventually made it to the room where the others waited for him.

"Alex! Where's Karis?!" Vanoss asked.

"No time! Pull the damn lever! Go!!" Alex ordered.

"Don't bullshit us!" Delirious yelled.

"NOW!! PULL THE LEVER NOW!!!" Alex ordered again.

Someone pulled the lever. His vision turning blue as he felt that old sickness rush into him, as the floor became less and less solid. Stumbling around, he saw Sigma walk up to the door, and place an arrow on the draw string.

His vison turned red as bolts of lightning scattered around them, seeing the armored killer aim her shot at Alex and the others.

They fell down the hole just in time for Sigma to shoot another explosive arrow at the machine, looking up, he saw the flames above them as they all fell further down the purple-hued portal. Alex and the others fell faster and faster until they saw a small hole at the bottom.

The eleven men fell out of that hole into another forest. The flames lapping around them as the portal dilated into nothing, leaving only a small flicker behind.

Alex and the others made it to the new universe.

'All except Karis.' Alex scolded himself, he selfishly saved himself and Vanoss' crew, while Karis had to die.

"She didn't make it, did she?" Lui asked.

"No..." Alex sighed. He was disgusted at himself. Running away from his problems again.

Not all of them.

"Shit..." Mini sighed.

"Now what, Alex?" Terroriser asked.

Alex didn't respond at first. Karis had been the one to make all of the important decisions, but now she was dead. Killed by Sigma.

"Alex?" Vanoss' voice snapped him back into reality.

"We need to keep moving. Stay close, stay together." Alex ordered.

Alex took his first few steps in this new place. Now, like Earth. Equestria was a thing of the past, to be forgotten, lost to his nightmares and hallucinations.

No. He couldn't do that again. He couldn't let Winchester waltz in and turn the inhabitants of this world against him as he did in Equestria. If there was anyone in this new universe. He would tell them. He would tell them everything.

Author's Notes:

Alex makes his way into another alternate universe in this chapter.
I know full well that this story is tanking. But I'm still going to keep writing this. Even if this fic sucks. I'm sticking it until the end.
EDIT: Dialogue fixing. Let's face it, It's necessary.

Act I, Chapter 16: ...Ye Who Enter Here (RWBY Chapters start here!)

Alex, Vanoss, and the others went through that forest

None were sure what to do. Alex was still trying to recover from their previous attack. Despite everything, Alex still felt as though this was all his fault.

"Stay low, everybody." Vanoss said, quoting his one of his previous videos.

"This is creepy as shit..." Delirious sounded pretty scared.

"It's just a forest, there's nothing in here that can hurt us, well, maybe, but we can just shoot it." Alex sighed. Alex was always slightly disappointed in the crew. Here they were, in another alternate universe, and they were acting like children.

A low growl sounded from somewhere beyond the forest.

"What the hell was that!?" Lui asked, pointing a rifle in every direction.

"Quit messing around, Delirious." Alex chided.

"That scared me, oh god!" He said.

More growling.

"This isn't funny, guys. Cut it out." Wildcat said.

"Where the hell is that coming from?" Alex asked nobody in particular.

Just then, giant, wolf-like creatures with what looked like bone sticking out stalked out of the bushes.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Vanoss screamed as everyone started shooting.

"Oh, my god!" Alex screamed.

"IT'S TIME FOR ARNOLD TO SAVE THE DAY!!! YAAAAAAAUGH!!!!!!!" Terroriser cried out, pulling out a machine gun and charging at the creatures.

-Meanwhile-

"Uuuugh, this is sooo boring!" Ruby groaned. Ozpin had sent Team RWBY out to investigate increased Grimm activity in the Emerald Forest. Sure, it was nice thinking back to initiation, but pretty much nothing went on in these patrols. What's worse is that to cover the vast amount of ground, the team had to split up.

"Ruby, I know this sucks, a lot, but this is our job. It can't always be fun and games!" Weiss scolded.

"Why not?" She wimpered.

Someone was calling from the data pad, possibly her teammate Blake or her half-sister, Yang.

She assumed correctly. The small screen lit up a picture of her and her sister, with the words 'Yang Xiao Long' scrolled underneath.

Ruby swiped her finger to the right, to answer the call.

"Hey, Yang, what's up?" Ruby asked.

"Hey, Ruby, listen, do you hear anything?" Yang asked, it was a pretty odd question, even for her, in spite of being Huntresses-in-training.

Ruby listened closely. Accompanied by gunshots and growling, she heard this.

"AAAAAAH! WE'RE GONNA DIIIIIE!!!!!"

"Delirious, keep them off me!"

"What the hell are these things?!"

"Daithi, cover me!!"

"I'M TOO FAT!!!"

"A group of people being attacked by Grimm?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah! We have to hurry!" Yang said before hanging up.

Alex was having a difficult time fighting these things. They were fast, powerful, bloodthirsty animals. And they were completely outnumbered, to make matters worse.

Their weaponry only succeeded in killing one or two of them, so everyone had to constantly kick or shove or shoot them to keep them far enough away.

They had few core advantages, Alex was wearing armor, and the others could just respawn, as they often did.

But the fight was tiring, more so than invading Twilight's castle....

...If it were on fire...

... And if there were 3 Sigmas...

...Who were also on fire.

Basically, this sucked, no pun intended.

One of the monsters lashed it's claws at Alex, sending him skidding back. Pulling out the .44 Scratch, he blew the bastard's brains out.

The others were getting swamped by these things, he couldn't let that happen!

Alex charged at the monsters, pulling out a knife and stabbing them repeatedly, to little effect.

The monsters merely shoved him off, with one snapping at his visor.

Alex reached for the .44 Scratch, which was just beyond his reach. Looking back at the monster, it scraped his visor something fierce, even breaking it a little.

Alex punched the thing in the face, sending it reeling back, giving Alex enough time to grab the gun and kill the damn thing.

He looked back at the others, the monsters were snapping at them, and all they could do was shoot them to death. Alex covered them with his revolver. Blowing the overgrown rats to smithereens.

More charged at them, how many were there?! Alex braced himself for this onslaught, raising his revolver, he pointed it at the nearest one and...

A large fireball blew the thing up in front of him, others froze into blocks of ice, or got slashed by what he assumed was a flickering shadow, or get shot with some very powerful weapon.

Appalled by what transpired in front of him, Alex looked behind him, seeing other monsters dying in the same fashion.

"Friendlies! Friendlies!" Alex screamed to his team, they may try something stupid, which was very common. He couldn't start off with a bad reputation here, just because his team fought against...whoever helped them.

"What the hell just happened, everyone okay?" Alex checked on his team.

A few resounding yells told them they were fine.

"Who the hell was that?!" Vanoss asked, looking around.

"Hold your fire, they helped us kill these things. Maybe they're trying to help." Lui said.

"God knows why." Alex muttered. To the best of his knowledge, they were fugitives, criminals, hell, he would even go as far as 'terrorist'.

"Hello?" He heard someone say, it sounded like a girl, roughly Alex's age, if he were to guess.

"Hey! Over here!" Alex waved frantically to nowhere in particular, if someone was actually here, he was damn thankful.

"Yo!!! Come over here!!!" Wildcat yelled.

Four girls walked out of the bushes nearby. All holding various weapons. Obviously their saviors.

"Hey." Alex waved awkwardly.

"Hello, sir!" The blonde one waved back, rather excitedly.

"Who are these guys?" The white one seemed rather suspicious.

"Well, it would seem best to introduce ourselves, we have no idea who these men are." The black haired one said. He agreed with that statement, it would be best to be acquainted with these girls, who knows, they may be the only ones.

"Of course, I'm Alex. Alex Walker." He introduced.

"I'm Vanoss, and this is Delirious, Lui, Mini, Daithi..." Vanoss pointed to each one in succession.

"Hi." Delirious said, in the way that reminded Alex of that one spongebob episode... Ah, childhood. It was long gone now.

"Well, hello Alex and Vanoss, and...ah...others, I'm Ruby." The red one said.

"I'm Weiss."

"Blake."

"...Are you sure those are your actual names?" Yellow asked.

A quick nudge from Blake straightened her out.

"Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's been nice meeting you, but...well, we have no idea where we are." Alex said.

"Yeah, come to think of it, none of us have ever seen them before." Weiss commented.

"That's because we ain't from here!" Vanoss interrupted.

"What do you mean?" Blake asked.

"It's a long story...that I only like telling a few times a week...and only tell in at least 1000 word segments." Alex said.

"Well, that's different." Yang notices.

"It's still long as hell, and I would just love to tell you about, but..."

"...you aren't from Vale at all, are you?" Ruby asks.

"No. Not at all." Mini said.

"Then, where, Atlas? Minstral?" Blake asked.

"No." Moo said.

"Outside the kingdoms, maybe?" Weiss asked.

"Not even from anywhere on your map." Alex said.

"How about this, you come with us, we'll talk to Professor Ozpin, and we'll sort this out." Blake said.

"Oh, crap, are we under arrest!?" Alex groaned, pissed that he would have to deal with this kinda crap already.

"No. You said you're not from around here, right?" Yang asks.

"Yeah. Well, they did." Alex pointed to them. They sold him out!

"Well, we just want to know why you're wandering around the Emerald Forest." Weiss told them.

"Fine." Alex groaned, holding out his arms, expecting to be handcuffed. The girls looked at him with a gaze that just said 'Seriously, dude?'

"Just...follow us. We know how to get out of here." Blake said.

"Come on, guys." Alex told the crew.

The group of about 15 walked through the forest, frequently checking their corners and raising their weapons at every sound.

Another growl. This time, much lower.

"What the fu- what the hell?!" Vanoss asked.

"At least I've got my adult diaper." Nogla whispered, much to everyone's disgust.

"Jesus Christ, Nogla." Basically sighed, he, like the others, were pretty much done with this kind of thing.

That growl again... Where was it coming from?

A large bear-like creature burst out of the forest!

"Weapons free!" Alex ordered. Vanoss and the others got to work shooting the thing, only for the bullets to have no effect on it whatsoever.

Alex pulled out the .44 Scratch, cocked the hammer, aimed down the sights, and blasted it back, sending it flying into a nearby tree, knocking it over.

The girls also attacked the creature. Alex found this was a good time to study their fighting styles, in case they were to turn on him.

Ruby shot her scythe-gun at the ground, leaping in that same instant, she slashed at the Monster's gut, it held the wound in, but didn't stop it's relentless attack.

Weiss stood in what Alex assumed was a fencing stance, aiming specifically for the gut, the cylinder on her weapon spun until it reached a red projectile, she lunged out at it, causing a good sized explosion, but it still kept going.

Alex charged at the monster, punching it with his armored fist, pulled out his revolver again, and blew the monster's guts out.

More gunfire! Alex turned behind him to see Vanoss and the others struggling to bring down another one of those monsters.

Blake wrapped her weapon in what he assumed was a black ribbon, throwing it at the monster, and using it as an anchor to pull herself to the monster, slashing at it until she leaped off.

Yang's gauntlets seemed to rotate, and she went in punching it, her weapons blowing chunks off said monster.

Vanoss and his crew noticed the weak spots on the beast, and concentrated their fire until the thing fell over and died.

"We have to move! Where's the exit!?" Alex asked.

"We're close enough. Follow me!" Ruby said, running to an enclave.

"You heard the girl, move!" Alex ordered, they all followed Ruby into that enclave into what appeared to be a steep cliff, they could climb it, but it would be difficult.

"This way! The cliff isn't as steep over here!" Yang yelled. Firing both gauntlets and propelling her upwards.

"Well, that's hardly fair, come on, guys!" Alex told the crew.

In the arduous process of climbing up the cliff, Vanoss started singing.

"Going up the cliff! Going up the cliff! Goinupthecliff! Goinupthecliff!"

"Evan!!" Nogla screamed indignantly.

"Going up the cliff! Lemme hear you say 'cliff'!" Vanoss sang again.

"Shut up, Vanoss!" Wildcat groaned.

"Stop referencing your old videos!" Delirious yelled.

Well, that 45 seconds of hell was over. And everyone made it up to the top pretty safely, Vanoss and his crew only died a collective 18 times, a new record!

Ruby and the others directed Alex and the others to an airship nearby.

"Miss Rose! I didn't expect to see you already." A man wearing a long jacket seemed almost delighted at the sight of the young girl.

"Professor Ozpin? What are you doing here?" Ruby asked.

"A pilot flying over The Emerald Forest saw these men fall out of some sort of portal. I personally wanted to meet them." Ozpin said.

"How did you know?" Alex asked.

"We have cameras all over that forest, plus a surveillance airship flying around there at all times. My condolences for the loss of your friend, Mr. Walker."

"So you heard that, huh?" Alex sighed.

"No need to be concerned. I also noticed your compatriots' unique ability to appear back in the world after death."

"He saw my special alone time!!!" Delirious seemed pissed. He had asked to use the bathroom a while ago. Ew.

"Unfortunately, yes." Ozpin groaned.

"How many special times do you have, Delirious?" Moo asked, laughing a little.

"24, but that isn't the point!!" Delirious answered.

"I don't even want to ask." Weiss groaned.

"Good. Because... WILL YOU QUIT THROWING ROCKS AT ME?!?!!" Delirious yelled at Vanoss, who was in fact throwing rocks at him.

"I would, but it's too damn funny." Vanoss laughed.

"Gentlemen," Ozpin interrupted, "Considering the fact that you suddenly appeared in our world is too serious to just leave it be. We will take the airship back to Beacon Academy, and discuss this further."

"You heard the man, get on the plane." Alex told them.

Alex, Vanoss, and the others had to split up because the planes could only hold eight passengers at a time, not including the pilot.

One of such airships consisted of Alex, Vanoss, Delirious, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Ozpin. The others got their own airship that would arrive shortly.

Alex himself stepped onto the plane, getting into one of the seats between Vanoss and Ruby.

"So, where exactly are you from?" Ozpin asked from across the seats.

"Originally, a place called Earth was my first home, I escaped and went to another place called Equestria, and that only lasted about a month, more or less." Alex told him.

Well, Alex surrendered, where ever he would go, questions would ensue.

-Meanwhile-

Twilight and the other former element bearers had another conference to discuss on how to handle this attack.

"I don't get it. When Alex and I fought, all he said was that he didn't have any choice. And that Rainbow would've been happy to answer." Twilight said.

"How the hay would Rainbow know?" Applejack asked her.

"Why would Rainbow have anything to do with that ruffian?" Rarity asked.

Rainbow herself started to look a little sick.

"Come on, Rainbow, we are friends, aren't we?" Pinkie beamed in her usual manner, in stunning contrast to Rainbow's composure.

"Okay... Winchester was right about Alex attacking this 'Area 51' place." Rainbow sighed

The former elements had a collective gasp.

"But not about Bohemian Grove."

"Whatever do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

"A-Alex didn't have anything to do with Bohemian grove, but one of his neighbors called, they said he looked similar to one of the men who did it, they arrested him...killed his parents...destroyed his home... And the guy who turned him in got 50,000 dollars." Rainbow reluctantly began.

Twilight and the others looked appalled.

"Winchester tortured him for weeks, trying to get information that he didn't have. They knew he had nothing to do with it and they still tortured him! After about a month...Winchester was about to kill him. But the guys who did it saved him. And he was forced into helping them." Rainbow Dash continued, her voice shaking.

"Alex found out that they were going to use this 'Die Glocke' thing to conquer the world. But Alex found out, used it, and destroyed it before they could even use it."

Twilight was stunned. Winchester was the evil invader?

"Some of the fault had to have been Alex's. he killed four people!" She insisted

"Winchester followed him to Equestria. Winchester wanted to finish what he started. Alex attacked Canterlot to find something to clear his name, and when he saw that wasn't going to work, he escaped again! Winchester chased him out of Equestria, and WE HELPED!!!" Rainbow yelled, guilt ridden.

"Princess." A voice sounded at the doorway. Twilight's personal Inquisitor friend to find Alex after he attacked Canterlot.

"Sigma! Alex is actually innocent!" Twilight said.

"Nobody is inherently innocent, Princess. Alex killed a total of 147 good soldiers, and yet you have the nerve to call this man innocent." Sigma explained.

"You're still going after him?" Rainbow asked.

"Him, his friends, everyone." Sigma elaborated.

"His friends?" Rarity asked.

"Yes. I already killed one. The others are sure to fall once I discover where he is hiding."

"What?!"

"Winchester's old comrade, good soldier, shame her loyalties laid with...someone else."

"What happens now?" Rainbow asked.

"I have my ways. Walker committed a heinous crime. I won't stop until he has paid the ultimate price." Sigma smiled, as if the idea delighted her.

"No! I forbid you!" Twilight ordered.

"By the way, I quit." Sigma walked out. Leaving Twilight and the others guilt-ridden and scared.

"Winchester, it would seem as though Twilight and the six musketeers know everything. What now?"

"Get the White Fang together, it's time for Plan B." Winchester said.

"My pleasure." Sigma said.

Author's Notes:

Well, RWBY chapters start here!
I wonder if anyone is reading this far. Leave a comment below telling me of what you think of the story.

Act I, Chapter 17: Beacon Of Hope

Alex landed in Beacon Academy a while ago.

Now, he was sitting in the main hall, waiting for Wildcat and the others with Vanoss and Delirious. The two were currently engaged in some type of conversation.

"Evan, do you really think all this is a good idea?" Delirious asked Vanoss.

"I'm not sure. It's going to be hard explaining to 16,000,000 people where I was for the past few weeks, but it sure as hell is worth it." Vanoss replied.

"I don't know, man. Alex, what do you think?" Delirious asked him.

Alex thought back to that question. Not a day went by where he didn't.

"Take it from a guy who spent the last two months as an on/off fugitive. We really have no other option, at least, I don't. So why not at least try to make the best of it." Alex said.

"Eyyyyy! Evan! We're here!!" Wildcat yelled from across the room.

"Hey, guys!" Delirious shouted.

"Piggy!" Vanoss shouted, referring to Wildcat's pig mask.

While the others got acquainted, Alex sat down, watching the numerous students walk in and out of the school. Ruby and the others had told him that this is where warriors known as 'Huntsmen', or, in Ruby's case, 'Huntresses', went to learn how to fight those monsters. Alex didn't go to such a school, learning from a month's worth of experience dealing with Crimson, only difference was that he was being hunted during that time.

"Alex?" Ruby gained his attention, standing outside an elevator nearby.

Alex figured he should follow her, this may be important.

"What's going on?" Alex asked.

"Ozpin wants to talk to you, he also asked me to come with." Ruby replied. Alex still wasn't quite sure how to take this.

"Very well. Let's just get it over with." Alex sighed. Remembering full well the cycle that may repeat here.

"Something wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing that can't be explained once we meet with the Professor." Alex replied.

"If you're sure..."

The elevator doors opened, with Ozpin sitting at his desk, with another woman standing nearby.

"Mr. Walker, Ms. Rose."

"Professor." Alex nodded respectfully.

"Have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable." Ozpin said.

Alex went to a seat in front of the desk, Ruby sitting in the one next to him.

"How are you today, Mr. Walker?" Ozpin asked.

"Tired, mortified, slightly aggravated." Alex answered honestly

"Why is that?"

"Various reasons. I'm sure I'm supposed to tell you how I got here with Vanoss and the others, I'm assuming."

"Something along those lines."

"You sure? The full story is pretty long."

"I've got time, Mr. Walker. Don't be shy." Ozpin answered.

"It all started...Three months ago tomorrow. Terrorists attacked a place called the Bohemian Grove, a vacation stop for the most powerful men on my world. Of the 2000 that arrived, only about fifty left."

"How does this have anything to do with you, Alex, were you involved in this attack?" The woman asked.

"My neighbor said I looked like one of the police sketches of the perpetrators. They arrested me, killed my parents and burned my home to nothing but ash." Alex elaborated.

Ruby seemed genuinely shocked, Ozpin didn't even flinch.

"This asshole, Agent Winchester, who was in charge of my arrest, oversaw the torture, went on for about two months, even after he knew I wasn't guilty. Once he figured I was useless, he was about to have me executed. But that was when one of the perpetrators saved myself and others who were actually guilty." Alex continued.

Ozpin still didn't move, in vast contrast to Ms. Rose, who had him locked in a rib-crushing hug.

"Ruby...please...get off me..." Alex pleaded. Reluctantly, the huntress-in-training let go. Alex took a deep breath before continuing his story.
"Anyway... These guys, the Kahn Militia, they take me in, they help me, on the condition that I remain a blind follower, a soldier, if you will. We attacked Area 51, which was notorious for supposedly housing alien artifacts. Found a device called Die Glocke, an interdimesional teleporter if you will. A girl named Kat Anderson told me what the bosses were planning, escaped, and left me to get shot at. I escaped and blew the device up. I then landed in Equestria, the magical land of horses." Alex rolled his eyes at that statement.

"Go on." Ozpin nodded.

"After that, I landed in the hospital, with the knowledge that I could never tell them what happened to me. This went on until Winchester's men cornered me at a welcome party. I killed them all and met up with a woman named Karis. She wanted to help clear my name, so she cracked a plan that required me to steal intel on my case, and she built the armor that helped me survive that mission." Alex said.

"So it was there that you learned how to fight?" Ozpin asked.

"Not really. After that, I met up with Vanoss and his crew, who helped me hatch another plan; invade another castle and get out of there." Alex continued to spin his little tale.

"Wow..." Ruby gaped.

"So we get in, kill more enemies, and find another Die Glocke. I was about to get the last group of people to the device when we were stopped by an Inquisitor named 'Sigma'." Alex said.

"And she was the one who killed your friend?" The other woman asked.

"Yes." Alex answered.

"Do you have a description of this 'Sigma' character?" Ozpin asked.

"Sigma was an older girl, I would say very late teens to early 20s. Wore grayish-black armor that had some kind of orange glow to it, same with the eyes. She appeared to summon her weapons; two blades. I also noticed that she used a bow, and she could somehow manipulate glass." Said Alex, drawing from his memory.

"Odd. This sounds like the woman who I encountered when I first met Ruby." The woman said.

"...and the woman I fought at the communications tower!" Ruby exclaimed.

They had seen Sigma before!?

"What happens to me, now?" Alex asked.

Ozpin seemed to seriously think about this.

"You are a decent fighter, and I can tell the last thing you want is to have this escalate to a point where it is too much."

"True enough." Alex said.

"Your weapon already seems fit to handle Grimm, but it may be too little to handle opponents such as Ms. Rose, or Sigma."

"That is also true."

"Considering that, I advise you build a weapon, we have forges here that specialize in repairing weapons, but I can temporarily accommodate it for full weapon design." Ozpin thought.

"I have plenty of material to build such a weapon, and possibly augment my armor while I'm there." Alex contemplated

"Of course, Ms. Schnee will have to inform you about Dust weaponry."

"Yes, sir."

"I apologize that you had to endure such torment, but this is how children become adults."

"I understand." Alex lied, he was sure most children didn't have to take this kind of crap.

"You are dismissed, Mr. Walker." Ozpin said.

"Yes, sir."

"Ruby, you may go as well."

"Okay, Professor." Ruby said. Getting up just as Alex was walking out the door.

"Wait!" Ruby yelled, running over to Alex.

-Later-

Alex walked into the room that Ozpin set up, it was just a temporary room until he could find a job that paid well enough to get a house. The rooms were accommodated to handle four people, Alex was meant to sit in a room with Terroriser and Nogla.

"Fock sakes, Terroriser! Find yer own damn electrical socket!"

"Nogla, do you expect me to ask Mr. Death Machine over here to use his?" Terroriser said.

"...Fair point." Nogla responded.

Alex himself sat in his bed, drawing schematics for his weapon, apparently, since he had the necessary potential (killed more Grimm than anyone on his team combined), he was to have his Aura unlocked, which Alex figured was some sick double-entendre. Then he would be able to use a Semblance of some type, for Ruby, it was the flash-like super speed, for Weiss, it was those glyphs. He had no idea what his would possibly be, or if he had any of that at all, considering this was an alternate universe.

Back to the weapon. Alex usually did okay with every type of weapon, be it a spear or a halberd, but Alex set his sights on swords, he preferred them, it allowed more personal additions and had a multitude of applications, the sword he was drawing out was sort of a broadsword, but instead of one solid blade, it would be two blades that could become one large single. Since their weapons always had at least two forms, the sword would be able to convert into a large-caliber revolver, preferably the Kaiser .499 Magnum, Remnant's equivalent to the S&W .500. He was drawing out a rough sketch of his weapon when someone knocked the door.

After a brief argument, Nogla went to open the door.

"Alex! It's for you!" Nogla yelled back.

Who could it be? Alex walked up to the door, unsure as to who it was.

"HELLO!!!"

"JESUS H. CHRIST!!!" Alex leaped backwards at the jump scare before him. Team RWBY had the pleasure to introduce the other Huntsman teams, in front of him now was Nora Valkyrie from Team JNPR.

"My apologies, Nora wanted to meet you after she found out you were from an alternate universe." Nora's close friend Ren apologized.

"Noted, even I can hardly keep track of where I end up." Alex admitted.

The rest of JNPR followed suit, Jaune following Ren and Pyrrha not very far behind. They all met before, but this was their first time meeting off the record.

"What're you doing to me over here?" Terroriser asked, Nora had been asking numerous questions. The rest were a bit more mature...and overall less sporadic than their comrade.

Jaune seemed a little nervous, but gradually got more comfortable as Nogla kept talking.

Ren himself was keeping Nora in check near Terroriser.

Alex calmly sat down, drawing the rough sketch of his weapon.

"Ahem."

Oh, crap. Alex just realized that he was the only other person in the room not being spoken to, as while the others were busy asking and answering questions, Alex had completely forgotten Pyrrha. He respected the straight-forward mindset she seemed to carry, but would usually continue whatever he was doing to avoid social awkwardness.

"Oh, hello. Pyrrha, right?" Alex sat up, he was used to being around people who could kill him with their pinky finger in his time spent with Karis.

"Yes, you are Alex Walker, I assume?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah."

Neither had any real clue on what to talk about, Alex figured he may as well get this question out of the way now.

"So this whole 'Aura' thing... What is it?" Alex asked.

Pyrrha inhaled, which was a clear sign of a very long and arduous explanation.

"Aura is the manifestation of a person's soul. It shields out hearts and...."

Alex honestly didn't care about the technicalities, but he kept at least one ear open. He had become an expert at completely tuning out speech while looking fully aware.

From what Alex was able to muster from that complicated speech was that Aura was basically Remnant's equivalent of unicorn magic, most commonly defensive but occasionally used in offensive attacks.

Alex had a theory, Pyrrha had also said Aura could be drained from a long, strenuous duel, could it not be stored elsewhere, to be used at a later time? Or piled on top of normal levels to amplify performance? He would have to try that later, he had other, more important questions.

From what Pyrrha said, Aura had to be unlocked by having someone else unlocking it for you, but there were few people who had such ability.

"Wouldn't one have to unlock their own Aura before they unlocked the rest of the world's at one point in time?" Alex asked.

"In theory, it would be possible through deep meditation in a peaceful environment, but it would be a very strenuous process." Pyrrha said.

This held Alex's interest, it was almost sundown. He enjoyed that time, it wasn't like sunrise, where one didn't have to wake early to see it, or so ridiculously late where one would fall asleep waiting for it, and it was really beautiful.

"Do you know of anywhere I can meditate?" Alex asked.

"There is the back fountain, just behind the school. Usually children practice their fighting skills there, but it is much too late for any of that." She responded.

"Then that's where I'm going." Alex said.

"Are you sure?"

"It seems easier than finding someone who does know how to unlock it."

"Actually..."

"With all due respect, I have a history of managing things on my own, I'm still alive, am I not?" Alex retorted as he exited the room.

Author's Notes:

A little more RWBY related segments of the chapter.
I grow tired of asking you guys to leave a comment, so I'm going to try something.
WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT COMMENT!!!

Act I, Chapter 18: Untapped Potential

Alex stood in the back fountain at Beacon Academy.

Listening to the sounds of nature around him as the sun started to set on the horizon, unleashing a barrage of oranges, pinks, and blues.

Remembering what Pyrrha told him about unlocking one's own Aura, the person had to be at peace with himself, even if it was only for a second. He feared that he would not be able to pull it off, remembering every single negative thing to happen in his life.

Regardless, Alex found a good place to meditate and sat down. He crossed his legs, straightened his back, and waited until the sounds of nature faded from his ears, his back to the setting sun.

Alex concentrated, searching his mind and body for such power. Thinking about it, it wasn't power he sought at all, but simply the possibility of a normal life, now unobtainable by his quest. The virtues of peace and prosperity, now nothing but a misguided delusion in his mind.

Alex started to question his choices. Thinking back to the Fight or Flight Reaction, he realized that he had chosen to run, to escape his oppressors every time, only for them to find him, or for him to find them.

When Alex discovered that the Militia was going to use Die Glocke in their greed fueled conquest, he ran, but not before foiling their plans. When Task Force Crimson found him at Sugarcube Corner, he ran, but not without killing a few before finding Karis.

Alex realized that his previous statements weren't completely true. He had chosen to run, to escape. But he also fought back every time, remembering his mission to steal intel in Canterlot, and Alex's escape to Remnant. And instead of running away from those monsters, he had chosen to stay behind and defend his allies.

That was beside the point, though. Were Alex's multitude of hard decisions wrong?

In the case of the Area 51 invasion, he prevented millions from being enslaved by Silas, giving Winchester a chance to kill him. And in both the Escape from Crimson and the Canterlot Raid, he didn't kill any guards until he was 100% sure they would be fully hostile to him. And forming alliances with Karis and Vanoss' crew weren't all that bad, either. In fact, they were extraordinary strokes of luck. In the short time he knew Karis, she had been honest, dependable, a good soldier who died too soon, Vanoss and the others were okay as well. Their constant puns and other annoying habits had boosted his morale to a significant degree. Kat had also fought for what was right, but not inherently smart, or afraid to leave someone behind, somewhat of a coward, but for all the right reasons. The Kahn Militia had been cruel to their soldiers, only respecting them until they were sure to win, then to be disposed of entirely.

Alex couldn't blame the CIA as a whole for doing this to him, it was all the actions of one agent and his men that had resulted in Alex's ill-fated torture sessions.

He wasn't sure about Sigma, though, it was completely obvious to him that she had used a code name, whether that just the Inquisitor's ranking system, or something else.

Getting his thoughts back on track to finding the key to activate his Aura, he found it had become much easier. His mind less clouded by doubt and self-hatred. What else was holding him back?

He knew now. His parents, his home. That awful day back in Reynold, Oregon had forever changed the course of his life. He was so rage-fueled that he killed two members of the SWAT team, what had angered him more?

The deprivation of a fulfilling life back on Earth. His family had been killed, effectively making Alex an orphan. He had been completely denied his dream of becoming a screenwriter. That drive to make movies of the future better than their first drafts had been obliterated along with his humanity. He found that after spending a month in that damned cell had bent him, but not broken. His drive now was not to change simple stories, but the very world, or worlds, for that matter.

Good, what else?

His own insecurities? He was rather unsure of himself. What to do after a mission, what to do if this happens, what if this person died or that person betrayed him? He couldn't live in constant fear that people would betray him. Karis had said something similar when they first met.

'You can't always expect everyone to betray you. You have to put trust in someone."

She was right. And his paranoid delusion cost him a chance at possibly leading a good life.

He couldn't let that happen again, he wouldn't.

Alex just realized something.

He didn't.

He had told Professor Ozpin, Professor Goodwitch, (which was apparently her name), and Ruby everything. And they would gladly help in case they came here in about a week.

And so would Vanoss and his crew.

And Team RWBY.

And, if Rainbow told the Princess, perhaps they would as well.

Alex searched his mind again. His mind completely clear, all doubts erased. His potential obtainable.

He inhaled deeply, concentrating while he was still at peace.

-Meanwhile-

"Where the hell is Alex?" Vanoss asked.

"I don't know, Evan, he talked to this red-haired girl and he left!" Nogla said.

"Wow. He is one hell of a ladies' man." Wildcat joked.

"Oh, shit." Delirious realized what this meant just then.

"Did you just now reach that same conclusion?" Basically asked, agitated.

"Maybe I did, Marcel!" Delirious retorted.

"Hey, could somebody turn that damn night light off?" Vanoss asked, then he realized.

You can't plug night lights into windows. And the sun had already set.

Vanoss looked outside the window, and saw someone meditating outside.

"Guys, you might want to see this." He said.

"Vanoss, you pervert, don't watch Alex do that shit!" Delirious chided.

"It's not that at all, you creepy bastard, look out the window!" Nogla yelled.

Delirious went to look outside the window. What he saw was not what he expected.

Someone, probably Alex, was sitting outside, meditating, and glowing a bright purple.

"Why the hell is he glowing?!" Wildcat asked.

"I don't know! Get someone over here!" Basically yelled.

Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang ran into their room.

"Did you see that!?" Ruby asked, exited.

"Yeah, what the hell happened?" Vanoss asked.

"It would seem as though your leader unlocked his Aura." Blake said.

"What the hell does that mean? That sounds like code for something!" Wildcat joked again.

"He's able to become a huntsman. He can use the power that laid dormant inside him!" Yang explained.

"So he'll be a badass killing machine?" Delirious asked.

"As if he wasn't already!" Nogla yelled.

"Yes. If he can find his Semblance, learn how to use a weapon, and receive some training. Then yes, he may be able to become a Huntsman." Weiss said.

"He survived in the Emerald Forest, he could very well be one in a matter of weeks!" Ruby came to this realization.

"Holy shit." Delirious sounded impressed.

Alex walked back into the dormitory, his potential released and ready to use. He was met by several students cheering, applauding the fact that he did this himself.

"What's happening?!" Alex was a little nervous, what did he do?

"You unlocked your own Aura without any help!"

"You're the first person to do that in a century!"

"Can I have your autograph?"

"Can everyone quiet down for three seconds?!" Alex yelled, a little miffed at the sudden crowd, despite their congradulatory applause.

"Thank you, now can somebody please explain why this is such a huge deal?" Alex questioned.

"You have unlocked your own Aura alone. This hasn't been done in 71 years, the last person who was able to accomplish this was another dimensional traveler named Colonel Hanz Krieger. Doing so means that your own Aura is twice as strong as anyone else's in this entire school." A voice said behind him.

Alex turned around to find Professor Ozpin standing directly behind him.

"You have more potential, Mr. Walker, but since Aura is your soul being represented in the physical world, without any neutralizer that most students have, your Aura, and, by extension, your semblance, will directly correlate with your emotions. If you so much as get a little angry during a duel, you're abilities may spin out of control." Ozpin warned.

"And if I'm completely enraged?" Alex asked cautiously.

"Then your abilities will be amplified, but unpredictable. I would advise that whenever you duel in a sparring match, keep a sound mind."

"Will do." Alex promised.

Twilight was with her friends in the Testing Chamber, along with Sigma and her remaining Guards and Agent Winchester.

She was afraid for Alex's life, if she let Winchester and Sigma get to Alex, she may as well as have done it herself in the eastern hallway. She had been holding back, looking only for some answers. What she got instead was a moral catastrophe!

"Have you triangulated his location yet, Inquisitor?!" Winchester asked.

"Let me see... Almost got it..." Sigma tried to find his location.

"Twilight shot a spell at the device, completely destroying it without either one noticing.

"Damn! The machine broke as it was telling me where he went!"

"Should have thought of that before you blew it up!" Winchester scolded.

"At least I took a screenshot of it before it broke." Sigma said.

"Then where is he?" Winchester asked.

"Oum Alpha 0-12; Remnant." Sigma said.

"Excellent. I will send my men to rebuild the device." Winchester concluded.

"Looks like I'll be coming home for this one." Sigma said to herself.

Twilight was furious with herself. She failed in preserving what little of Alex's life remained.

"I'll come with once the reconstruction is complete." Twilight informed.

"And why is that?" Sigma asked.

"I have a score to settle." She bluffed.

"Wonderful! We can kill him together." Winchester applauded.

They had fallen for Twilight's lie. From there, she could keep an eye on them, throw them in a loop, and maybe, if the time came, help Alex and end this immediately.

'I hope this works.' She thought.

Author's Notes:

Just out of curiosity, who else would you want to see in the story?

Act I, Chapter 19: Discovered Potential

Life at Beacon was pretty much standard.
Alex had grown accustomed to not knowing where he would end up every night. So his readjustment into a predictable setting had been a long and arduous process.
For example, Alex was sitting at his seat between Vanoss and Wildcat, which would not be as claustrophobic if it wasn't for the fact that he was sitting across from Yang.
Eating his pancakes and bacon in silence, in contrast to...well, everyone else.
"Alright, Delirious. I think that you should take off the mask and the creepy-ass clown make-up for once." Vanoss joked.
"I don't do face reveals." Delirious retorted.
"Vanoss just got H-2-Owned!" Yang punned, much to everyone's utter disappointment.
"God dammit, Yang." Wildcat facepalmed, or rather, mask-palmed, as he wore that damn thing everywhere.
"What?" She asked innocently.
"That reminds me, I think I want to go get another..."
"Don't say it, Wildcat!" Vanoss groaned.
"...Pun-cake!" He finished.
Silence... What Alex thought as impossible, Wildcat actually succeeded in.
"...No. Just... No." Yang said in utter disappointment.
Alex finished his meal, eating what remained of his breakfast and drinking his chocolate milk in huge gulps.
"Well, this has been fun, but very awkward. If you don't mind, I'm going to try and find out what my Semblance is." Alex said.
"You still don't know? It's been a whole week!" Weiss asked, shocked.
"No, and it's much harder than it looks." Alex retorted.
"Good luck, Alex!" Ruby chimed.
And with that, Alex left to find a free training room.

Jesus, the training rooms were far away! Alex must've ran at least a mile, and that was before he got tired and walked the rest of the way, as he had been doing for the past 5 minutes.
Finally, he found an open training room, complete with training droids that they brought in from Atlas, which was pretty much a technological super-power.
Alex stepped in, as he did yesterday, and every day after he got here.
"Identified: Alex Walker, scan confirmed." A mechanical voice said.
"Previously selected: Basic attacks, moving onto battle simulation."
Other droids walked in, bearing shock gauntlets, one zap, and it would deliver an electric shock.
"Battle simulation in 3...2...1. Begin battle simulation."
The droids immediately attacked, Alex having to dodge and evade to avoid being struck by his opponents.
Alex evaded his opponents, delivering a kick or a hard punch, resulting in the droids telling Alex their health for the particular exercise.
"97% remaining."
"95% remaining."
"92% remaining."
Crap! A gauntlet almost hit Alex in the face, he dodged the attack, holding the droid's arm in place as he brought it down to his knee, a move that would result in breaking the opponent's arm.
"68% remaining, right arm critically damaged."
Alex redirected more of his opponent's blows before they could touch him, kicking away shock gauntlets and striking one of the droids' heads.
"89% remaining." It chimed.
Alex swept a leg underneath one of the droids, knocking it over. Grabbing it by the neck, he punched it in the back of the head and using it as a shield.
"76% remaining."
Alex picked up the droid, bringing it's back down to his knee, which would result in breaking an opponent's spine, paralyzing or killing them.
"0% remaining, critical damage to spinal cord."
Throwing the disabled droid at others, he took advantage of the opportunity and kicked one in the center of the chest.
"85% remaining."
Noticing another droid next to him, he delivered a barrage of punches, finishing it off with a strong kick.
"32% remaining."
Diving low, he grabbed another droid by the leg, pulling it to the ground and sent a foot to it's head.
"0% remaining, critical damage to skull and brain."
Two down, three to go.
Evading more blows, he spun behind them, snapping one of the droid's necks.
"0% remaining, critical damage to spinal cord."
The droid who's arm he broke swung the limp limb in his direction, using the arm to punch the other droid.
"58% remaining."
He punched the droid he held in the neck, finishing it off with a roundhouse kick that sent it to the ground.
"46% remaining."
One of the droids got up, swung hard, hitting Alex inthe chest and delivering a painful electrical shock.
He screamed in pain. Punching that droid hard in the face.
Needless to say, the outcome was not as he expected.
The droid was blown backwards in an onslaught of purple-hued lightning, he had discovered his Semblance!
He punched the ground, and sure enough, the droid was electrocuted in a burst of purple lightning underneath the floor.
"0% remaining, nervous system compromised."
Calmly, he walked to the last droid, who was struggling to get up, and Alex stepped hard on it's neck.
"0% remaining, spinal cord critically damaged."
So electricity manipulation was his Semblance. Intresting.
The droids got up and walked back to their places.
"Score: 97%. Recommended combat style: Arcamida."
Alex had read a bit on the combat forms in Remnant, instead of several styles with differing techniques, these were very broad and covered a specific form.
"Arcamida: the Aggression Form, focuses mostly on offense, meant to chain in Semblance attacks and brute strength in order to incapacitate the enemy. Recommended only for use on the field."
Alex figured it would say that, his style was usually dependent on killing an enemy, since Alex was constantly encountering them.
"Recommended Secondary Combat Style: Voikara."
Alex read exclusively on this form, he knew all about it.
"Voikara: The Evasion Form, focuses on agility and redirecting an opponent's attacks, leaving them open to counter-attack. Recommended for use on the field and in dueling scenarios."
Alex thought of something, why only use one form at a time, when he could blend both forms into one; a crippling offense and an unpredictable and sporadic defense? He could easily dodge an opponent's attack, disorient them with his lightning, and deliver a powerful blow to end duels quickly and efficiently.
Remembering Professor Ozpin's warning about his Aura, he figured he should focus on mostly Voikara techniques, and then use his semblance to knock them off balance, saving a powerful blow for when the opponent got tired.
"Previously selected: Battle Simulation, moving on to dueling scenario Level 1; sword sparring."
Another, considerably larger droid walked in with the Training Sword, which had similar effects to the Shock Gauntlets.
Alex grabbed his own Training Sword, grabbing it with both hands and holding it over his right shoulder.
"Beginning Duelling Scenario Level 1 in 3...2...1... Begin simulation."

Alex walked back into his dorm, tired after a long day of training. He opened the door, drained of most energy and figured it would be best if he drank something that would wake him up, like soda or coffee. Wait, no, just soda. He disliked coffee's bitter taste.
He grabbed his simple soda can, cracking open the can and drinking it in huge gulps.
He finished the soda rather quickly, tossing the can in the trash bin, he noticed something.
Where were Nogla and Terroriser?
Alex shrugged it off, they were probably hanging out with Vanoss.
Alex went to exit the room when he heard something coming from outside.
" YOU FOCKIN' BIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!!!!!"
Nogla crashed into the room through the window, sending splinters of glass all over the room.
"Hi, Nogla." Alex said in a neutral tone.
"Aw. We were aimin' for Ruby's room." Nogla whined, disappointed.
"Why are you aiming for Ruby's room, Nogla?" Alex asked, annoyed.
"Hold on. YOU WERE AIMIN' FOR MY ROOM, YOU PRICK!!!" Nogla yelled out the window. Alex looked outside to find Vanoss and the others with a giant slingshot.
"GOD DAMMIT!!!" Vanoss yelled from...200 yards? Yep, 200 yards.
Alex aimed for the tight group that formed near the slingshot. Letting a small ball of purple lightning form in his hands.
"What the hell is that?!" Nogla asked.
"You'll see..." Alex said.
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
Wait for it...
NOW!
Alex threw his lightning ball at Delirious, who had been launched toward Ruby's window. The lightning ball met it's target, Delirious plummeting to the ground.
"NOOOOO!!! YOU BIIIIITCH!!!" Delirious screamed as his body met the ground, Vanoss and his crew laughing from all the way from where they were at.
"HOLY SHIT, THAT WAS AMAZING!" Vanoss yelled from below.
Alex walked out of the room, he had his fun, now to build his weapon. Grabbing the schematics for the device, he opened the door and walked out.

-Later that evening-

Yang sat in her bed, thinking to herself. It had been about a week or so since Alex Walker had arrived with his friends, and he hasn't once said anything about his personal life. And he always seemed so...distant, he was almost always training, that or he was alone in his dorm. In the few moments he was even around, he hardly even spoke.
Yang knew Alex had explained a lot to her younger half-sister, Ruby, as well as Professor Ozpin and Goodwitch. However none of them said anything. That settled it, tomorrow, she would ask him in private.
Regardless if he was in the mood or not.

-Meanwhile-

Alex couldn't sleep.
It was not uncommon. The nightmares still came to him. Visions of Winchester, Twilight, Sigma, everyone killing him. He couldn't tell another soul. Telling Ruby and the others seemed too risky. He told them all about the reasons for the nightmares coming to him, but not the result. It kept him awake at night. He knew one day it would slip. But not knowing who he would tell. It was worse now. He was actually dangerous. It was almost too much for him to bear.
But he was above self-pity. He could take it, Task Force Crimson wasn't a concern anymore, neither was Twilight. But not Sigma.
The mere name brought waves of guilt. He got to live while Karis was killed. He was a coward. That, at least, was a constant in this vast multiverse.

Author's Notes:

Well, I figured I may as well have Vanoss have a 'funny moments' sort of thing at Beacon, like they'd do anything else.

Act I, Chapter 20: Revealing The Truth

Alex woke to the abrupt sound of the single alarm clock.

Alex hadn't slept that night, but Nogla and Terroriser had, and getting up was, like, the worst thing ever to those Irishmen.

He moved up from his spot, grabbed a can of soda, and drank it, hopefully, the energy boost would wake him up.

Alex then left his dorm, going into the men's bathroom at the end of the hall, rubbing the remaining tiredness from his eyelids. He was probably the only man to use makeup. It worked well, hiding the bags under his eyes easily.

Alex figured it was best to go down and actually eat something. He desperately needed the extra energy.

Finishing up his morning duties and went back to the room, threw on his uniform, and went down to the cafeteria.

----

"Remember what happened yesterday, Delirious?" Vanoss asked the Masked Murderer.

"What, me getting completely owned by the lightning ball?"

"Yeah!"

"What are you two talking about?" Ruby asked.

"We were messing around with a giant slingshot...don't ask." Wildcat began.

"Then when we launched Delirious, Alex zapped him with an electricity ball in mid-air." Terroriser finished.

"Alex found his Semblance?!" She asked.

"Pretty much." Alex responded, still tired.

"Congratulations, man, good job completely wrecking Delirious's ass." Vanoss said.

"Shut up. You don't know my life." Delirious retorted.

Alex ate his remaining scrambled eggs in silence. Gulping down more chocolate milk.

"Alex, you okay? You seem a little tired." Yang said.

"What? No, I'm fine." Alex perks up slightly.

"He's always like this." Wildcat agreed.

"Oh, look at the time, I have to go train. I'd love to stay and chat, but I really have to go!" Alex said as he ran out the door.

-Later-

Alex was a complete mess in training. So what if he was sleep-deprived? That was no excuse for twenty robots to shock him awake.

He stumbled out of the training room, tired and bruised from today's session. At this rate, Sigma would still wipe the floor with him.

"Hello?" A voice said behind him, Alex had been so tired, he hadn't noticed someone tapping his shoulder.

Stifling a yawn, he turned around to find Yang standing right behind him.

"I saw you in training today, I have to say, you're the first person I've seen sleep through a fight." She teased.

"Yeah, yeah, I haven't been sleeping so well lately, sue me." Alex retorted.

"I also noticed you hardly ever talk. Nobody even knew what your Semblance was until today."

"So I'm also anti-social."

"And you always seem afraid of something." Yang said.

"... And I have my fair share of phobias, so?"

Yang pulled him into the bushes, just out of sight.

Alex was trapped. Yang was probably going to demand some answers.

"What's going on? You can't hide forever." Yang said.

Alex was legitimately afraid to answer, Ruby already knew everything, well, almost everything. So why the hell didn't Yang already know?

"You can tell me, nobody else will ever know." She insisted in a softer tone.

"I can't, I'm sorry, Yang, but this is beyond you." Alex bluntly replied.

"You can, there's no reason to be scared." Yang reasons.

"No means no, if I don't want to talk about it, then I don't want to talk about it, just leave me be!" Alex almost pleaded.

"Alex! You have to trust me!"

"And why?! So the second I turn my back, one of you will see it fit to end my existence?!" Alex bursts out in anger.

"None of us would do that!"

Alex was actually at a loss for words. He didn't want to say anything, but he didn't want to shove the girl away.

"Alex, whatever happened to you, I'm sorry, but please, tell me." Yang pleaded.

"Fine." Alex relented. No more secrets. No more lies.

Alex began his story, purposefully keeping it short, as he told this story like 30 times already. Yang listened intently, occasionally wincing at Alex's descriptions of what had transpired.

"...We had another mission, escape Equestria using another Die Glocke, I was about to get the last of our group out, but we were attacked by an Inquisitor-" Alex said before Yang interrupted him.

"Wait, Inquisitor?!" Yang asked, shocked.

"Yeah, to the best of my knowledge, that was an inquisitor." Alex responded.

"Alex. You don't understand what's going on. The Inquisitors are really dangerous. Whatever you did must have made them really mad." Yang said.

"Tell me something I don't know." Alex huffed.

"Alex. This is serious. I need you to come with me somewhere. Secret mission." Yang said.

"Where?" Alex asked.

"Patch." She responded.

"Why there?" Alex questioned.

"I know someone who can help."

"Can I send someone with me, Vanoss maybe?" Alex asked.

"No, just you and me." Yang replied.

"I'm...not sure about this." Alex said doubtfully.

"I'm going to go find a pilot, you get your equipment. We'll talk on the way!" Yang says before running off.

"Okay, just tell me what the hell is happening! Ms. Xiao Long!" Alex yelled.

Not getting an answer, Alex ran for the locker room.

----

Alex was at the locker room, looking for his locker.

He repeated the number in his head, '221'. Searching high and low, he eventually found it.

Alex opened the locker quickly, grabbing his armor.

His own craftsmanship was impressive. This latest project had been an up-armored variant of the Goliath Mk. VI. It was large, bulky, but still highly maneuverable, the helmet had a slightly smaller visor than the Mk. VI with a purple tint to it. He called it the Scarab Mk. I, because it was slightly different from his previous armors, and it was massive.

Alex then grabbed his weapon, a broadsword almost a meter long. The sword could also turn into a revolver similar to the .44 Scratch, but with a lot more firepower. The sword form had one more extra feature, the two blades could separate and spin at a very high speed, using this in combat would mean shredding an opponent's armor, or ripping a person to bits.

This death tool was called, in honor of his Semblance, Electric Fury.

Putting Electric Fury in revolver form and putting it in a holster, he put the .44 Scratch in a separate holster, Alex figured he could always use both revolvers in tandem.

Good, Alex just needed one more thing...

----

"Evan, can I borrow a gun?"

Vanoss looked up from his latest project, appropriately named 'The Delirious Cannon'.

"Well, what kind of gun, an RPG, a Combat MG?" He asked.

"Maybe an all-round type weapon, good handling, doesn't weigh too much, with a good mag capacity." Alex responded.

"How about the Carbine Rifle that I lent you last time?" Vanoss asked.

"It's good, but I need something concealable."

"The PDW? I hardly ever even use it, I put extended mags on it last time I used it." To Vanoss, it seemed fair.

"Sure." Alex said.

Vanoss went to the weapon circle, got to the PDW, and pressed 'Y'

"Thanks, Evan!" Alex said, running out the door like he missed the bus.

----

Alex got over to the landing pad, where one airship sat in the pad, sure enough, Yang was nearby.

He was very unsure about this secret mission, what had gotten her so worked up about this to where they had to hide in some obscure island.

"Alex! You're just in time!" Yang waved, Alex quickened his pace a little bit.

"Remind me again why this is so damned important?" Alex groaned.

"You'll find out. before that, why not tell me everything else before I went and called for this secret mission?" Yang said.

Once they got inside, Alex sat across from Yang, only for her to move over to his left.

"Okay, The inquisitor's code-name was Sigma. Karis and I held her off while the others got to the machine. Sigma killed her, and for some reason, she gave me the choice to run." Alex sighed. He felt like a coward, he was a coward.

"Then why aren't any of them after you?" Yang asked.

"Sigma blew up the machine trying to kill us." Alex replied.

"You're lucky. It's a rare moment when an Inquisitor misses their target."

"Don't need to tell me twice." Alex bluntly replied.

"Why is that?" Yang asked.

"Luck is pretty much all I have." Alex sighed.

"Don't beat yourself up about this, I'm trying to help." Yang chided.

"You just proved my point, with the scores of people who want nothing more than for me to die, very few people actually wanted to help."

"How about Vanoss?" Yang asked.

"Oh, please. I had to pay them so they wouldn't turn me into Swiss cheese."

"What about us?"

"It's simple, Ms. Xiao Long. You pity me."

"There's more to it than that."

"That remains to be seen, what exactly is this mission?" Alex asked calculatingly.

"We're meeting up with a...friend...of mine who happens to know all about this stuff. She asked me to come whenever somebody mentioned the Inquisitors." Yang replied.

"'She', huh? So it isn't Discord..." Alex said to himself.

"I'll tell my friends I'm investigating The White Fang, you better tell your friends something so they won't be worried." Yang said.

Crafty. He had heard about their investigation against the terrorist cell.

"Got you. I'll tell them I'm looking for more leads on the Task Force being here."

----

Vanoss and Delirious were having another heated discussion.

"Where do you think Alex went off to?" Delirious asked.

"I don't know, he said he was looking for the task force, but I find it suspicious that Alex and Yang disappear at the exact same time." Vanoss said.

"Maybe. She probably went to protect his ass or some shit." Delirious said.

"Or..?"

"I told you he was a ladies' man!" Wildcat said, walking into the room.

"He's sneaker than Hoo-dini!" Vanoss joked.

"Haha! 'Vanoss doesn't know that Alex and Yang are hiding here doing that thang'!" He joked.

"Tyler, you just can't rhyme shit!" Delirious said laughing.

"Off topic, I have a funny idea for tomorrow, Delirious..." Vanoss said, doing an evil grin.

"Oh, no! We are not switching bodies again!" Delirious yelled.

"Yes we are...Vanoss!" Vanoss said evilly.

"NOOOOOO!" Delirious screamed.

Author's Notes:

More developments in the story!
Recycled jokes and secret missions!
Six-to-eight like/dislike ratios!
All next week (for that last part, right now).
On Blood-Red Shadows!

Act I, Chapter 21: Quoth the Raven...

Alex and Yang landed in Patch about an hour ago..

Alex found that the island was so massive, he felt it was more fit to describe it as a continent, from his perspective, anyway.

"So where's this friend, Yang?" Alex asked.

"I just called her, she told me she would be somewhere in the forest." Yang replied.

"Cryptic as always, Ms. Xiao Long. What's the plan?" Alex asked.

"We'll split up, you take the right path, and I'll take the left." Yang ordered.

"Sure." Alex said, running into the forest.

----

Alex walked at a decent pace through the undergrowth, expecting those Grimm to be sniffing at his behind...or eating it, whichever worked best.

A branch cracked just behind him.

"Who's there?" Alex pointed Vanoss's PDW in several directions. When he saw nothing, he continued walking.

Another branch broke, same general direction.

"Show yourself!" Alex yelled. He backed away slowly. Alex had to be cautious, if what Yang said was right, there were more than a few Grimm around here.

"You are intelligent, cautious, a true huntsman. But you will have to be much more." a voice emanated from every direction.

"Who's there!?" Alex asked, louder this time.

Silence. Soul crushing silence. He was sure he was hallucinating again, but there was no way to tell.

"Come then, warrior. Test your skill."

There was that voice again. Was he schizophrenic now? It would be believable, but it sounded way too real. Regardless, he clicked the safety off the PDW.

"Afraid, Mr...Walker, is it?"

Alex didn't say another word. This apparition would not get the better of him.

He was careful about it. Pointing his weapon in front of him, behind him, even up in the trees, you never know when a Nevermore would swoop in and rip you into confetti.

"The silent treatment, Alex? Are you really that petty?"

Alex again did not answer this voice.

"Fool. Doesn't even pay attention to what's right in front of him."

Alex turned around and saw...someone.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed it was definitely female, wearing a mask that reminded him of the Grimm masks that the White Fang reportedly wore. She held out a large katana-like blade, which had been colored red, and was pointed directly at him.

"Put down your weapon!" Alex ordered.

The figure did not move. Instead, she stood in a stance similar to a fencer before a duel.

"This is your last chance!" Alex yelled again.

She didn't move a single inch, the blade doubled in length before him.

"Your choice." Alex fired the PDW, all 60 rounds, aiming specifically for her head. Instantaneously, all he could see was a red blur where his target used to be. Clearly using her sword to block the bullets.

Alex put the PDW against his back, put on his helmet, and pulled out the .44 Scratch and Electric Fury.

How could have he been so stupid? This was an Inquisitor!

He charged at his enemy, firing one shot from each gun as he ran, The Inquisitor blocked it, the .44 Scratch was not much of a deal to that blade, the .499 Kaiser, however, shattered the blade completely.

Alex smirked. Some inquisitor this was!

She put the hilt back into the sheath, the sheath spinning like a revolver's chambers, and pulled out her hilt, a new blade reattached.

He fired more .44 Scratch, hopefully a distraction to her. As he fired Electric Fury, it was clear that tricks would not work with her. She blocked the round with her blade. Unlike last time, it didn't break.

Alex reloaded both revolvers, growled, and charged at her, relentlessly firing both guns to the point to where the inquisitor had to dodge his bullets.

He kicked the inquisitor in the gut, sending her skidding backwards and almost hitting a tree. She used the momentum to run backwards and front flip, kicking Alex in the process.

Reloading .44 Scratch, he shot all six rounds at her while she was still confident. She dodged all of them with stunning agility.

Reholstering .44 Scratch, he stuck solely to Electric Fury. Blasting her away with ruthless precision, aiming for her head, neck, chest, leg, chest, and head in quick succession. Carefully dodging and/or blocking his shots, she taunted him.

"Is that all you got, boy?" She asked scathingly.

"Not even close." He retorted.

Alex shifted Electric Fury from it's gun form to it's sword form, holding it in his best stance, over his right shoulder, blade facing the target.

She swung first, as planned, aiming for his leg.

He leaped over it and slashed at her, the inquisitor's blade locking onto his own.

Alex broke the clash, kicking her, and slashing his blade.

She leaped back. And, no joke, shot the blade at him.

Dodging just in time, the blade stayed embedded in the tree behind him. Seeing it as his chance, he swung hard, only to have it blocked by the inquisitor's new, blue blade.

He punched hard, sending her reeling into the corner and swung Electric Fury again.

This time, the inquisitor was not so lucky, her blade shattering apart and leaving a hole in her arm.

She looked like she honestly didn't care, and punched him in the mouth with her wounded arm.

Holding his mouth, to no avail due to the helmet. She swung another, yellow blade at Alex, bringing him to his knees near another tree.

Alex roared in fury, Electric Fury grasped in his hands, and swung as hard as he could at this inquisitor.

She was taken aback as to how quickly he recovered, and swung her blade again.

Alex locked it. Staring her in the eye and kicked again.

She recovered fast, swing her sword as Alex struggled to dodge it.

"Interesting. It seems you're using both Voikara and Arcamida techniques. I haven't seen that before, but you will have to do a lot better!"

Alex swung again, only to have the inquisitor's blade locked in the gap in his blade, holding it in place by turning his sword to the right.

With a flick of the wrist, he broke the inquisitor's blade, and before she could replace it, sent purple lightning out of his hands.

Taken aback by the attack, she replaced the blade with an orange one. And planted it into the ground.

Leaping just as the earth below exploded, he swung the blade again. Only to be kicked away.

He recovered fast, furiously swinging his blade as the inquisitor tried to keep up.

As she tried to recover, he charged his blade, now glowing a static-y purple, and swung his blade repetitively. The inquisitor tried to block it, only to be blown downwards by his relentless attack.

She punched him hard in the gut, and swung her blade at his neck.

To no avail. The armor blocked it completely.

He grabbed her blade with an armored gauntlet, and broke it with his grip.

She kicked him away, replaced the blade with a green one. And charged.

Alex set his blade into saw-mode, in which both sides of the sword separated, and spun at high speeds. He batted away her attack easily, and charged it.

The inquisitor sheathed her green blade, the sheath rotating until she pulled out a purple blade.

Alex swung repeatedly, bashing the death blades against the inquisitor's sword. She quickly dodged each one of his ruthless attacks. And batted away his weapon easily.

She then stabbed his armor, barely touching the skin, and pulled the Scarab Mk. I apart with some difficulty.

Then, she punched him in the center of his ribcage, holding his chest in pain as he gasped in agony.

She punched his visor, breaking it, denting the surrounding metal, and knocked him on his back.

"You put up a good fight, for someone who only trained for a week." The inquisitor commented.

Alex merely groaned in agony.

"Indeed, you are a promising young huntsman. But you are not yet an Inheritor." The inquisitor scathed.

"Wh-what?" Alex asked meekly, and in severe pain.

"Okay, I think he's had enough for one day." Someone said from his right.

"I agree, Ms. Xiao Long. While he is in no way ready to go up against an Inquisitor, he has a good start." The inquisitor replied.

"Come on, Alex. Get up." The new voice said to him.

"Y-Yang?" Alex asked, struggling to get up.

"Yep!" Yang replied.

Alex groaned in pain, only barely getting up before falling to his knees in agony.

"What... What is going on, here?" Alex asked, spitting blood.

"Come on, Raven, I said 'no badly wounding' last time we talked." Yang chided.

"Aaack... Seriously... What is going on?" Alex coughed.

"Do you think Sigma, Omega, let alone Alpha will agree to that rule?"

"Yang, what's going on!?" Alex spoke more clearly this time.

"Alex, this is who I was talking about!" Yang said, picking him up.

"Mutual friends don't kick each other's asses!" Alex coughed again.

"May I remind you that you shot first?" The...person asked, if this person wasn't an Inquisitor, then what?

"I gave you fair warning!" Alex retorted, coughing blood.

"Raven, this is Alex Walker, that guy who fought an inquisitor." Yang gestured towards him.

"It's a pleasure, I'm Raven." Raven introduced.

"Alex." He replied, trying to shake her hand, but coughing more blood in the process.

"What did you do?" Yang asked.

"Probably broke my ribcage...punched me in the face. Usual stuff." Alex buckled again.

"I told you, no using 'the disabler'!" Yang yelled.

"Hey, he's this supposed up-and-coming Inheritor, he should be able to handle this." Raven replied.

"Ow..." Alex coughed again. Barely conscious.

"Here. Hold him up!" Yang ordered.

"I got him." Raven replied.

Alex grabbed Raven's hand, she only pulled him up.

"Now. Onto a more serious matter, Alex, if you can. Which Inquisitor did you encounter?" Raven asked.

"Sigma!" Alex coughed again.

"Listen. You're obviously too injured to be able to handle this. Let's get you somewhere." Raven said.

"Where...the guillotine?" Alex asked sarcastically.

"Yang, hold him." Raven ordered.

"Okay." Yang grabbed him, and held him like a wounded soldier...or a baby.

"I can walk!" Alex coughed loudly. Blood pooling on the ground below.

"No, you can't. I'm surprised you're almost standing, Mr. Walker. Yang, hold him!" Raven ordered.

Yang held him again, Alex still coughing blood. Holding his chest, he feared what would come next.

-Meanwhile-

"Delirious, let's hurry this up."

Vanoss was currently in the pilot's seat on an Attack Helicopter, clad in a blue hoodie, clown makeup, and a hockey mask. Delirious was sitting directly next to him, in Vanoss's trademark red and white leather jacket and owl mask.

This was all being recorded on a GoPro-esque camera, to be posted on Remnant's version of YouTube, called 'Beholder'.

"DELIRIOUS!!! GO!!!"

"This helicopter is hard to fly, Vanoss!" Delirious said.

"Screw this, I'm leaving!" Vanoss said as Delirious exited the chopper.

"Never mind, I call shotgun!" Vanoss yelled again as Delirious got back in.

"This is so confusing!" Lui said from the back seat of the helicopter.

-Later that evening-

"9 dislikes!?" Vanoss yelled in anger.

Vanoss was dressed as himself again, as was Delirious, and they had posted their video on Beholder, only for it to have a 6:9 like/dislike ratio, much to Vanoss's disappointment.

"At least you have six likes, that has to count for something." Ruby added, her and the other members if Team RWBY, except for Yang, were in the room with them.

"Three of them were from you guys, one of them I know for sure is Jaune, and the other two were from Delirious and Basically!" Vanoss pointed out.

"Still, it's only been a half-hour since it got there." Weiss added.

"Then who disliked it?" Delirious asked.

Pyrrha walked down the hallway, only to see Vanoss and the others inside. She backed further down the hallway before running to her dorm.

"That's one."

-Meanwhile-

"Is that machine ready yet?"

Twilight sat with her friends, the Agent, and Sigma, as well as scores of Royal Guards, Ex-Militia Fighters, and the remaining soldiers of Task Force Crimson. With Twilight's help, not only were they able to rebuild it, but expand it so that every last one could hunt Alex and his friends down.

"Almost, in order to transport all of our soldiers, it needs a massive amount of energy." Sigma told Agent Winchester.

"How much?" The agent scowled.

"1.21 Terawatts of power, to be exact." Sigma responded.

"It's actually 1.209427 Terawatts, to be exact." Another inquisitor, Theta, corrected.

Sigma found that a mission in Remnant would prove difficult, so she arranged to have another three Inquisitors sent to help. The Inquisitor team consisted of Sigma, Theta, Eta, and Iota.

"Why aren't we asking the horses anything, didn't they know what they were dealing with?" Eta asked.

"I doubt anyone actually knew. I never thought this kid would have anything to do with Remnant." Iota thought.

"A mission to Remnant is not very dangerous. Not compared to Fiore, or Vitylis, for that matter." Theta said.

"Not for Sigma, anyway." Eta scoffed.

Twilight and her friends snuck off to the castle to discuss the plan.

"I'm not sure about this, these guys mean business." Applejack started the conversation in a nervous tone.

"Neither am I, but Alex needs all the help he can get." Rainbow defended.

"I don't know, wouldn't we help him better by not intruding? Surely he won't believe for a second that we are double agents." Rarity asked, obviously wanting to do with as little with this as possible.

"I agree." Fluttershy backed away, towards her cottage.

"Come on! It'll be like a masquerade party!" Pinkie whisper yelled.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't sure about this myself, but as much as I hate saying it, we put him through this, and we have to get him out of this." Twilight asserted.

"Twilight, the other princesses wouldn't touch this case with a ten-foot pole. This isn't our place!" Applejack rolled her eyes.

"We weren't even responsible for Alex's criminal acts!" Rarity elaborated.

"Alex told me himself this whole case was a sham, I told you everything he told me!" Rainbow yelled again.

"I'm sorry, but this is too big to just leave behind!" Twilight told her friends.

"There's two ways this thing will end, Twi. Either one person dies or one million people die." Applejack sighed.

"Are you saying he deserves this!?" Rainbow was appalled.

"He may not deserve it, it's just...it's for the greater good." She defended herself.

"If we don't help him, we'll regret it for the rest of our lives!" Twilight yelled.

"Which may not be very long if we do!" Rarity yelled.

Sigma walked into the castle.

"Are you going or not? We have five minutes!" Sigma ordered

"In a moment!" Twilight yelled.

"So, what are we going to do?" Pinkie asked.

"I don't know. Let's put it to a vote... If that's okay." Fluttershy said timidly.

"Sounds fair, all in favor of helping Alex?" Twilight asked.

Author's Notes:

I know I said I would wait a week, but unless I post new material that people may possibly like, the vote bar will look like Darth Vader's lightsaber.

Act I, Chapter 22: Unwelcome Guests (x2 Edited)

Vanoss sat in the dorm, watching the like bar closely.

He clicked the refresh bar for the 270th time that hour.

6 likes and 4,972 dislikes. Tough crowd.

"Are you still sulking over the dislike bar?" Wildcat chuckled.

"No... I'm just... Waiting for this copy of Pacific Rim to finish downloading." Vanoss defended.

"Oh, really?" Delirious teased, looking at the dislike bar grow exponentially.

5 likes to 49,728 dislikes.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Vanoss seethed.

"What's the matter, upset that your video did so bad?" Wildcat joked.

"Lemme read one of the comments," Delirious began, "'The most embarrassing thing I've ever seen in my entire life, a newborn could make a better video.'"

Both Delirious and Wildcat started laughing like crazy.

"I'm not gonna lie, I disliked the video!" Delirious wheezed.

"Shut up!" Vanoss twitched

"Wait, do you guys hear that?" Wildcat silenced everyone.

It sounded like...marching and...was that gunfire?

"Holy shit." Delirious gaped.

"Who the hell is that? An angry mob?" Wildcat asked.

Several of the students ran out of their dorms to see what the commotion was.

Ruby and the others ran into Vanoss's room, weapons in tow.

"Come on! We're under attack!" Ruby yelled.

"By who?" Wildcat asked.

"We think it's the people who fought you and Alex! They came out of another portal, near the school!" Blake said.

"Not them again!" Delirious groaned, pulling out an Uzi from seemingly nowhere.

"Get the others, we'll send an SOS to Yang and Alex!" Weiss ordered.

"Alright, fine!" Vanoss pulled out his AK, joining the massing crowd in the halls.

Delirious looked out the window, seeing Huntsmen and Soldiers clash just outside the main entrance.

"Let's go, Delirious!" Yelled another student as Delirious charged out the door.

Alex sat, wounded, inside the base. As promised, Raven repaired his armor back into working order, even adding small jet boosters to further enhance his combat style.

"Don't thank me, I'm just doing my job." Raven had said.

They had gotten the SOS from Beacon about 15 minutes ago, right now, Alex had both revolvers primed and holstered in their respective places. Loading the PDW, he stood up in what he now called the Scarab Mk. II, because of the new retro-rockets, as well as shatterproof glass to replace his visor.

"Alex, you ready yet?" Yang asked.

"Yeah, how are we getting there?" Alex asked, cracking his knuckles.

"Allow me." Raven said.

Raven pulled out her weapon again, slashing the air and generating a red-hued portal.

"This should get you two straight back to Beacon, and Alex?" Raven said to him.

Alex looked back at Raven, who stared daggers into him.

"I expect to see you again soon."

"Aren't you coming with us?" Alex asked.

"It would be too dangerous, for you and myself, for an Inquisitor to see you and me near each other ." Raven stated.

Alex turned back to the portal, and he leaped through it, disappearing completely.

Vanoss stood in the range, firing rockets and bullets at the assailants, alongside Delirious and Moo.

"How many of these guys are there?!" Moo asked, firing a mini gun at some of the royal guards.

"I DON'T KNOW!!!" Delirious yelled, hacking at a soldier who moved too close for comfort.

"AAAAAAHHH! DIIIIIIIIIE!!!!!" Vanoss yelled, shooting a combat MG at the Militia guys.

"I'm ready for action!" Nogla said, carrying the an MG and wearing a sand-colored helmet and the most ridiculous pair of glasses that any of them had ever seen, making for a really stupid combat uniform.

"GET TO DA CHOPPA!!!" Terroriser yelled in an Austrian accent, firing rockets from his Homing Launcher and blowing up several jets in the process.

A red portal opened up above the defenders, with Alex and Yang leaping out of it.

"Where were you?" Moo asked.

"I knew they would be here!" Alex said, falling back on his lie, and doing an okay job at it.

"AAAAAH!!! ASSISTANCE NEEDED!!!" Mini Ladd yelled from the front lines.

"On my way!" Yang responded, firing both gauntlets at the ground and flying upwards.

Ruby skidded to a halt with assistance from Crescent Rose.

"Alex! You're back!" She seemed delighted at his return.

"I'm really feeling the love, what do you need help with?" Alex asked, gesturing to the pure chaos around him.

"We found Sigma among the attackers!" She said.

Alex hardened his gaze, red violet lightning starting to crackle at his fingertips.

"Show me." He seethed, trying to control himself, at least until he and Sigma were a safe distance away from his allies.

Ruby pointed to a dense spot on the battlefield, and sure enough, a black and orange blur was visible in the fray.

Alex leaped, with assistance from his new enhancements. He could probably take her, now.

Twilight was mortified with the destruction around her, they really wanted him bad.

She ducked further behind her shield, turning it into an electrified pulse ray and propelling it at the defenders.

She looked above her, to find an armored suit flying above her.

Alex!

She braced herself for another fight against him, ducking down and placing a protective barrier between her and the assailant.

Instead, he leaped for Sigma, noticeably alight with rage as he placed a blow deftly on her shoulder, Sigma recoiled backward, kicking him with great force.

"So you come straight to me, did you finally break, or do you just want revenge?" She smirked.

Alex was not amused, not in the slightest.

Alex pulled out his PDW, swinging the butt of the gun towards Sigma's face. She blocked it easily, giving Alex an opportunity to kick her. He fired 60 rounds of .300 Blackout towards Sigma, who blocked a few of the rounds with her bare hands, but even so, a few managed to enter her arm.

Alex kicked again, red-violet lightning spewing out of the blow, sending his foe skidding backwards.

Sigma summoned her swords, holding them in a threatening position.

Alex pulled out Electric Fury, holding it in his usual stance.

"At long last, a fight that may actually be a good use of my time." Sigma swung both blades, Alex blocking both with his sword and his armored glove.

He kicked again, swinging hard at his enemy, red lightning starting to spew out of the blade.

Alex turned his sword into a revolver, firing all six rounds at Sigma's direction.

"Back off!" A yellow blur blocked all six rounds.

"Glad to see you, Theta." Sigma said.

"This has nothing to do with you. Back off. Now." Alex was positively seething with rage.

"A concern of my comrade's is a concern of mine, thou ungrateful whelp." Theta smiled, his weapon at his side.

"Fine."

Alex pounded the ground, red lightning spewing out in all directions. Sigma leaped out of the way in time, Theta was not as lucky, slamming hard into an M1 Abrams.

Alex charged at Sigma, kneeing her in the jaw with assistance from his jump jets.

He punched hard, lightning flying out in all directions as Sigma ducked out of the way.

She threw an elbow into Alex's side, knocking him back and swinging violently in an effort to defend herself.

A black blur knocked Alex further back, and a white blur sent him to the ground.

"Eta, Iota. Finish him. I'm done here." Sigma said,

"One more thing, Winchester was not the one who hired me." Sigma leapt away from the battlefield, leaving Alex to contend with Sigma's comrades.

Alex, even angrier at his missed chance at revenge. The lightning turning a very dark red.

He swung at Eta, knocking him away. He leaped in the air to finish the job, only for Iota to slash Alex's back.

All three combatants fell to the ground, injured and angry.

Alex took out Electric Fury, both blades separating and spinning at high speeds, swinging hard at Eta and turning around to fight Iota.

Theta leaped back into the fray, his short sword denting Alex's armor.

"Give up, do you have any idea who we are?" Theta taunted.

"I don't care." Alex muttered, swinging his blade at all three combatants.

Theta leaped backwards with surprise, evading the death blow just in time. Eta was not as lucky, the blades taking it's toll on his armor, scratching it badly and probably managing to penetrate it, as Eta held his arm.

Iota was still fighting him, kicking, stabbing, anything to keep him off.

Which wouldn't work.

Alex set up the jump jets and leaped high above the fray, Iota and Theta looking up in surprise. Using his jump jets as well as his own Aura, he plummeted downwards, destroying the concrete below and seriously injuring Iota.

Theta attacked again, swinging his blade and hitting Alex in the shoulder and denting the armor.

"Big mistake."

Alex grabbed Theta's wrist, twisting it at an awkward angle.

Theta screamed in pain, dropping his weapon and falling to his knees.

"Where is Sigma going?!"

Theta didn't respond, only spitting in his visor.

Alex grabbed Theta by the neck, shocking him with red lightning that flashed indiscriminately.

"I'm not going to ask again, where is Sigma?!?!" Alex yelled again.

Theta was not having the best day, blood dripped out of his mouth and onto Alex's gauntlet, only worsening as Alex tightened his grip.

"Sigma... Winchester...Embassy... Two days.." Theta choked.

Alex slammed him hard against the broken concrete, and walked away, leaving the battered inquisitors behind.

"Who...are you?" Theta gasped.

"Your worst nightmare." Alex turned and left for the school.

Vanoss fired the last few rounds into another Crimson soldier, the others retreated long ago, only a select few to fight them.

"That's the last one!" Vanoss yelled to his comrades.

"It's about time!" Basically sighed with relief.

Droidd was still beating up another soldier with a nightstick.

"We really screwed them up, eh Vanoss?" He said.

The battle had taken it's toll on everyone, a few huntsmen even died, Vanoss himself died about 4 times in the span of about a half-hour.

Team RWBY were exhausted as well, despite the Task Force's older weaponry, they put up one heck of a fight.

Alex walked back to the main hall, where they all were at the moment.

"Hey! Alex!" Vanoss waved over to him.

"Hi, Evan. Here's your gun back." Alex tossed the PDW in his direction.

"Alex, these men, they-" Ruby began.

"I know, these were the guys that Vanoss's crew and myself fought to get out of Equestria." Alex interrupted.

"We know, Ruby told us everything after the attack started." Blake explained.

"I also saw a few White Fang airships." Weiss added.

"The hell? Who doesn't want me dead!?" Alex seemed very frustrated. He sat down against the wall.

"That isn't all, man. Remember how you told us that someone helped you in your initial escape?" Vanoss asked.

"Very well, not a day goes by when I don't think about it." Alex responded.

"Ozpin got a call before the attack. Said there's someone who knows you." Wildcat finished.

"Who?" Alex was actually a little nervous. There were very few people he knew in the Militia, and even fewer were actually trustworthy.

Alex turned at the sound of someone clearing their throat, he turned backward and found someone standing among the burning heaps of jets and tanks and the destroyed concrete.

It was a girl, with very familiar shoulder-length lightish-brown hair.

Alex removed his helmet, revealing to the girl his identity.

"Kat?" Alex asked, thunderstruck that she already lasted this long.

"Is...that really you, Alex?" She said.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"How are you still alive? I thought the Militia killed you after I escaped!" She said.

"I used the device and blew it up in the same instant." Alex told her.

"That makes sense, how did you get to Remnant?" Kat asked him.

"Crimson found me at Equestria. I got the hell out of there." He answered.

"Same story, the Task Force found me in a wizard guild in a place called Fiore. How did you manage to find people to help?" Kat asked.

"He paid us to protect his ass and kill Winchester." Vanoss said nonchalantly.

"Winchester is here?!"

"Along with Inquisitors, the Task Force, the Militia, Royal Guards, even a terrorist organization!" Alex angrily said.

"Inquisitors?!"

"Yeah, Sigma, as well as the three stooges over there." Mini told her.

Kat walked over to find the wounded Inquisitors.

"K-Katherine Anderson?!" Theta gasped.

"Theta. I should have guessed." Kat kicked him hard in the gut.

"You know this prick?" Alex asked.

"Give me your gun." She told him.

Alex handed her the .44 Scratch, as well as his three remaining caps.

"Make 'em count." Alex said.

Kat walked over to Theta, stomping on his face repeatedly, breaking his nose and leaving a bloody mess on the bottom of her boot and his face. She fired one cap into his neck. So they had the same killing blow.

Noticing the other two, she fired both rounds into Eta's and Iota's heads. Killing them before they had the chance to run.

Kat handed him back the .44 Scratch.

"So, where is Winchester?" Kat asked, pulling out an enhanced Barrett M82, having a new sword-like bayonet and fire decals, not to mention a key lining each side of the scope, and Ice-like bipod attachment.

"An embassy building." Alex told her.

"Good, let me at 'em!" Kat yelled.

"Calm down, Theta said he would be there in two days." Alex said. Looking around, it was just him and her now.

"Okay, at least I can load up while I'm here." Kat said.

"One more thing, just out of curiosity, did you have any help in this...Fiore?" Alex asked.

She seemed to not want to talk about it, but answered anyway.

"Four wizards helped augment my weapons and build me some armor. I left Fiore and went to Adenien, another, previously unknown universe, and met an android who was willing to help. She's back at the hotel right now. Once Agent Viktor, Winchester's second-in-command, found me in Adenien, I found Remnant." Kat told him everything.

Alex held her shoulder in an effort to comfort her.

"It's fine. I've got a lot of help now, and I have my own defense. You'll be fine. Let's just kill the A-holes and we can all go back home and tell everyone everything." Alex told her.

"I...Thanks, I needed that. You're right. Let's end this." Kat asserted.

"There you are! Let's get back to our homes, I'll call when there's somewhere where all of us can talk this through." Alex said.

"I know a place, Alex. I got it." Kat said. She walked away, leaving Alex standing outside the school, alone.

Alex walked back inside, a new determination burning deep within.

Author's Notes:

I'm not sure what else to say besides-
Here's to the first 50,000 words!

EDIT: Trying to add in more reason behind Alex's animosity towards Sigma. I'm still trying to think of ways to properly have thing build up so that Alex's rage in Chapter 25 would make more sense.

EDIT AGAIN: After noticing the repetitiveness of the dialogue in this chapter, I changed it.

Act I, Chapter 23: Act Of Rebellion

Alex and the others were nearing the rendezvous point Kat set up..

The group of 15 walked along the various shops and apartments in Vale. For others, it would be quite a sight. For Alex, who had experienced a lot in the past two months, had become desensitized to any sort of sight that beheld him.

"How far away is this place?" Nogla complained.

"Yeah, my feet are killing me!" Moo groaned.

"It shouldn't be too far off, now." Alex said, looking at the park nearby. Sure enough, Kat was sitting on a bench nearby, along with someone else Alex couldn't quite identify.

"Alex! Hey, glad everyone could make it." Kat said.

"Well, this is too important to pass up. Who's the girl?" Alex asked.

"Hello, sir!" She waved from the bench.

"This is Zera, the android I told you about." Kat reminded him.

"Oh, yeah." Alex remembered.

"Are we going to stand around and not do anything, or are we making a plan here?" Weiss seemed a little annoyed at how long this whole conversation was.

"Right. We better move." Alex agreed.

"Okay, follow us." Zera nods before walking away from the main group.

Alex followed Zera, with Team RWBY and Vanoss's crew in tow.

The larger group of 17 were sitting in a large apartment, almost the size of a small mansion. They all sat around a table with various schematics, blueprints, and all that crap that was somehow necessary for the plan.

"Okay, team. I've made a layout of the Vale Embassy Building using these blueprints. You guys will have to fill in the blanks, what can we come up with in 24 hours?" Kat asked the team.

"Vanoss and I have the most GTA 5 money, so helicopters and shit is on us." Lui said.

"We can set up a standard Huntress defense, and we can have more on the way." Blake added.

"I'll handle assassinations." Alex scowled.

"Okay, who do we need dead?" Zera asked.

"Winchester, Viktor, Sigma and any other inquisitors, Twilight-" Alex made a list before Vanoss interrupted him.

"How do you know Twilight will be there at all?" He asked.

"-Or if she's even against you. From what I can understand, she probably would want to help us." Ruby added.

"Oh, really? Then explain to me why she, along with the rest of those murderers, attacked Beacon?" Alex retorted, he wasn't fully sure if the ponies were against him at all, but he learned to trust his instincts.

"What about reinforcements?" Kat tried to steer away the conversation.

"Well, Blake said that they could send more huntsmen, Vanoss can whip up some air support. As for what to do about the Inquisitors, I took on three and lived to tell about it." Alex said.

"I'm talking about Vale's army. If they find us attacking their embassy, then why shouldn't they attack us?" Kat asked.

"Or what if Atlas attacks?" Weiss added.

"God help us." Alex finished.

"Okay, back to inventory. Evan, what do we have?" Kat asked.

"I can buy up some Valkyrie helicopters, Hydra jets, tanks, the McLarry." Vanoss listed.

"Or the Insurgents and the Technicals." Wildcat said, adding to the list.

"Get a Cargobob and a Tank!" Delirious requested.

"How about the banana bus?" Vanoss asked.

"Guys, we get the idea." Yang groaned.

"How about weapons? I know Ruby, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Alex have their own death machines, but how about you guys?" Zera asked.

"That's why I got this!" Basically pulled up a large box with glowing question marks on the top.

"Oooooh! The mystery box!" Mini seemed exited.

"First!" Nogla yelled, opening the box, several deadly looking weapons floated above, cycling through until Nogla got a sniper rifle, a DSR-50 by the looks of it.

"I got a sniper!" He grabbed the gun out of the box.

"That's awesome!" Ruby admired the box.

Vanoss opened the box himself until he got...

The exact same weapon as Nogla.

"Oh! Nogla, you wanna join my sniper clan?" Vanoss asked, in a rather nasally voice.

"Hold on, let me spin again, I wanna see what clan I join!" Nogla replied.

"I'm starting to see where this is going." Wildcat facepalmed.

"Really, author?!" Zera groaned.

Destoyer looked down from his holy iPod Touch and flipped them off.

"Screw you, this is difficult!" He yelled at the group.

The Vanoss crew got their weapons, even Ruby, who got a Ray Gun, much to her happiness.

"Well, that covers it, I got a base plan now." Kat said, pulling up a hologram of the embassy.

"The meeting rooms are here, here, and here." Zera said, pointing to various spots of the map.

"The embassy is at the bottom of a small valley, giving us plenty of room for sniper kills. Ruby, Myself, Nogla, Vanoss, and Basically are on over watch." Kat said.

"Delirious, Mini, Lui, and Moo will fly around in the Valkyrie helicopter and will take out any reinforcements. Terroriser and Wildcat are flying two Hydra jets." Kat said.

"Alex, Weiss, Blake, Yang, and Myself are killing any high-value targets." Zera said.

"No. What happens between myself and Winchester, I'm doing alone." Alex seethed.

"What about Sigma? If you get sidetracked, he gets away and nobody wins." Kat said.

"Then I'll kill her too. I have a bone to pick with both those pricks." He huffed.

"That's suicide. Even if you kill them both, how are you getting out?" Ruby asked.

"I hate Winchester too, but you don't see me grabbing my gun and shooting Viktor in the head!" Kat said angrily.

"They took much more from me than a few friends. I'm killing Winchester myself for ruining any and every chance I had at a normal life!" Alex yelled, annunciating his last word with a fist on the table.

"Do you see the people you're sitting with?" Vanoss rolled his eyes at the statement.

"Does it matter? The son of a bitch needs to go down once and for all!" Alex retorted.

"There's a lot more at stake here than just a personal vendetta." Yang told him.

Alex glared around the table in silence.

"Carry on." He muttered, sitting down.

"Okay, so the meeting is at around 12:15 p.m, liftoff is at 11:45, there are cots in the living room." Kat said after informing the team about more logistic nonsense.

Alex moved over to his sleeping bag near the T.V in silence. How dare they try to interfere with his chance at revenge. Winchester ruined his life, twice. Sigma killed one of his closest allies, and Princess Twilight stood by and did nothing as she watched the remaining pieces of his world crumble before her. They had to pay, with their blood.

Alex stared at the clock, letting more angry thoughts cloud his mind. In order for him to have any sort of closure, they all had to die by his hand, and his alone.

No matter what.

The time was about 9:59 pm, from their arrival at about 6:00. They were to wake up at about 7:30 am.

If Alex could sneak out before then, he could have his own breakfast, be there long before anyone shows up, and kill them all.

All he needed was a different gun...

Vanoss woke up to find the apartment in chaos.

"Where is he?!"

"Do you think he's dead?"

"Call his Scroll!"

"What the hell is happening?" Vanoss asked groggily.

"Your commander is missing." Zera told him.

"He stole my sniper rifle!" Kat seethed.

"He also took quite a bit of Kat's equipment, including fire enchantments, ice pellets..." Zera listed off the missing equipment.

"He went rogue?!" Ruby seemed appalled.

"Yes!" Kat yelled, exasperated.

"Why?" Delirious asked.

"Isn't it obvious? He's going to kill them!" Kat gasped.

"By himself?!" Nogla also seemed worried.

"It appears so. He stole the kill list." Zera replied.

"What do we do?" Delirious asked.

"Alex knows that the meeting is at 12:15, we have no hope of communicating with him, so we're going to continue as planned and hope he doesn't kill himself." Kat sighed.

"We gotta go now! This is way too important!" Yang ordered.

"GET TO DA CHOPPAS!!!!" Terroriser yelled, pulling out a Meat Grinder from Black Ops II zombies.

Alex sat in his position above the embassy, it was about 12:05, they should be there any minute.

He contemplated his actions again, he regretted having to steal Kat's stuff, but there wasn't any choice.

All that aside, he screwed himself again, and he knew it, he abandoned his team, even when they tried to help him.

But it was all for a good cause.

Killing the man who ruined him.

Agent Timothy Winchester.

At long last, he would have his sweet revenge.

Several military vehicles and limousines drove up to the Embassy below, looking through the scope, he counted his kill list. Checking to see if he was going to hit the jackpot.

Winchester- check.

Viktor-check.

Sigma-check.

Twilight and the others-check

He saw them all walk out of their cars and walk in the building, with Rainbow Dash looking at him through the scope.

Was it possible that she saw him, even from a mile up?

No matter, he looked at the kill list again, everyone who needed to die was there. He waited again, looking at the several rooms he could see.

It was about 12:09 now.

Alex saw them all pile in the second floor meeting room, along with several other politicians, they were all in the room.

Perfect.

He aimed down the scope, Finding Winchester easily. He sat left of Twilight and right of Sigma, directly in his line of fire. Viktor sat across from him, his head blocking Winchester's chest. Even better.

He flicked the safety off the gun, aiming for the back of Viktor's skull.

He pulled the bolt back on the gun, chambering in a powerful round.

He inhaled slowly, focusing on his target with laser precision.

Alex slowly exhaled as he pulled the trigger, this was a perfect shot.

BOOM!!

Author's Notes:

Well, seeing as how hardly anyone reads these anyway, should I stop with the authors notes?
Ah, who cares? I'll just do a standard outro.
Leave a comment below on what you think of the story, and where I can improve, or if you have questions about the story, comments are very highly appreciated, thank you!

Act I, Chapter 24: Act Of Vengeance

BOOM!!!

An explosion shook the ground beneath him and gave in under the pressure, Alex falling like a rock to the ground below.

He took the sniper rifle and loaded in the grappling hook attachment to the barrel.

Aiming above the second floor window, he fired the gun, the hook reeling over to his target, a strong steel cord trailing behind it. Using it in tandem with the jump jets, he swung hard, quickly moving to his destination.

That is, until he hit the wall of the building. On the ground floor, no less. Alex knew he should have aimed higher, but there wasn't very much he could do.

"Hold it right there!" A voice sounded behind him.

Alex slowly turned around, meeting the gaze of a few security guards, all bearing standard issue M4 Carbines or, it's equivalent, the RPX-998 Atlean Battle Rifle.

"You're coming with us!" One of the guards yelled.

"What if I say no?" Alex asked smugly.

He grabbed Electric Fury from his sheath, converting it from it's sword form to it's .499 Kaiser Revolver. Firing four shots at the guards, one for each, he ran away.

Only to find several of his comrades fighting against the guards, Task Force Crimson, the Royal Guard, everyone!

Zera leaped from the fray and pinned Alex against the wall of the building, impressive given her small structure.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Zera scolded.

"Killing Winchester! That's out mission, isn't it?!" Alex retorted.

"Not like this! We go as a team!" Zera ordered.

Alex shoved Zera off of him.

"Zera, I'm sorry, but this is personal business." He walked away as Zera tried to recover.

Alex encountered a few more Crimson soldiers, one of them bearing a Remington 870 shotgun.

Perfect.

He grabbed a soldier's P226 pistol, shooting him in the head and using the gun to bash in the shotgunner's face.

Grabbing the shotgun, he killed the remaining two with the Electric Fury's saw mode attachment, slicing through them like butter.

The main entrance was not to far off, he only needed to go a few more feet-

A cyan blur knocked him on his back and flew back into it's spot near the entrance.

Looking up, he saw Twilight, Rainbow, AJ, and Rarity. All of them looked really pissed.

"So good to -ack!- see you guys again! I figured you would be back in Ponyville by now!" Alex taunted.

"Can it, can-head!" Rainbow yelled.

"Do any of you know where I can find Winchester?" Alex asked scathingly.

"He's in the medical bay, along with Sigma, that is, if you can get through us!" Rarity threatened.

"A 4-on-1 match, eh? Where are the other two?"

"Fluttershy's with Sigma and Pinkie...well, I don't know.." Applejack looked around for the pink horse, only to find air whistling around them. Along with the sounds of battle.

"You had one chance to make a normal life for yourself, and you didn't take it. Instead you chose to kill and destroy everything in your path. That ends here!" Twilight yelled as the others charged into battle.

Alex was going to have to plan here, Rainbow's specialty was obviously speed, Applejack's was her strength, Twilight her magic, what about Rarity?

Said white unicorn threw a punch, Alex gripped the hoof with his gauntlet before it could hit his...area.

How hadn't he seen it before? Rarity knew precisely where to hit him, and had he not blocked, he would've been in serious trouble.

He shoved Rarity back, leaping to the air to dodge Rainbow's attack. She had attempted to tackle him, which would've given the others a chance to attack. Instead, the Pegasus met solid ground.

Applejack kicked Alex with her hind legs, sending him flying back at least 10 feet, and leaving a massive concave in his armor where the hooves met.

Trying to recuperate, he rolled to his side, aiming a blow specifically for Twilight.

The punch met Rainbow instead, and she went down like a fly, skidding against the ground.

Twilight sent a powerful blast in his direction, having similar effects to Applejack's attack.

Alex realized he couldn't just throw punches and be done with it, he needed a strategy.

Looking around, he saw Rarity levitating numerous sewing needles, all pointed at him. Rainbow had gotten up, rearing up for a vicious barrage about 3 feet behind Rarity.

Applejack was roughly 5 feet away from Twilight, her...back facing him, ready to buck as if she was back at that orchard. Twilight was nearest the entrance, charging her horn for a devastatingly powerful attack.

He had his plan.

Rainbow leaped at him, flying at him scarily fast.

Alex redirected Dash to Rarity's sewing needle barrage, all of them sinking rather painfully into the Pegasus.

Sliding over to Rarity, he picked her up with his free arm, and threw her at Applejack, who wasn't looking at all, and Applejack kicked her hard across the battlefield, crashing into a battalion of Royal Guards.

Alex threw Rainbow at Twilight, Rainbow receiving the entirety of her attack, suffering a similar fate as Rarity, crashing into a nearby tank.

The smoke cleared, and Alex leapt through the veil, punching Twilight hard in the nose.

Twilight, as expected after a brutal attack like that, held her bloodied nose, and Alex grabbed her by the horn, usually torturously painful to unicorns.

What the heck?!

Twilight's horn glowed brightly, burning the gauntlet to the point where it started to melt, and meet Alex's skin underneath.

Alex grasped his burnt hand in agony as Twilight hit him with a powerful spell, knocking him to the earth below.

"This is your last chance. Surrender." Twilight ordered.

Alex, in his rage, pounded the ground, red-violet lightning spewing out from underneath Twilight and shocking her badly.

"H-How is that possible?! Abilities like that are forbidden!" Twilight groaned in pain.

"I just learned how to do this a little while ago, nice to have you test it out for me. Where's Winchester?" Alex asked.

"He's in the medical hall! Downstairs, then take the third left!" Twilight held both hooves defensively.

Alex entered the building, ready to end this. Once and for all.

Running into the building, Alex noticed several people in nobility trying to escape. One in particular ran into him.

"A Huntsman! Can you help me? I have a family!" One pleaded.

"Do you believe anything Agent Winchester told you about a Mr. Walker?" Alex asked him, he had his helmet and mask on, so the ambassador couldn't see his face.

"He made a pretty convincing case, but I can see right through him, what he wants with the kid, I have no idea!" He said.

So he wasn't against him.

"Find a Huntress named Ruby Rose, she should help you get out of here alive!" Alex instructed.

The Ambassador grasped his gauntlet with both hands.

"Bless you, son!" He said as he ran towards the entrance.

Alex continued his walk inside the building, then a battalion of Crimson soldiers ran at him, firing their Assault Rifles at him.

The bullets bounced off his armor as Alex spam-fired the shotgun, killing most of them, only one lay wounded on the ground.

"Please...have mercy." He groaned.

"All out." Alex said as he blew his head off with the shotgun. Blood and brain matter everywhere.

The medical office was not that far off. Third door to the left...

Alex received a hard fist to the helmet, knocking it off of him.

Winchester, holding in a devastating wound, stood in horror at Alex.

"You?! I remember you! You were the armored soldier at the castle?!" Winchester asked in fear.

"So you didn't know all this time. Pathetic, couldn't discern the identity of the man who stole his own files." Alex mocked.

"Thought you could outrun the CIA? You're the pathetic one!" Winchester defended.

"All this time I thought I was running from you and your sad excuses for soldiers." Alex began his lecture, shoving the Agent on a chair.

"All this time, you thought you were the one following me."

Alex grabbed a scalpel from one of the drawers, and he walked towards Winchester.

"No. I was following you. You constantly tried to destroy me, my reputation, my friendships! Because you knew that one day, I would have my revenge for what you did to me in that damned cell."

Alex gripped Winchester, raising the scalpel.

Ruby, Kat, Vanoss and Twilight ran outside the door, looking at him in horror and trying to break it down.

"My name is Alex Gabriel Walker! And that day is TODAY!!!" Alex yelled as the three friends and one enemy broke down the door.

"Alex! Stop!"

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"Stand down, NOW!"

"You don't know what you're doing!"

Alex flicked the scalpel sharply to the right, slitting Winchester's throat wide open, spraying red blood all over the room as Winchester tried to no avail to stop it.

Winchester held his throat as he fell to the floor, gasping and sputtering as the very life drained out of him, until his body spasmed one last time as he released his final breath.

Agent Winchester was dead, he would torment him no longer.

As for his allies, they rushed on him as they tried fruitlessly to stop him, Alex had stabbed Kat in the side and Ruby held him down.

Ruby had the bloodied scalpel in her hand, that was when Alex threw a hard punch that was supposed to knock her off of him.

The blow did not do it's intended job, and Ruby gripped Alex's Electric Fury by the barrel, and hit him in the head.

Alex didn't hear much after that.

"I'm fine! Check Winchester!"

"He's dead."

That was all he heard as his vision faded to black.

"I'm fine! Check Winchester!" Kat gasped, holding the stab wound.

Vanoss ran up to the Agent.

"He's dead." Vanoss said.

"That idiot! He just went in and killed him!" Twilight said angrily.

"Calm down. There was no way he would've known." Ruby tried to calm her down.

"Ruby's right, the Ambassador told us as soon as he got out of the building. He must not have told Alex." Kat grunted as she rummaged around the med room, looking for something to disinfect the wound.

"You could have told him yourself, little miss 'double-agent'! You already knew everything!" Vanoss scolded.

"I had to keep up the act or else my whole plan would've fallen apart!" Twilight retorted.

"Which was?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Get as much information about this as possible so I could help him. I don't think Winchester himself would've done this if there was no other way out of it." Twilight informed.

"I have to admit, his whole act was impressive, even I didn't see through it." Kat complimented.

"In any sense, this may be the beginning of the end." Ruby sighed, defeated.

"The prologue to The Great War has ended. This is where the real story begins." Twilight said.

"Hoodini have mercy." Vanoss muttered solemnly.

Author's Notes:

Well, as much as I like/don't necessarily mind/ hate (depends on what you guys think of the story) there is a whole lot more to this story.
What do you think? Should I keep this all in one story and separate this into Acts? Or write this in a sequel? Tell me what you think in the comments below!

Act I, Chapter 25: The Duel (Edited)

Alex awoke, still in the medical office.

He was surrounded by Vanoss, Ruby, Kat, and Twilight, all of them looking either pitifully or angrily at him.

"What happened. Did I kill Winchester?" Alex asked. A look to his right gave him his answer. The Agent lay unmoving on the linoleum floor, engulfed in a puddle of his own blood.

"You have no idea what you just did, do you?" Kat starts choking him. Alex notices the bloodied bandage wrapped around her waist.

"Not really, nobody told me anything!" Alex yelled after getting Kat to stop choking him.

"The Ambassador found me, I asked him what he knew about all of this." Ruby began.

"He said something along the lines of 'The Agent is the Key to Oblivion', or something." Vanoss continued.

"I went over and interrogated Twilight on the matter, then, she told me an old tale about the predicted end of her world." Kat added.

"Well, I don't got all day. Tell me." Alex insisted.

"A while ago, Celestia had a vision. A Spirit came before her and told her what was destined for the whole Multiverse." Twilight answered.

"What did Celestia hear?" Alex asked

"Alex, think. At the end of almost any myth, what comes last?" Kat asked him.

"They were all depict great battles. The ultimate clash of good and evil. The End of the World." Alex replied.

"It's not just in your world. In our legends, we call it 'Kazi'ivan, it's an ancient word meaning 'The Great War'." Ruby told him.

"Get to the point." Alex ordered them.

"Agent Winchester's death made a lot of people very, very pissed. Like these 'Inquisitor' bitches." Vanoss told him.

"How exactly?" Alex asked.

"The legend goes that 'Two beings, not like any other ponies, would come to Equestria and engage in conflict, then continue it elsewhere'." Twilight said.

"Yeah, and in Remnant's ancient writings, it was said that 'The death of either of these beings would anger the Warriors of the Dark into escalating the conflict into a war." Ruby said.

"So what you're all saying is, killing Winchester is going to start the Apocalypse?" Alex asked, bewildered.

"Well, yeah." Vanoss shrugged.

Alex slumped down in his seat, remorseful.

"Damn it, why and how does it have to end up like this?" He sighed heavily, as if he wanted this done entirely. Initially, he thought this would end the fighting and he could go home.

Alex realized something in that moment.

He had no home to fight for.

All this time, he had been fighting so having one could be a possibility, so he could have some sort of freedom again.

"What now?" Alex hardened, he couldn't lose morale.

"Sigma is out there right now. Before she left, she said she was looking specifically for you." Twilight said.

"Are your friends okay, Twi?" He asked.

"They're fighting Sigma right now, we turned on them." Twilight replied.

"What about your Crew, Evan?" He turned to Vanoss.

"They're with them." He said back.

"And your team, Ruby?" Alex asked Ruby.

"Fighting Sigma." She replied, ready to fight.

"As for Zera?" Alex asked Kat.

"Where do you think?" Kat asked sarcastically.

"Let's move, NOW!" Alex grabbed his Helmet, along with Electric Fury.

Looking at his weapon, it seemed...different.

"I enchanted your weapon, hopefully, it should stand more of a chance." Twilight told him.

"Right. Let's go!"

----

Alex and the others ran outside to see their comrades fighting valiantly against Sigma.

"I'm not going to lie, you're all boring me. Where is he?!" Sigma demanded.

"Right here, you dirty comrade-killer!" Alex panted.

Sigma turned to Alex.

"Well. I guess you actually killed the bastard. I bet you don't even know what you started." Sigma glared at him.

"That doesn't matter right now. Everyone, stand back. This is between me and her." Alex ordered,

"Finally, someone who might not be such a bore." Sigma summoned her bow, drawing back three arrows.

"This ends here!" Alex said, pulling out a now fully reloaded .44 Scratch and his enchanted Electric Fury, both revolvers cocked and pointed at Sigma.

It was Sigma who attacked first, unleashing a barrage of arrows at Alex, who either dodged, shot them with his revolvers, or let them strike, for an explosion like that had little effect to him, his armor...well, there was a huge black mark where that arrow struck.

Alex shot at Sigma whenever given the opportunity, knocking her slightly backwards with every shot. Alex kept this up until they were mere feet apart.

Then Alex struck.

Converting Electric Fury, he slashed at Sigma, who blocked the attack with both swords.

Alex shot Sigma with .44 Scratch with his free hand, Sigma stepping back in reaction to the attack. Alex fired relentlessly at Sigma, who blocked the attacks with her bare hands as well as her swords.

Alex holstered .44 Scratch, and smashed the ground before him, Erupting violet lightning from the ground under Sigma.

"When I killed your friend, she did not die immediately. No, she died slowly, painfully, I'm not one to show mercy to a traitor like her. Or like your friends." Sigma taunted.

"I'm not letting you kill them, even if that means I have to kill you myself!" Alex retorted, feeling rage cloud his mind and darken his vison.

"Good riddance." Sigma punched him hard in the chest, summoned several razor-sharp spikes made of glass, and flung them at Alex.

The attack did not affect him, the thorn-like projectiles shattered on contact, giving Alex the opening he needed to strike.

Alex lunged at her with Electric Fury, wounding her to a minor degree and distracting her.

With Sigma properly distracted, Alex used his jump-jets as well as his own abilities to fly above her, and come rocketing down in front of her, the lightning erupting before her turning more and more red. Alex swung his weapon with both hands, further disorienting her. Alex ducked down to a crouch and swung Electric Fury in a wide arc, slashing Sigma in the legs as she tried to regain composure.

He kicked Sigma hard in the stomach and punched her even harder in the neck, Alex constantly trying to keep her from getting another opportunity to attack him.

The next punch he made, Sigma blocked it with her bare hands, twisting it at an awkward angle and hacking Alex from his lower right abdomen to his left shoulder. While not piercing the armor, it produced a significant amount of pain on Alex's part.

How had Twilight enchanted it again?

Alex felt Electric Fury change again, into more of a rail gun, the handle curving, the blades folding, the gun barrel poking out.

The cylinder popped upwards, Alex loading Electric Fury again. Pushing it back into it's designated spot, he pulled the trigger.

All six shots flew out of the gun in a rapid pace, disorienting his opponent and damaging her armor.

Changing Electric Fury back into it's sword form, he swung again at Sigma, the blow managing to send red-hued bolts of lightning shocking her and frying her insides.

Sigma placed both swords together at the pommels, and sharply twisted them. She spun her dual blade in a flourish, distracting him until Sigma landed a blow on Alex's chest. The Armor turned a bright red and burnt his chest painfully.

"Agent Thorne died for nothing, child. Just like those two I killed a few months back for personal business, who were they?... Oh, right, Jason and Alice Walker. Let me guess, they were your parents?" Sigma glared

"YOU WILL DIE WHERE YOU STAND!!!" Alex screamed, she killed his parents... She had to die.

In his rage, he threw down his sword, relying only on his bare fists.

Each punch exploding in blood-red hued bolts of electricity, Sigma could only watch as his rage continued. She herself had been disarmed as she blocked and dodged her opponent's anger-fueled attacks.

She simply could not attack, even if she had the opportunity, it would only enrage him more and more.

Alex's onslaught was matched, but not very easily. Sigma was noticeably injured, but still fighting.

His lightning was electrifying his armor, the deep red glow had moved past his fingertips and he was now glowing in the deathly color.

Sigma attacked, but nothing seemed to affect him anymore. Suddenly the color moved to his right hand, the gauntlet glowing brightly in that color. He was concentrating all his power into this one death blow.

"Still angry over your parents' death, Walker?" Sigma mocked.

"I WILL KILL YOU!!!" Alex spat in his intense anger.

"They, like your friend, died as they lived, like cowards too scared to fight back. You will too unless you stop this now."

He charged, running dangerously fast. Sigma tried to hold him off, delay his attack.

Until he struck.

Her side exploded in an eruption of energy, breaking all armor in that particular spot.

Alex attacked more and more. Sigma countering whenever possible, striking at his back, his neck, his knee, anywhere she could reasonably attack.

Alex grabbed his sword again, swinging it even if Sigma got away from him, lightning constructs barreling at her in waves, continuing to fry her.

He planted the sword firmly on the ground, a massive beam erupting from where it was planted, striking her again, further weakening her.

He walked slowly, the lightning starting to turn a very, very dark red color. Almost black.

He lashed out, blackish-red lightning exploding from his hands like a volcano, the attack was ridiculously powerful, leaving Sigma in constant pain as she tried to stand firm against it, only for his power to grow more and more, until she fell to her knees, smoke floating out of the broken figure on the ground.

Walking back, Alex picked up the sword from the ground, and strolled slowly over to the defeated foe, he managed to get a closer look at this inquisitor.

Her armor completely shattered from where he had hit her, burnt skin underneath, the armor only got to about the lower abdomen, and all the skin underneath looked badly burnt.

The helmet Sigma was wearing almost completely broke, exposing the right side of her face, eyes the color of fire, looking fearfully up at him.

He raised his sword, ready to deal a killing blow.

"Stop!" A voice ordered from behind him.

Turning back, Alex noticed Raven, the Inheritor that he had spoken to before reuniting with Kat.

"What are you doing?!" She scolded him.

"You want her dead as much as I do!" He panted, still alit with fury.

"Your Semblance! It seems to correlate with your emotions. You activated it on your own?!" She asked bewildered.

"Yes, I did! Apparently I'm more talented that any other huntsman, why the hell am I explaining this? Sigma has to die!!" Alex said.

"I don't want her dead just yet!" Raven demanded.

"Why?! Give me one good reason why I should let the person who killed my parents walk away?!" He asked, enraged.

He turned back, seeing a gravely wounded Sigma stagger to an undamaged airship, and it soon flew off, leaving him and his allies alone.

"Inheritors don't kill in cold blood, nor do they use their full power in a duel. Huntsmen have this same rule." Raven answered.

Alex calmed down, finally noticing the blistering pain in his chest. Staggering down, he pulled the armor off him, the chest piece peeling his burnt flesh as he removed it.

"It's not over, is it?" Vanoss asked him.

Alex thought about this for a moment.

"I hired you guys to kill Agent Winchester for me. The job is done. You can all go back to your families if you want." Alex responded.

"What?" Kat was bewildered.

"You heard right, they were hired, and they don't have to stay with us. Unless, by any chance, they still want to go through with this." Alex said.

"Well, what'll it be?" Zera turned towards the crew, awaiting their response.

They went into a sort of group huddle, discussing their options only in hushed whispers, only glancing at Alex and the others.

Vanoss finally cleared his throat.

"We're staying." He said.

"Okay, what's your price?" Alex asked.

"You already paid us. We decided that half of the money we got was payment while the other half was in case you wanted to, I don't know, be in our Youtube videos if you wanted to, but this works." Vanoss replied.

Alex was stunned, they were willing to have him guest star in their videos? While that was all well and good, he wasn't sure as to how he would have gotten the computer equipment or any of the games. Alex was officially broke when he paid the crew to help him.

"Glad to know you're still ready to help." Ruby said.

Twilight spoke up, clearing her throat.

"We would have decided to have the Royal Guard help us..." Her voice trailed off.

"But apparently, being a double-agent isn't the best way to keep friends." Rainbow said, awkwardly.

"The guards branded you all as traitors and are still against us, aren't they?" Alex asked, sighing in disappointment.

"Um...yes." Fluttershy said, timidly.

"And last time I checked... The Red Dawn Guild isn't all that willing to help us, either." Kat admitted.

"But they won't intrude on our missions, I think is what Katherine is trying to say." Zera finished.

"And I'm not sure Ozpin is still going to help us much at all." Ruby sighed.

"Crap, Equestria doesn't want us, Remnant doesn't want us. We have no safe haven." Alex grunted.

"Actually, we have a place in mind." Vanoss said.

----

The trip to Los Santos had been a daunting trip for the 7 people who hadn't been there. It was similar to Los Angeles in a way, but it also had an arid desert north of the city, and a redwood forest even further up.

Alex considered this a step down from his daily life as a fugitive, while Vanoss and his Friends frequently were being chased by police, they were not nearly as competent as the Task Force, and they were all far enough away from the Royal Guard, The Militia, and the remaining Task Force members that there should not be that many problems.

Vanoss, being the helpful type, had gotten everyone an apartment somewhere in the city, Alex's in particular was a high-rise, complete with it's own planning room, repurposed from it's usual purpose as a Heist Setup area.

Alex was now sitting in his new house, sipping some wine. Which tasted horrible, he was not used to the taste of alcohol yet, and spit the putrid red beverage into the sink. He was far too young anyways.

The individual members of his team were all contacts on his new cellphone, and he could call any one of them at any given time.

Thankful for the rest, and the new home, Alex thought of the future. He wasn't sure when such cataclysms would take place, but he thanked god for every breath he took. He was exhausted from constantly fighting and killing. He needed this.

Alex thought again about Raven. The Inheritor didn't come with them, though Alex desperately needed training.

But for now, everything seemed to be going for him. Some time spent alone was long overdue.

Author's Notes:

I think this chapter had an unclear time gap as to when they were still at the embassy and when they were in Los Santos.

I think the least amount of time 10 people could scrape money for 7 apartments, one of them a high rise in-game would be about... 3 days. Assuming Vanoss bought a few Shark Cards (downloadable GTA$).

EDIT: I have been told that Alex needed more of a motivator to get that mad in a fight.
In retrospect, I probably should have added more to Alex's hatred for Sigma other than the death of a minor character, but I'm still thinking about what could be done to add that element to the fic and where.

Act I, Chapter 26: The Talk

Alex laid down in the bed in his apartment.

Not unusual to say the least, he had a lot to think about.

In the past 2 3/4 of a month, he's had people purposely hunt him down, having to always run, and hope that at least 3 people actually cared enough to help. It was always unpredictable. He never knew when his last day would be, hell, a couple times, he thought for sure it was.

In short, Alex's friends were the most random people he had ever met, and he knew hipsters, metal-heads, maybe even a couple otakus, but they took the cake.

Alex's life was also pretty ridiculous. Like, who spends a little more than a week perfectly assimilating into the magical land of horses, only to move to a school where the most overpowered teenagers go to learn how to kill people like him, as well as some terrifying gigantic monsters hell bent on eating your face?

The odds of getting struck by lightning, Alex knew, was 1 in 700,000. The odds of having to deal with that kinda crap? 1 in, say, A LOT!

At least now, he got to spend some peace and quiet...

*buzz!*

Ugh, who could that be?!

Alex walked over to the front door of his apartment, pressed the button, and spoke.

"Who's this?" Alex asked, annoyed.

"It's Kat." A voice from the other side replied.

Why didn't she say so?

"Oh. Go away." Alex sighed.

"Vanoss and his friends didn't do anything, I'm just here to talk." Kat replied.

Like he wanted to talk about his problems, she wouldn't understand...

At least, not completely.

"Alright, fine." Alex buzzed her in. Shortly after, there was a knock on his door, knowing full well who it was, he let her in the apartment.

"Wow, I gotta say, this is way nicer than the apartment Vanoss got Zera and I." Kat admired.

"I agree, I would've been perfectly fine sleeping in a box. Not that I'm complaining." Alex replied.

"So, is there anything you wanna talk about?" She asked him.

"Meh, you first, I'm not all in the mood to talk." Alex encouraged.

"Okay, I was thinking about your situation..." Kat began.

"Funny how the conversation is about me." He sighed.

"I was just wondering, was there anyone you actually connected with? Anyone at all?" Kat asked him.

That was actually difficult. Alex purposely tried not to get attached to anyone in Equestria. Karis? He felt he only connected with her was because there was not a whole lot to hide, she already knew about his predicament. Team RWBY? He wasn't trying to connect either, but he told Ruby and Yang everything that happened before then, and he was sure they told Weiss and Blake. Vanoss and his crew? Thankfully, no.

"Not very many people, I will admit." Alex said as honestly as he could.

"Oh, there's your problem." Kat realized.

"Come again?" Alex asked.

"Unlike me, you never wanted to connect with anyone at a personal level. I told my friends in the guild about what happened to me, I even told them a little bit about you."

"Then what the hell happened? Why did you have to leave?" Alex asked Kat.

"They were on a mission, and I kinda had a bad reputation with the others." Kat replied nervously.

"The other members set you up, didn't they?" Alex concluded.

"Well, when you put it like that, it makes them sound bad..." Kat defended.

"And that, my friend, is why I didn't want to talk to anyone. I always have that sense that tells me that someone is going to stab me in the back as soon as I turn around! Had I been in your place, I would have been gone long before I could tell your friends crap." Alex asserted.

"You can't always expect someone to betray you..." Kat began.

"Funny, someone told me that a while ago. Guess what? She's dead!" Alex scowled.

"Nobody really betrayed you in the end, Twilight and the others were double agents, or did you forget?" Kat retorted.

"I still don't trust her. Same as how I still don't trust Evan, or Ruby! Hell, I'm paranoid about being in the same room as you right now!" Alex regretted saying that as soon as the words left his mouth.

"Ahem... Well, let's stop that conversation, deal?" Kat raised a hand.

"Deal." Alex grasped hers tightly and shook it.

"My real question was... Have you thought about connecting with someone romantically?" Kat asked.

"Never thought about it. Not even once. There's too much going on in my life and it's way too unpredictable to actually give you a straight answer." Alex responded honestly.

"So, no setting you up on dates anytime soon?" Kat asked hopefully.

"REALLY, AUTHOR?! THERE ISN'T EVEN A ROMANCE TAG ON THIS STORY!" A rather high pitched voice screamed from below, Alex had to assume it was Pinkie.

"Oh, yeah, I've been meaning to ask, what's up with Pinkie?" Kat asked.

"Schitzophrenia, psychopathic tendencies, somehow floating, a lot of different stuff." Alex responded.

"STOP! REFERENCING! CUPCAKES!!!!" That same voice said again.

"How can she even hear us from down there?" Kat asked, bewildered.

"Twilight told me that 'she's just being Pinkie Pie' is apparently a good answer. So, yeah, let's go with that." Alex elaborated with a hand gesture.

"Okay, why not? Anyways, what about Ruby, she's about your age." Kat pleaded.

"I already told you, I'm far too... In everyone's thoughts... Paranoid, or rather, delusional." Alex responded bluntly.

"So...you're serious?" Kat asked.

"I am." Alex sighed, almost sad that all of that was actually true.

"Are...Are you sure?" She sighed herself.

"Yes. Please. Leave me be." Alex pleaded.

Kat stood up, and walked to the door, turning around only to cast a pitying glance in his direction.

"I'm sorry you feel that way about yourself." Kat closed the door softly, as to not disturb him any further.

Alex laid on the orange sofa, wanting nothing more than to rest and reflect on the conversation. Was he really that negative about himself? It was hard to imagine a life spent with another person, but was he really that damaged?

He really wished that things hadn't turned out like they did, and that was true, especially about the more recent events of his life.

If things were different, if he wasn't that shallow and self-pitying, then maybe there would have been a chance.

No. That life died with his parents back in Oregon.

That life died in Area 51.

That life died in Ponyville and Vale.

That life died with his humanity.

Now, he was a soldier, more than that, he was a leader, he had other lives to worry about beside his own. Things were different now, this was not about self-preservation like it was in Ponyville or Canterlot, no.

This was about ensuring that his allies lived to see tomorrow.

Even if he didn't.

His phone buzzed at his side, he flipped it up, and it revealed an unknown contact, he swiped to the right on his phone to answer the call.

"Hello, is this Alex Walker?" The man at the other line asked.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. What of it?" Alex asked him.

"My name is Rufio Vincent of the Los Santos Syndicate, I'm holding a Mr. Fong hostage, as well as his friends."

"Don't even start it." Alex seethed with aggression.

"You have ten minutes to pay us $50,000, or else they die. Your call."

"Where?" Alex tried to calm himself down.

"The Galileo Observatory north of your apartment." Rufio answered.

"I'm on my way." Alex said.

"Pleasure doin' business with you, Walker." Rufio hung up.

Alex went over to his closet, and put on his Armor, the Scarab Mk. III, built in with various rocket launchers and a shoulder-mounted .50 Caliber machine gun, on top of his jump-jets and near indestructible Equestrian Steel hull.

He reached for .44 Scratch and Electric Fury, holstering them before reaching for an Atlean KMG-157 Battle Rifle, equipped with a Veir-Kai sight and an A-17 grenade launcher, the equivalent of his original SCAR-H, courtesy of a security guard's corpse from his stint in the Vale Embassy.

"Not for the reason you're thinking Mr. Vincent." Alex said to himself as he walked into his garage and into his armored Insurgent, still in it's original black-and-yellow paint job with Batman logos stamped on the sides.

Pressing a button on the data-pad on his left wrist, he sent a voice message to everyone who wasn't captured.

"Attention all remaining members of Team Unity, Vanoss and his friends are being held captive in the Galileo Observatory to the north! Be there to assist in the rescue mission ASAP!" Alex ordered.

"Roger that!"

"Yes, Sir!"

"I am not missing this!"

"Ugh, fine!"

"On our way!"

"Meet ya there!"

"The Elements and I are on our way over!" Everyone said through their radios.

Indeed, there was no escaping this life.

Not that he had much of a problem with it.

Author's Notes:

Anyone else agree that the ending to this chapter had a sort of 'Avengers' feel to it?
What do you guys think? Should I...
A:) End the story here and tell the rest in a sequel
Or
B:) Continue with the story, but move onto Act II of the story?
Leave your answer in the comments below!

Act II, Chapter 1: The Syndicate

Kat drove her car over to the Observatory where Alex said Vanoss and his crew were being held.

"So, Ms. Anderson. How did your conversation with Commander Walker go?" Zera asked. While Kat respected Zera's caring and straightforward attitude, she was not in as much of a mood to speak.

"Alex said he isn't ready for romance yet. He hasn't even thought about it once." Kat replied.

"Perhaps he really isn't. To go through something like Alex's situation is not one I would wish on anyone. My sensors indicate that, while psychologically beneficial, a relationship would only deter any progress on this misadventure." Zera figured.

"You really know how to make me feel better, Zera." Kat said sarcastically.

"Hold on, I just downloaded schematics for the building, and I have a plan for this." Zera perked up.

"Phone the others, we aren't called 'Team Unity' for nothing. We need this plan to work!" Kat ordered.

"Already sent the texts." Zera said. But how? She didn't even have a phone...

"How did you- oh, right, android." Kat realized mid-sentence.

Kat's phone buzzed, receiving a text. Opening up her phone, she saw a highly detailed map of the observatory, along with sniping positions, suspected locations for Evan and his crew, orders, everything.

Moving along to her GPS, she marked the best parking space nearest the best vantage point, a small hill overlooking the entire building.

She drove up near the overlook, went over to the trunk of the car, and opened it, revealing a very heavily modified Barrett M82 .50 BMG sniper rifle, equipped with an ice-like bipod, a bayonet that could change into a grappling hook, flame decals and incendiary bullets, as well as two keys on either side of the scope meant to summon Sentinels, metallic bird-like creatures that had most in common with Nevermores in Remnant.

She laid down in her spot while Zera moved over to the northwestern side of the building, out of sight from many of the Syndicate's men.

She looked through the scope. Safety on, of course, and saw Twilight and the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony went into their respective corners of the structure like spokes on a wheel. Team RWBY were riding a helicopter above the Observatory, ready to jump out of the helicopter and into the ensuing battle.

Alex, she saw, was walking right into the Observatory, as planned, ready to attack on Zera's cue.

The cue, she remembered, was the word 'Knightfall'. That was the signal that said Alex, Kat, and the Elements should start attacking. The cue word for Team RWBY and Zera to attack was only if they needed backup, a signal given by Alex, his code word was 'Bishop'.

Looking back to her cellphone, her first targets were the ones guarding sites A, with Alex's being B and the Elements' being C. Aiming right for a patrolman's neck, she awaited her signal.

Alex walked into the main entrance, ready to attack the Observatory on Zera's signal. He was immediately greeted by guards.

"You must be Mr. Walker, so nice for you to join us!" One introduced.

"Why are you wearing the armor?" The other asked.

"It's a dangerous world, can't be too cautious." Alex replied.

"We have orders to take the bounty as soon as you get here." The first said.

"How about you tell me where my friends are, then you get your bribe." Alex replied.

"Of course! Your friends are being held in the room where the Telescope is. It isn't that far away."

Alex awaited Zera's order still. Suddenly, his earpiece chimed in.

"Knightfall." The voice said.

Two shots were fired above them, and both guards looked around for the source.

His MG emitted a sharp beeping noise before shooting the guards, killing them both.

"Roger, HVIs are in site C!" Alex said as soon as the second guard died.

"Noted, sending Elements to site C immediately, Alex, go assist them, keep the others away from them!" Zera ordered

"Understood. On my way." Alex replied, leaping high above the site and killing anyone in his way.

His Machine gun roared with fire, killing anyone he missed while killing more Syndicate men with the BR he stole from the guards in Vale.

Sniper fire killed what Alex and his MG missed, spurts of blood leaping from their bodies and crumpling to the ground in a useless heap.

Alex crashed on top of more soldiers, deactivating the machine gun and shooting them with the Battle Rifle, killing most of his enemies with ruthless efficiency.

Reloading a mag into said BR, he killed any survivors of the attack, unloading 32 rounds of 7.89 mm (Remnant's equivalent to a 7.62) into them, resulting in agonizing death.

He immediately saw the Elements, and they were struggling.

'That's what you get when you and your friends are mostly pacifists,' Alex thought bitterly as he pulled out .44 Scratch, killing their opponents with relentlessly accurate shots, making full use of each shot.

"You ponies sure know how to handle yourselves in a battle scenario." Alex scoffed sarcastically.

"Don't blame us, war in Equestria is next to unheard of, it's not like we get much practice, unlike you." Twilight retorted.

Ignoring the insult, he turned around, only to find dozens of Syndicate Mercs fast-roping in from above them.

Alex pressed a button on his suit, opening up compartments filled to the brim with laser-guided missiles. Launching them all, he blew up most of the helicopers, burnt hunks of metal crashing to the earth as the mercenaries dodged the destroyed vehicles as try plummeted to the earth below.

More trucks drove up, most of them armored cars, and started shooting at Alex, only for the bullets to ricochet off of him and into several buildings around him.

"Get Vanoss! I'll deal with them!" Alex ordered his on/off allies.

They ran in direction of the telescope as Alex reactivated his Machine Gun, loaded his Grenade Launcher, and rose hell on his combatants.

Twilight and the others ran into a few lingering foes, with her using attack spells, Rainbow flying them high above the ground and simply dropping them or punching them, Applejack bucking them far away from the area, Rarity levitating sewing needles and flinging them at the enemies, or knocking them out with a hard punch, Pinkie distracting them long enough for the others to attack, and Fluttershy...

Twilight looked back at her meek friend, she was crying in the corner, mortified by the chaos around her.

She levitated Fluttershy along, even though kindness had no place in a situation like this.

They eventually made their way to the Telescope room, opening the door and finding more guards inside, along with Vanoss and his friends.

A man in a fancy looking suit and slicked black-and-grey hair looked back at them, looking rather confused.

"What am I looking at here? Horses are coming to rescue these men?" The man giggled at the mere sight of them.

Rainbow seethed at the comment.

"Oh yeah?!" Rainbow yelled as he flew head on at the man...

...And rose a hand, which glowed a bright yellow, and held Rainbow Dash in place.

"Pfft... You are NOTHING TO ME!!!" He yelled as he tossed her friend aside like a rag doll.

Fluttershy immediately flew to help her friend up.

"Kill these men!" He ordered, levitating them up as he walked right past them, dropping them as soon as he left the room.

"No!" Twilight rose a hoof in an effort to save her friends.

The guards shot them all in the head, killing them all.

"Buck! Evan!" Rainbow gasped.

The room was silent. They won. Their friends were dead.

The room was then bursting with gunfire, the six ducked in an effort to try and save themselves, when Twilight finally looked up, the men were dead, with Vanoss and his friends climbing in through the windows.

"You're alive!" Rarity gasped.

"But...how?" Applejack asked suspiciously.

"You guys do know that we respawn, like, a block away, right?" Mini replied.

"These assholes didn't!" Wildcat chuckled.

"But, seriously though. You guys went to rescue us, didn't you?" Terroriser asked them.

"Of course, silly filly!" Pinkie cheered.

"Really? That's not even how you say that! It's like how Nogla says 'hockin' a dookie'!" Wildcat practically died laughing.

"You! Yellow one! You seem really familiar..." Basically tried to recall where he had seen her before.

"Wait, how's Alex doing?" Rainbow asked, checking her earpiece.

"AAAAAAH SHIT!!! BISHOP!!' BISHOP!!! C'MON! SOMEBODY HELP!!!!" Alex yelled in a panic.

"He seems to be doing so well!" Delirious rolled his eyes.

"There's no time to waste! We have to help him! Let's go!" Twilight ordered as the other Elements and Evan's crew followed her.

Alex was not having fun.

He was being attacked by way more troops that even he could handle and called for help.

Immediately, Team RWBY fell in to assist, explosions and ice structures all around him as they fell and continued their assault.

Zera ran in, sang in a mechanized voice, and held a large sword that glowed a bright blue.

Kat was not far off, firing sniper rounds and killing anyone she could.

The elements attacked them next, violet bolts of magic flying right past him, a rainbow blur knocking several men out of the way, others being kicked upwards, to name some attacks.

Vanoss and his crew ran in last, shooting at the opponents ruthlessly, blood flying high into the air and killing them.

More troops fast-roped in, others drove in tanks and other assorted military equipment, even the police attacked, shooting at them and their enemies.

"I have a plan! Get in a circle around me!" Twilight ordered.

Everyone did as they were told, Alex knew exactly what she was planning.

The attack was relentless, enemies seemed to come in from everywhere.

"Why is no one helping!" Asked Droidd, very worried about the attack around them.

"If you've got a plan, you better get to it!" Blake yelled, shooting at anyone she could.

"GET OVER HERE!" Vanoss screamed, stealing Gambol Shroud from Blake and skewering a cop.

"HEY!" She yelled as Vanoss yanked back, pulling the officer and slicing him up.

Blake stole it back from Vanoss, looking very pissed at him.

"Don't ever do that again!" She ordered.

The more enemies swarmed in around them, the tighter the circle became.

"Okay, I worked up enough magic to get us out of here! Hang on!" Twilight yelled as a violet glow enveloped Team Unity.

Alex ducked down as the ground fell from under them and the sky above caved in on itself.

When Alex blinked again, there they all were, on top of the Maze Bank building.

They all fell to the ground, exhausted, especially Twilight, who casted the spell that teleported all twenty-three members of Team Unity, an impressive feat, even for an Alicorn.

Alex watched as, from the distance, a large cloud of smoke enveloped the once-peaceful building. Surely the cops and the Syndicate were all killing each other.

"Who were those guys?" Kat asked, gasping for breath.

"The Syndicate, they're responsible for most of the professional crime in Los Santos." Vanoss breathed.

"That guy's name, the guy in the suit, is Rufio Vincent, he's basically their boss or some shit." Wildcat gasped through his pig mask.

"He's the one who called me and told me you guys were captured, he said he wanted $500,000 or something ridiculous like that." Alex added to what he knew.

"That guy?! He threw me into a wall!" Rainbow scoffed.

"He possessed some sort of levitation ability similar to unicorn magic." Twilight explained further.

"That can only mean one thing..." Alex's voice trailed off.

Rufio was not a happy guy.

He never was, nor would he ever be.

Events like tonight only angered him further.

He grasped the amethyst hued communication beacon, bearing the black mark of the Inquisitors, a dark silhouette with red eyes, bearing a silver scythe and a golden scale.

He pressed the button on the side.

"What is it, Gamma?" A raspy voice asked.

"Sigma's target? I found him." Rufio responded.

"Ah, I see. I'll be sure to tell her." The voice replied.

"I understand, sir." Rufio nodded.

"It appears The Red Star's formation will come a little early, ready your men, Gamma!" The voice ordered.

"Yes, Alpha." He sighed.

"Sigma's target... He interests me... I will come also." Alpha concluded.

"Yes, Alpha."

The transmitter stopped, and Rufio put it away.

"The Great War has been set in motion. Time to... Prioritize." Rufio scowled.

Author's Notes:

So begins Act II.

I considered having, like, a vote. But due to the fact that that nobody reads my blogs anyway and there are apparently rules against setting these up in Group Forums, I decided to choose myself, so, here we are.

Act II, Chapter 2: Another Plan

Alex had all of Team Unity at his apartment after that battle.

With the intent to discuss what to do about The Syndicate, Alex soon found the group getting hopelessly off-track.

"-So then, Delirious got out of that creepy-ass costume and we had to check the cameras..." Vanoss continued his long-winded story about his 'Five Nights at Freddy's' Gmod adventure.

"Weren't we supposed to be talking about those guys who captured you and held you for ransom?" Weiss clearly had as much interest on the subject as Alex did.

"Oh, yeah!" Delirious jumped up a little, as if realizing the reason why they were even having the meeting in the first place.

"As interesting as it was, I'm afraid Ms. Schnee is correct. We have to focus on the current threat at hand. There will be time to talk about our previous misadventures later, Vanoss." Zera calmly replied.

"True, those guys were tough! Even I had trouble fighting them, there were so many." Alex recalled.

"Yeah, I wonder if those cops managed to hold their own against them." Rainbow sighed.

"Do you think we need any backup? I do know a few wizards." Kat asked.

"We don't know if they'd even consider helping us. As far as I'm concerned, we're all we've got." Alex asserted.

"Commander Walker may be correct. Keep in mind that your friends were in the same guild as those that turned against you, and as the saying goes, 'Birds of a feather flock together'." Zera agreed.

"So what's the plan?" Basically asked.

"We have to investigate as to why these men are choosing to target us. We've only been here about, what? Five days? There's gotta be something behind all this." Alex decided.

"But what about Rufio? If he finds us before we know what's going on, we're all going down in your shit." Mini explained.

"It's obvious that this guy is an Inquisitor. According to a certain someone that I know, Inquisitors almost always have some kind of special ability and are usually leaders of some type of group, and Mr. Vincent just so happens to meet and exceed that criteria." Alex replied.

"But we're severely out-ponied! How are we ever going to survive this?" Rarity started to panic.

"Calm down! I'm sure he knows what to do, so what's your plan?" Yang asked.

"The way I see it, we've got two fugitives, ten idiots, six magical horses, four schoolgirls who happen to know how to kill so well that it's borderline Yandere-like, and one android. Zera is going to try and tap all the phone lines to see what they're planning, Team RWBY, Kat, and Myself are going to try and kill the SOB before he can screw us all over, the Elements are going to have to try and put the pieces that we give them together, and Vanoss's crew are gonna root out and kill anyone in the Syndicate and buy as much equipment as humanly possible. Sound like a plan?" Alex planned out.

"The chances of success are about... 87.61%" Zera calculated.

"What's the other 12.29?" Twilight asked.

"The likelihood of this plan failing and every last one of us dying an awful death, of course!" Zera replied cheerfully.

"That's a lot better than we usually do." Moo figured.

"Are you ready, kids?" Vanoss asked.

"Aye, aye, captain." Nogla said.

"Aye, aye, Vanoss." Wildcat replied at that exact moment.

"I can't hear you-" Vanoss said before he was so rudely interrupted.

"AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN!!!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Jesus!" Vanoss scolded.

"Well, then. It's settled." Alex concluded calmly, in vast contrast to his teammates.

"Already tapping phone lines in the immediate Los Santos and Blaine County areas, sir!"

"Meeting adjourned!" Kat announced.

Everyone except Alex and Kat left the apartment, Alex lived here, but he wasn't fully sure about why Kat stayed.

"Do you wanna talk, Alex?" Kat asked him.

"Sure. Any topics?" Alex asked her.

"I've been meaning to ask, what's up with you and Yang?" Kat wondered.

"It's a long story." Alex responded.

"I have plenty of time." Kat assured him.

"Okay. So I was training one day, and because of my apparent nightmares, I didn't sleep the night before, but I didn't tell anyone." Alex began his tale.

"Why not?" Kat asked.

"I was sure everyone kinda already knew. But anyways, Yang throws me into a bush and asks why I wasn't telling anyone anything, so I just... Told her everything." Alex explained.

"Anything else?"

"As soon as I mentioned Inquisitors, she had us go to Patch for some secret mission regarding a 'friend'." Alex finished. He didn't want to give away a whole lot.

"She knew about them?" Kat asked.

"Enough that she felt it was necessary to have us sent to some random island." Alex answered, rolling his eyes.

"I see."

"And what's your story? I know you told me something about a Guild, what's the story behind that?" Alex asked a question of his own.

"Oh! You mean them!" Kat realized.

Kat began explaining her own interdimesional escapades when Zera called Alex.

"Hello?" Alex asked.

"Greetings Commander. I do not wish to waste your time so I shall go straight to the point." Zera said.

"Go on."

"Vanoss, H20 Delirious, and Lui Calibre are currently under attack by Syndicate hit men." She explained.

"Where?"

"About now, they are near the Ammu-Nation by the overpass south of here." Zera replied.

"How are they holding up?" Alex asked.

"I hacked into the microphones on their cell phones, you tell me." Zera sighed as the line disconnected and reconnected elsewhere.

"We've got two choppers on us, three choppers!" Lui yelled, firing a machine gun.

"Delirious! Drive!" Vanoss screamed.

"AAAAAAHHH!"

The line disconnected again and reconnected to Zera.

"Case in point. I should probably help." Alex grumbled.

"Yes, You should." Zera said in annoyance as the phone hung up.

"Well then!" Alex scoffed, putting on some battle gear he purchased from a clothing store, as well as a heavy bulletproof vest, grabbed a pair of sunglasses and his Battle Rifle and left for his garage, Kat not too far behind.

The garage was pretty impressive, Super cars, motorcycles, and armored trucks of some varieties inside.

"What should we take?" Kat asked.

"Get in the Insurgent and take the wheel!" Alex ordered.

"Okay! Sheesh!" Kat rose her hands in defense, walking in the car while Alex got in the gunner. No, this was not the same one he drove to on their previous mission, that was destroyed, he still owed Vanoss $500.

"Where to?" Kat asked as soon as they pulled out of the garage.

"The highway near that Ammu-Nation to the south, please." Alex informed her.

They drove off in the direction the police helicopters were going.

This was not going to end very well. For the Syndicate's men, at least.

Author's Notes:

Well, here's a short chapter.
Anyways, I should have the next chapter up in a little while, so yeah.

Act II, Chapter 3: The Chase

Kat eventually got herself and Alex to that overpass.

Upon reaching that location, It was pretty easy to see Vanoss and the others being chased by several black and red cars.

"Are those Syndicate cars?" Kat asked Alex, who was reaching back up to the turret on top of the truck.

"I'd think so, that's Lui shooting them." Alex replied.

A look further up the road confirmed his theory, as she saw a monkey firing a machine gun while smoking a cigar.

Definitely Lui.

"Okay, drive up next to Vanoss and tell him to tell Delirious to get his ass on the gunner position!" Alex ordered.

"What about you? What are you gonna do?!" Kat asked.

"Lay some hate." Alex replied, grabbing his battle rifle and leaping from the truck.

Kat figured he would be fine, he had done stupider things in the past, until then, she may as well follow orders.

Alex leapt off the Insurgent and onto another car, a grey sedan. The driver started yelling at him while he was searching for a Syndicate car.

Found one! It was a few cars ahead, the passenger shooting what appeared to be a M1927 Thompson.

Alex leapt from one car to the next, which was rather difficult given he was on a highway, leaping from car to car at 80 mph.

Whilst gripping the top of a car, he shot one of the Syndicate car's tires. The tire didn't explode. Of course they were bulletproof.

What about the windows?

Climbing to the top of a minivan, he aimed his BR in the direction of the driver, and fired one shot, intended to hit the back of his head.

The bullet pierced through the back window and the car skidded to the right, and slammed into a roadblock.

A nearby explosion indicated that Delirious and Lui were making short work of the remaining cars, blowing them up seconds after he killed the driver.

Damn! A Syndicate car smashed directly into the minivan he was riding, and the driver as well as the passenger were shooting at him.

Firing at the engine, he tried to hold them back a little.

One look past and he saw about six more Syndicate cars and possibly a red and black helicopter.

Alex grabbed his cell phone and called Delirious and Lui.

"I don't mean to alarm you, but they have a chopper after us, would you kindly SHOOT IT DOWN BEFORE IT KILLS US ALL?!" Alex yelled, panicking a little.

They both hung up on him.

"Of course, what else was gonna happen?" Alex sighed, annoyed with the cutoff.

Alex resorted to firing grenades at the Syndicate cars, and accidentally blew up a few other cars in the process. And the one he was standing on was currently in flames.

He leaped off, and the minivan exploded a few meters away.

What's worse is that the Syndicate hit-men stopped in front of him, stepped out of their cars, and shot at him.

Alex retaliated by shooting grenades at the cars, blowing them up in a fireworks show of orange and blue, for he still had plenty of grenades from the SCAR.

The hit men still shot at him, and Alex was aware that his bulletproof vest's condition was worsening, and fast.

"Alex! Do you read? I repeat, Alex, do you copy, over!" a voice from his earpiece beckoned.

"Yeah! I'm in a bit of trouble! Syndicate hit men have me cornered!" Alex yelled, calling out to one of his comrades.

"I'm on my way, hang in there, kid!" the voice responded. Alex wasn't sure who it was he was communicating with, his earpiece was that damaged, he should probably have someone repair it.

But that was beside the point.

Alex kept shooting until he ran out of bullets, and when he went to reload, he found that there wasn't a single mag left.

In response, he threw it at his enemies, distracting them while pulling out .44 Scratch, killing as many as he could. As soon as he began reloading, a bullet pierced his left arm, the pain was excruciating.

"AAGH! DAMN IT!" He screamed in pain as he literally took his thumb and pointer finger and dug into his arm, pulling out the bullet and throwing it to the ground.

Alex grasped a Thompson that had been dropped near him and shot back with his right arm only as his left hung limp at his side.

It was around that moment when someone in a bright yellow motorcycle landed between him and his assailants, using an Uzi submachine gun in tandem with very powerful blasts from a gauntlet.

The rider holstered the Uzi and reached out to him, he recognized her immediately.

"Hi, Yang. Thanks for coming." He nodded as he got on the motorcycle.

"Zera told me to, she said I was closest to you. Where are Vanoss and the others?" She asked.

"They should be further up ahead." Alex responded, then he noticed something.

There was no way to ride this thing and not have it feel awkward.

Oh, who cares?

He grasped Electric Fury, converted it into it's rail gun mode, and had it pointed behind him in case Syndicate hit men were to attack from behind, all the while trying to hang on with only his legs.

'Don't think about it, don't think about it.' Alex repeated this mantra in his head, as he would have to throughout this next part of the mission.

Kat was still on the highway, and the view had changed from an urban landscape to a more lush and inviting view, and now it was more or less an arid desert.

Delirious knocked twice on the ceiling, demanding her attention.

"Drive up to this overpass and make a left!" Delirious said.

Kat did as Delirious instructed, only to find more desert. From what she knew, there was a small town just up ahead, as well as the prison.

"Vanoss and Lui are pulling into the airport, let's stop here." Delirious calmly said, relieved that most of the Hit-men were dead.

Kat pulled up next to Vanoss's Insurgent, put the large truck in park, and exited the car, Delirious had also gotten out of the car and was not far off.

"Hey, Kat. You ok?" Vanoss asked.

"Don't worry about it, what's the plan?" Kat asked.

"I just thought of something a while ago." Vanoss said.

"What?" Kat asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"You know about the Humane Labs raid, right?" Lui asked her.

"Oh, yeah. Nogla told me about that."

"You know how we used an EMP to shut down all their stuff, right?" Delirious continued.

"Yeah, why?"

"We figured we should probably get ourselves one of those, put it in Alex's weird ass pocket thing." Vanoss said.

"Where are we going to get one?" Kat asked.

"Same place we got the last one, on a navy boat, from a jet." Lui answered.

"How would you even know where to find an EMP?"

"We asked Zera. She said there were about two that were somewhere on the map, the first option was the navy boat, and the other one is the one we used, which is in the FIB building, hidden in a vault." Vanoss responded.

"Well, I'd ask everyone if I were you." Kat recommended.

"We'll bring it up in the next meeting." Delirious shrugged.

"No need." A voice said behind them all.

Kat looked back, and saw Alex and Yang.

"Oh, hey man, where ya been? Secret mission?" Lui asked.

"No, I had to save Alex for, like, the second time already." Yang answered.

Kat noticed something kinda funny, Alex was blushing a little bit.

"You okay, Alex? You're looking a little red." Kat smirked.

Alex then muttered something about 'stupid puberty' and sat down on the hood of one of the Insurgents.

Kat looked over in that general direction, where a yellow motorcycle had been neatly parked next to the trucks, and suddenly everything made sense.

"Oooooh. I get it!" Kat couldn't help but laugh a little bit.

"Shut up." Alex sighed, embarrassed.

"Oh! I see what she's thinkin'!" Delirious could barely finish the sentence before laughing rather hard.

"Shut up, Delirious, I saw your 'GTA V Gay Adventures' video!" Vanoss taunted.

That sentence alone had thrown pretty much everyone into a laughing fit, except Delirious and Alex, for obvious reasons.

"Calm down, man! We're all friends here!" Yang comforted, still laughing.

"Ha ha. Not in the mood." Alex rolled his eyes.

"I have a plan." Vanoss said, tossing a C4 at Delirious's feet, and blew him about 10 meters up in the air.

"NOOOOO!" Delirious screamed at the top of his lungs.

Vanoss and Lui had started laughing again, not before another C4 had been thrown at Vanoss's feet and detonated.

Alex began laughing, holding a detonator in his right hand.

"NO! DELIRIOUS!!!" Vanoss immediately blamed.

"That was Alex!" Lui corrected, laughing.

"So what happened, anyway?" Kat asked.

"So I drove up to Alex, and picked him up."

"I had to sit behind her."

"I told him to hold on."

"When they say 'keep your hands north of the equator', they never clearly state how far north you go." Alex said, blushing again.

"He thought he went too far up and just froze." Yang continued.

"I fell off the motorcycle." Alex admitted.

"Oooooh! I thought he did something else!" Delirious realized.

"Why, what did you think- oh, wait, don't tell me." Yang stopped herself just in time.

"Dude! I'm fifteen!" Alex scolded.

"And that deserves a-" Vanoss said before shooting Delirious in the head with a marksman pistol.

"GOD DAMMIT VANOSS!!!!" Delirious yelled.

"So, we're clear, like, the plan?" Alex asked.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Okay, everyone drive home, I'm walking." Alex said.

Yang grabbed him by the back of his shirt.

"Nah! You're coming with me, don't fall off this time, okay?" Yang teased.

"Don't remind me." Alex replied, annoyed.

Author's Notes:

Zip Zop Zoobity chapter.

The next chapter should be out soon.

And, yes, this is actually important to the story.

No, I'm too lazy to add a Romance tag, so unless I change my mind, this is as far as it's going.

Yes, I learned from my time in the fandom that there will be ships, even though I'm sure that this story won't gain enough publicity for fan art, but ships are bound to happen at some point.

Will I have cover art?
That remains to be seen, but I can't pay for it with actual money, why?

Reasons.

Act II, Chapter 4: The Aircraft Carrier Heist; Part I of III

Alex and Yang were currently sitting on the couch.

Alex argued that she should just leave and come back when he was ready with the plans, but the Huntress insisted on staying anyways, in spite of his newfound discomfort.

"So, this is what you do in your down-time? Boring!" Yang joked.

"Yeah, you learn to appreciate moments like this when most of your time is spent killing people and making friends with people who could potentially kill you and escaping the people trying to kill you while making sure those friends who could potentially kill you all survive. So, yeah, this is pretty much it." Alex explained.

The two sat in silence, Alex in particular was casually writing in his journal, while Yang searched the apartment for alcohol.

Alex was still finishing off the last sentence in today's entry when Yang cleared her throat.

Looking up from the page, he saw the Huntress-in-training calmly sipping a cocktail.

"You wanna talk?" She asked.

"Eh, got nothing better to do. What's on your mind?" Alex asked.

"So, when Ozpin offered training, why did you take it? From the way Evan and the others talk about you, you're already a natural fighter." Yang asked him.

At least this had an easy answer.

"A friend of mine was killed by an Inquisitor, and it was because of what little training I had that helped me beat her, as well as three of her asshole friends. If I hadn't unlocked my Aura and trained so rigorously in those seven-to-eight days, I wouldn't be here to tell you about it." He explained.

"Couldn't you have beaten her without your Aura? That dubstep gun is really powerful, and your bulletproof armor would've held out for a while, not that I'm saying I don't want you to have huntsman training." Yang reasoned.

"To be honest with you, it was the same deal with Winchester, she killed my friend and tried to kill all of us. That answer is simple, I wanted blood. I possibly would have killed her if Raven hadn't stopped me." Alex retorted.

"Okay, I get it now. You're trying to adapt to meet your enemies, go with the flow, right?" Yang asked.

"Pretty much."

"I can help with that, Raven gave me some Inheritor training, and I can have Ruby help you."

"Interesting offer. I'll take it." Alex agreed.

"Okay, I'll try to scout out some ideal places to train." Yang smiled.

The two shook on the deal, and resumed with what they were doing prior to the conversation.

"So, what's your plan, with getting the EMP?" Yang asked.

"I'm going to invite the rest of the team over and talk it out with them, Evan and his friends are actually quite smart with this sort of thing, Twilight is pretty much a bookworm, and your teammates were able to discover what these White Fang guys were doing a little while back. Kat is also really good with planning things out, and Zera is an android. We'll figure something out." Alex responded.

"You seem to have such faith in your comrades, Commander." Zera said, walking into his apartment complex.

"Well, that was fast." Yang commented.

"Of course I do, we're still here, aren't we?" Alex asked the android.

"I am not saying that your team is incompetent. It is truly an admirable trait." Zera complimented.

"Well, thank you." Alex respectfully nodded.

"You're welcome, sir."

And with that, Zera sent out the text and the rest of the team was there in a matter of minutes.

They all sat at various places in his apartment, on the couch, on the floor, some even pulled up a few chairs and sat there. Once everybody was situated, Alex pulled out a map of Los Santos, a few thumb-tacks, and Post-it notes.

"Hey, team." Alex began.

"Really, who starts out a plan with 'hey, team'?" Weiss taunted.

"I'm with Snow White over there, that was pathetic." Wildcat agreed.

"Eeyup." Applejack added.

"SNOW WHITE?!" Weiss lashed out at Wildcat.

It was then Wildcat let out one of the girliest screams in history, much to the rest of Vanoss's crew, Rainbow's, and Ruby's amusement.

"That was almost as funny as what Alex did to Yang!" Lui added.

"Don't remind me." Alex huffed.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY SISTER, YOU FIEND!?" Ruby walked up to Alex and demanded.

"It seems like you and Rainbow have similar stances on personal space, as in neither of you know what it is!" Alex retorted.

"OOOOOOOOH!!" Vanoss yelled, pulling out his cell phone and playing an MLG air horn sound effect.

"Calm down, Alex is only fifteen and your sister is seventeen, I'm sure it wasn't much." Twilight tried to be the mediator in this situation, as per usual.

"I fell off the back of Yang's motorcycle." Alex admitted. Ruby, Vanoss, Delirious, Lui, and Kat began laughing again.

"That actually isn't all. From what I picked up from Alex's cell phone mic, Yang had screamed 'sexual harassment' and then Alex fell." Zera corrected.

This time, most of the room filled with laughter, that is, except for most of the Mane 6, Alex, and Zera.

"That reminds me, wanna hear about the time Nogla shit himself?" Moo asked.

That had pretty much the same effect as last time, only Alex said something.

"Yes, divert the embarrassment! You're a hero, Nogla!" He joked.

"What about Alex's voice cracks?!" Pinkie yelled.

"Damn it!" Alex yelled.

"Yeah, his voice is like; AAAAaaaaaAaAaaaAAAA!" Basically mocked.

"What was that, Tarzan?" Vanoss laughed.

"Nah, man, more like Mini when we fought zombies on the moon!" Wildcat corrected.

"Where is this conversation going?!" Kat asked.

"Now, who would like to hear the story of Pablo?" Mini Ladd asked in a deep, Christian Bale-esque voice.

"Zera, remember how I said these guys were smart?" Alex asked.

"Affirmative." She replied.

"I take it back."

So, after a couple hours, the team had finally settled on a plan, essentially a repeat of what they did last time, only with a bit more backup.

The bad news was he was stuck on a dinghy with Vanoss, Wildcat, and Nogla.

"We ride together, eat French fries together." Vanoss said.

"We ride together, we buy ties together." Wildcat joked.

"We ride together, we die together." Nogla chimed in.

Both Vanoss and Wildcat started laughing at that statement.

"We just die! We don't do anything else together!" Vanoss laughed.

"Well, that wasn't inaccurate... Anyway, what's the plan, gang?" Alex asked them, they were the ones responsible in making sure this went according to plan.

"We sneak up, kill anyone in our way, Delirious and Lui are setting up Operation Flying Tank, and you're going to kill the bad guys we're too lazy or too noobish to kill." Nogla explained.

"And Rainbow is going to watch us and tell the others if this plan goes to shit." Wildcat added.

"And I'm sure Zera is also watchin' us with her android super powers, so we're good." Vanoss finished.

"At least you guys put something together. Let's do this." Alex smirked, they got this, besides, he had his full Scarab armor on, there was no way they were losing.

"Alpha?"

"Yes, Gamma?" Alpha asked.

"I do not mean to disturb you, but Sigma's target-" Rufio could barely finish before someone interrupted him.

"What about my target?" A young woman asked.

Sigma still had a few bandages on, and she still had a limp in her left leg.

"Greetings, my star pupil. Gamma here was just about to tell me their location.

"Ah, yes. It would appear that they are en route to the U.S.S Zancudo to steal an electromagnetic pulse device capable of bringing down an entire facility, as soon as they figure out our base of operations, we're through!" Gamma lamented.

Sigma slapped Gamma on the back of the head.

"Don't get all weepy, Rufio. I'm sure Alpha is sending me over there." She said.

"That is not the case. I am sending Beta to take your stead in this fight, if he really is the catalyst, we cannot let him survive." Alpha corrected.

"What?!" Sigma was outraged.

"You are still in no condition to fight. Besides, you already proved your worth, or lack thereof. If an average human can defeat you, then why should I even consider sending an incompetent oaf like you?!" Alpha held Sigma in a choke hold.

"Y-You're not stopping me from killing him!" Sigma gasped.

"It's treason, then." Alpha threw Sigma back on the ground. Hard.

Gamma was stunned, there was no resisting him.

"Get this weakling out of my sight!" Alpha ordered.

"Yes, sir." Gamma went and picked Sigma up from where she landed.

In response, Sigma punched Gamma hard in the jaw and ran.

"Stop her!" Alpha ordered.

Sigma summoned her bow and shot arrows at the doorway, enclosing them in.

"You fool! If you can't stop her, you're even more pathetic than she is!" Alpha scolded.

"B-But I..." Gamma held out his hands in defense.

"Beta! Another objective has been added to your mission." Alpha began.

"Yes, Alpha?" Gamma heard Beta through the comms on Alpha's headset.

"Sigma has gone rogue. She is after the boy. Stop her at all costs." Alpha ordered.

"It will be done, master." Beta respectfully said before turning of the comms.

"Gamma! Exit the room!" Alpha barked.

"Yes, master." Gamma bowed before running out the door.

Alpha then opened up a small box containing various styled chess pieces and a board, and placed them into their proper areas.

"Let the games begin, Alex Walker."

Author's Notes:

I promised a chapter and I give you a three parter.

Good for you, readers. I have to write more.

Act II, Chapter 5, The Aircraft Carrier Heist; Part II of III

"We're here!"

Vanoss and Nogla were the first two to actually get out of the dinghy and into the Aircraft Carrier.

"Gotcha, I don't think I see anybody. You guys should be good if you keep quiet." Rainbow Dash said. She was currently flying around 10,000 feet above the ship, not detectable by their radar and still visible.

Vanoss had said that the dinghy wasn't so small that it was undetectable, but it was small enough to be confused for something innocent, like some driftwood, explaining why it was so cramped in there.

"C'mon, Alex!" Wildcat urged, pulling out a .50 Caliber pistol and climbed off the boat.

"Here's the plan. Alex, wait on that balcony and clear out anyone on the next floor that you can on my signal." Vanoss whispered.

Alex simply nodded in reply as he got into position.

"Okay, Operation Flying Tank is complete, let us know when to come over there." Delirious said through the radio.

"Zera, are you 100% sure that this channel is secure?" Alex asked.

"Yes, I'm 95.6667% that this channel is secure." The android replied.

"That's it?" Alex asked

"There are a couple hackers on that ship just chipping away at the firewalls, It should hold out." Zera responded.

"Well, ok then."

----

Vanoss, Wildcat and Nogla stood at the bottom of the stairwell, running through the plan again.

"Okay, Nogla, do a numbers crunch."

"There's about .33% chance of success going up the stairs." Nogla replied.

"That's a lot better than we usually do."

"Times up, let's do this!" Wildcat shouted.

"Tyler!" Nogla yelled, enraged.

"LEEROOOOOY JEEEEEEENKIIIIIIIIIIINSSS!!!!!!" Wildcat yelled.

"Alex! Go!" Vanoss ordered.

"'Bout time." Alex muttered as he initiated the jump-jets.

Rearing up for the 25 meter jump, he activated his Shoulder Mounted MG and set it for... 1987 RPM!

Looking up to clarify, he extended his legs in a large jump and activated his jump-jets in the span of about a second and flew up to where he needed to go.

The soldiers looked behind them in disbelief as they saw Alex in full Scarab Mk. III Armor.

"Holy shit! Open fire!!" The sergeant ordered as the dozens of troops shot at him.

Each shot merely bounced off the armor, the impact lighting up in a flash of orange, explosive rounds.

The MG ripped the men in front of him to shreds before moving onto the soldiers further back, the MG sounding much like a buzz saw as dozens of rounds zipped through the helpless victims like butter.

When all was said and done, the soldiers were dead as the floor was a red mess.

Alex tapped the button on the headset.

"Evan, the second floor is secure. Where are you?" Alex asked.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH! WE'RE ON THE SECOND FLOOR!! YOU'RE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE RUNWAY!!!" Vanoss yelled.

"... Well shit."

Alex ran down the stairs and killed anyone inside brutally, the machine gun was still going strong. He was surprised that the barrel hasn't melted yet.

Grabbing one of the corpses that were still in one piece, Alex charged down the stairs to the... 4th floor?! How high had he jumped?

Looking back at the meter, he had set the leap to...

1,987 feet.

Then what was the rate of fire on the machine gun?!

He checked that, and it said that the gun was going at 2211 rounds per minute.

Well, that was ridiculous.

"We found an elevator leading to the runway! It's another floor up, so we need you to keep the entrance to the elevator on the runway safe so we actually make it all the way up!" Nogla said.

"Good thinking, I'm moving in!" Alex assured them. He wouldn't fail them this time!

He ran back up the stairs to find that there were more SEALs and a couple Marines blocking his path, all bearing Carbine Rifles.

"Hands up! Disable that sentry gun!" One of the soldiers ordered.

"Why should I?" Alex asked innocently.

"Disable the suit or we'll do it for you!"

"And how would you do that?" Alex asked scathingly.

"With this." Two of the soldiers walked into the room with what he assumed was the EMP.

"And what, pray tell, is that?" Alex asked, though he already knew the answer.

"The EMP your friends want from us. Disable the suit, or we activate this thing and the whole ship is without power!"

Alex noticed the red and black markings on the SEAL's right arm, and the crimson hawk on the left.

"You're one of Vincent's men." Alex deduced.

"Who is this guy talking about, Lieutenant?" Another one of them asked.

The Lieutenant shot them all with the Carbine Rifle he was carrying.

"I'm surprised you figured me out, Walker." The Lieutenant complimented.

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

Alex suddenly heard what sounded like gunfire from upstairs.

"Oh, that's disappointing. You can't even help your friends. We're hearing them die right now, do you know that?" The Lieutenant smirked.

"You're forgetting something." Alex said.

"And what is that, Huntsman?"

"That we respawn." Someone said from behind him.

Vanoss ran up the stairs behind him, pointing an Assault Rifle at The Lieutenant.

"So this is what's keeping you from saving our asses, now who the hell is that?" Vanoss asked.

"If you must know..." The Lieutenant said. He pulled out a dieselpunk-esque gas mask and what looked like a World War II flamethrower, putting on both and glaring at Vanoss menacingly.

"... I am Scarecrow."

Vanoss put on his owl mask as well as a heavy looking utility vest and a bulletproof vest, putting a brass knuckle on his right hand as he aimed his Assault Rifle at Scarecrow.

"I got this bitch, get the EMP to Tyler and Nogla." Vanoss ordered.

Alex nodded and sprinted to the EMP, evading branches of fire and narrowly avoiding being roasted alive.

Vanoss swung hard at Scarecrow, knocking him in the back of the head before firing a plethora of bullets at his chest, each one bouncing off a metallic vest at his chest.

Alex ran up the stairs carrying the EMP device as Vanoss and Scarecrow continued to battle below him.

Priming his machine gun for a devastating attack, he broke down the door and saw Wildcat and Nogla taking cover behind a pile of crates.

He put down the EMP next to him and aimed at the enemy targets.

The resulting maelstrom of bullets zipped through their targets and into the walls of the tower behind them, their blood splattering on the blacktop and seeping off the side of the ship.

"Took you long enough, where's Evan?" Wildcat asked.

"He's occupied, but I got 'em. Take the EMP and get it in the Hydra and get the hell away from here." Alex ordered. Wildcat grabbed the EMP with both hands and lugged it over to the jet.

Nogla went looking around for a jet closest to the runway so he could cover him.

Sure, they had hit a roadblock named Scarecrow, but they were so close to completing their mission.

"I just thought of something!" Wildcat shouted before getting the EMP in the jet.

"What?" Alex asked him.

"They'll be expecting the EMP on the hydra, right?" Wildcat asked.

"Yeah."

"Let's just put it in the pocket thing now! I can jump out when the bad guys are off me!" Wildcat explained.

"That is actually a decent plan." Alex admitted, dumbfounded.

"Well, get it out then and put the fockin' thing in!" Nogla urged.

Alex grabbed the pocket dimension and opened it, all that remained was the dossier on his case and a few extra bits lying about.

As Wildcat threw the EMP into the Pocket Dimension, Alex wondered how Evan was exactly doing...

"I know that look, what are you planning?" Rainbow asked.

"You'll see..."

----

Evan swung again at Scarecrow, knocking him down again. This guy was near unstoppable, almost like Alex... Or him.

He needed an advantage against this guy. He had a flamethrower, better training, an epic mask...

Wait a second.

He had a flamethrower.

Vanoss remembered his secret play-through of the CoD World At War Campaign. He tried to remember what Russian Gary Oldman had told him.

"Do you see the flamethrowers? A single shot will incinerate anyone nearby. You must choose your moment."

Evan swung at him with the Knuckle Duster again, and kicked him hard for good measure.

Pulling out the Marksman Pistol, he aimed for one of the large tanks, ran backwards, and pulled the trigger.

Gary Oldman was right! The explosion was able to ensure that Scarecrow wasn't going anywhere for a while!

He walked toward Scarecrow and gripped him by the throat.

"What the hell is going on here! I heard what Alex said! What are you planning?!" Vanoss interrogated.

Scarecrow coughed.

"You fool. I was just here to distract you so the real work could begin." Scarecrow gasped.

"What do you mean?!"

Scarecrow pressed a button on his shoulder.

"Operative Scarecrow to Beta, I distracted the Owl and The Hydra is leaving."

"Good work," a voice from the other end said, "your job is done."

"Thank you, Beta." Scarecrow gasped for breath and expired.

He was dead.

And Vanoss was running up the stairs.

----

Alex watched as the Hydra and the Laser took off and flew towards the Airport in Blaine County.

"Alex!" Vanoss yelled.

"What?" He asked.

"Is the EMP on the Hydra?"

"... The EMP was destroyed." Alex grumbled. He heard what Scarecrow had said, and he had it covered, now he needed to convince Vanoss as well as any Inquisitor that dared to listen in.

"Damn it!" They both watched as two rockets blew up the two jets.

Alex stood in silence.

"What now?" Vanoss asked him.

"Get to the boat." Alex replied after a moment.

"What?!"

"Get to the Dinghy. Get back to shore." Alex ordered.

Vanoss ran down the stairs nearby, Alex watching as he did so.

"Smart to turn away your friend like that." A young woman said behind Alex.

"Sigma..!" Alex growled.

Said Inquisitor was standing behind him, swords drawn.

"Listen, I need an Inquisitor out of the way, and you're going to play along." Sigma said.

"Let me guess, you want the satisfaction of being the strongest, and whoever is after me is in your way." Alex concluded.

"Something like that, which is why I need your help." Sigma nodded.

"You're insane if you think I'm going to help you! After everything you did... After killing my parents!" Alex glared back.

"We can kill each other all we want when this is over, but for right now, if either of us wants the other dead, we have to kill Beta first." Sigma reasoned.

"Sound reasoning, you dirty traitor." A deeper voice bellowed from behind them.

Alex turned around to find a heavily armored super-soldier type of guy carrying a heavy steel Zweihander.

"Beta." Sigma glared.

"I see both you and your target teaming up against an official inquisitor, not to mention Second-in-Command. Whose side are you even on, Sigma?"

"As long as I kill him, I get my bounty." Sigma defended.

"Alpha will not allow it, and as for you," Beta pointed the heavy sword at Alex.

"Not only are you an official target for the Inquisition, you are the prophesied Catalyst. Someone who must not be allowed to exist for too long!" Beta growled.

"Piss off!" Alex shot back. Literally.

The shoulder mounted MG fired everything it had at the highest rate of fire he could in hopes of killing him swiftly.

Beta merely watched as the bullets bounced off his armor and he swung at the gun, ripping it off his shoulder and falling to the ground.

"That was a bad move, Catalyst. Prepare to die!"

Author's Notes:

Such chapter, much wow.

Anyways, Part III should be out in about a day or two, hang in there.

Act II, Chapter 6: The Aircraft Carrier Heist, Part III of III

Alex grabbed .44 Scratch and Electric Fury.

Spinning them in a flourish, he cocked both revolvers and fired them, Beta lurched back in time to avoid the bullets.

Alex saw Sigma leaping high behind Beta, bracing himself for a death blow, only to find that Sigma attacked Beta and had him in a blade lock.

As soon as Sigma tried to attack Beta with a free blade, Beta punched Sigma and grasped her by the wrist.

"You are in no condition to fight me, I'll deal with you after the boy." Beta glared at Sigma before tossing her aside.

Alex fired both revolvers at Beta again, aiming for anything that looked like a weak spot, until Beta swung his Zweihander and knocked him backwards.

"Is that really all you've got, Huntsman?" Beta sneered.

"Try me!" Alex roared, aiming a swinging kick towards Beta's helmet. Beta merely blocked the kick and punched him hard.

"FIIIIIIRE RAAAAAAAAIN!!!!" Beta yelled, summoning a bright orange disc similar to Weiss's glyphs.

Streams of flame soared from above, Alex sprinted over and skidded into the comms tower to avoid the flames before leaping off the side towards Beta.

Beta lurched back in time to evade Alex's attack, leaving him skidding to a halt on the ground.

"What kind of Semblance was that?!" Alex asked, baffled.

"Are you that ignorant? Hasn't Ms. Anderson told you anything?" Beta scoffed.

"What does she have to do with any of this?" Red lightning crackled at Alex's fingertips.

Beta swung his sword again, he was fast for an armor wearing pyromaniac with a broadsword.

Alex kicked and shot whenever he had the opportunity, trying not to let his lightning out, for it would compromise his rocket systems.

Beta swung his sword, catching Alex right in the chest and knocking him aside and leaving him hanging from the safety net above the ocean.

"Pathetic. I thought this would have been a challenge." Beta shook his head slowly.

"What...are you?!" Alex asked.

"If you must know, there is more to Ms. Anderson's stay in Fiore. Pitiful that she does not trust you enough to tell you."

"He's mine!" Sigma yelled from across the boat, attacking Beta with a flurry of arrows and swords.

Sigma was fast, but Alex assumed her injuries would end up getting her killed, hopefully.

Alex pulled himself up and snuck behind some crates, he readied the rocket launchers hidden inside the shoulders and chest, and pulled down the rockets on his shoulders, after this, he could be able to unleash the full barrage at Beta and give him the opportunity to attack Beta with his lightning without compromising any more of his systems.

He looked at the two fighting inquisitors and aimed every rocket he could at both of them. Unfortunately, Sigma saw him and flipped backwards.

"YAHTZEE!!" He yelled, firing every last rocket in his inventory, enveloping the area they were standing with thick smoke.

"Is he dead?" Sigma asked.

The vague sound of a sword swinging behind him told him that Beta wasn't as dead as Alex would've liked.

Alex blocked with both barrels of his guns and kicked hard at his knee.

Beta didn't seem to care and kicked him much further away than even Alex was able to.

"FIIIIIRE LAAAAAANCE!!!!" Beta yelled, spears of flame flying over and threatening to burn his flesh.

Alex raised both hands until branches of lightning crackled from his fingertips and blew up the flaming death branches.

"Interesting. You use lightning magic without naming the spells." Beta nodded.

"I'll take my Semblance over your magic any day." Alex smiled.

Beta swung his weapon at Alex, knocking him down, Alex took the time to convert Electric Fury to it's rail gun form, and shot all six at Beta's chest.

Beta shrugged them off, and his weapon glowed bright orange before it revealed a steel-colored pair of short swords.

Alex converted his rail gun to it's sword and attacked, swinging at the parts that seemed most vulnerable.

Beta kicked him to the ground, and before Beta could deliver a death blow, a strange blue light enveloped him, rendering him somehow unable to move.

Sigma leaped, slashing at him with both swords while she had the advantage and quickly evading Beta's strikes.

"Doesn't your weapon have another function?" Sigma asked.

"That depends, are you going to try and kill me afterward?!" Alex yelled back. He should kill her once Beta is out of commission, then Sigma would be easy pickings afterwards.

"Use it!" Sigma yelled back.

Alex did as Sigma told, both ends of the blade spinning fast as they could, and Alex struck.

The attack proved useless, it was a hologram or an afterimage?!

Beta held Sigma by the leg and threw her at him, Alex threw her away and threw lightning balls at him, to no effect.

Beta then punched him in the throat, throwing him aside and coughing.

"Your 'Semblance' did not defeat me." Beta stated.

Alex coughed.

"It wasn't supposed to." He gagged.

The distant sound of a helicopter was heard, and a barrage of 105mm shells ripped through the air, blowing up in Beta's face.

This went on until Alex could no longer see wether Sigma or Beta were even there anymore.

The Cargobob Lui was piloting dropped a tank in the smoke, and Delirious climbed out, waving frantically.

"That was epic as shit!" Delirious cheered.

The helicopter landed nearby, the smoke swirling away as Lui stepped out of the Helicopter.

"Yeah! We did it!" Lui smirked, joining Delirious.

"Well. Mission accomplished." Alex sat down.

"I thought you said the EMP was destroyed!" Delirious was clearly confused.

"I'll explain after we get to shore." Alex promised.

Alex looked to the right to see Sigma looking over the ocean.

She looked him right in the eye.

"I'll get my chance to kill you later. For now, at least, don't watch your back." She glared.

"I get it, you megalomaniacal prick! You have 5 seconds before we start shooting!" Alex yelled.

Sigma rolled her eyes and leaped off the side of the boat.

"Alright. Let's go home." Alex said, getting inside the co-pilot's seat.

Lui stepped into the pilot's seat and Delirious got in the tank, before Alex knew it, they were on the return trip.

----

"Alpha, sir!" Gamma yelled.

"What is it?" Alpha asked.

"Beta has fallen at the hands of the boy, and Sigma escaped." Gamma said.

"Right, escaped." Sigma scoffed.

Alpha merely glared in her direction.

"I'll deal with you later, but for now.." Alpha dismissively turned away from Sigma, and towards his other subordinate.

"I can't even rely on you to kill one pathetic kid!" Alpha yelled, picking him up and punching him square in the jaw.

"Don't pin this on me! It was Sigma who stabbed you in the back!" Gamma choked.

"Sigma here was hand-selected by one of our highest donors. Besides, she is too valuable to our cause for me to simply cast her aside... for now." Alpha defended.

"It's not his fault, either." A voice sounded behind Gamma.

Gamma saw a man in a military uniform, bearing a cracked gas mask and the remains of a flamethrower.

"Beta. You haven't died like Gamma had assumed.." Alpha concluded.

Sigma didn't say anything, but looked quite dissatisfied with her failure.

"Walker and his allies are more skilled than even I expected. Mr. Fong put my best man out of commission, at least for a while. However, the EMP was destroyed in the battle."

"That is not the case." Alpha corrected.

"What?!" Gamma asked, baffled.

"Instead of it being destroyed in the Hydra jet, the boy hid it." Alpha explained.

"Clever bastard." Gamma concluded.

"So, what now?" Beta asked.

"We have no choice, we have to get The Red Star assembled as soon as possible, and see to it that Walker, Fong, Sparkle, Anderson, and Rose do know know what we are doing here." Alpha stated.

"They will not, I can promise you that." A mysterious voice said from their right.

"Zodiac. I did not expect to see you here." Beta noted.

"They won't know what's happening here until it's too late." Zodiac assured.

"And why is that?" Gamma asked.

"Because I'm working with them."

Author's Notes:

If any of you are wondering, this is the only point in the story where Sigma and Alex work together, they're still bitter enemies.

What are your opinions in the story now that it's gotten to the point where I have to add another Act just because it's that long. It could be a complicated question, or a very simple one. Feel free to add constructive criticism of any kind.

Act II, Chapter 7: Combat Training

Alex was laying in his bed.

He twirled .44 Scratch around, spinning it in a flourish before holstering it once more. It was good to practice that sort of thing. Besides, he was bored.

When he last spoke to Yang, she was surprised that he had managed to defeat Beta, and was thunderstruck when she found out that Sigma helped him. To be honest, Alex was disappointed by the encounter, even though they had killed off Beta, Sigma was still alive. He assumed that Sigma was one of those 'if anyone is going to kill him, it has to be me' types, so he should have his chance again soon.

He was now looking over a map of Los Santos, a thumbtack over a spot in the ocean which he labeled 'EMP'. He knew he would have more missions in getting what he needed, but first, he needed to figure out what it was he needed. A nuke would be very impractical, as would a nerve agent or a chimera virus, he already had enough military equipment to decimate a small army in a matter of hours thanks to Evan.

Alex had heard of 'Atlean Paladins', large mechs made by the Kingdom of Atlas, as that the White Fang had plenty of those. He should consider robbing them for what they had for a few of those.

His cellphone buzzed, who could that be?

He pulled out the cellphone, and saw that Yang had sent him a text, the description was vague.

'Meet me at the top of the Maze Bank, bring your weapon.' it read.

He knew what this was about.

Alex put on his Scarab Mk. III Armor, his Atlean Battle Rifle, and Electric Fury, putting .44 Scratch in a safe spot.

He walked out of the apartment and into the Elevator, he was alone, as usual.

Walking out, he set his armor up for a huge leap that should get him to the top of the tower.

His jump-jets were ready, burning the concrete below as he leaped over his apartment complex. Looking out at the massive view of Los Santos, he saw the shape of a girl waving at him.

Yang.

He set his jump jets to go towards the tower and sped across the sky, skidding into the helipad with ease, putting his BR aside and pulling out Electric Fury, converting into it's sword form and facing the Huntress/Inheritor.

"You called?" Alex asked her.

"Yep! I bet you know why?" Yang beamed excitedly.

"Inheritor training. I remember our deal." Alex answered.

"Okay, then! Let's begin with a simple training exercise!"

"Which is?" Alex asked.

"I need you to go down those stairs, face a wall, and count to 500. I'll be hiding somewhere in the city. After you finish counting, I need you to find me, and if you can, beat me in city-wide combat!" Yang said.

"Wonderful. A game of 'hide and go fight'. Any other rules?" Alex asked.

"No going north of the city's outer limits, no fighting to the death, and no help. You have to beat me yourself." Yang responded.

"Do your teammates know about this?" Alex asked.

"I sent them with Vanoss's crew and Twilight's friends to go hang out or whatever, Kat and Zera are with them." Yang replied.

"Of course." Alex rolled his eyes. He could only imagine the sheer chaos the bartender must be dealing with.

"Okay, get down those stairs and start counting!" Yang ordered.

As Alex stepped down the stairs, he heard Yang clear her throat.

"Yes?" Alex asked.

"One more thing; Hair is off limits." Yang glared.

"Okay then. No hair." Alex shrugged, he honestly didn't pay much attention to his hair, it always got burned off or got snagged in his helmet. He'd respect Yang's wishes, but Alex wasn't sure where he should aim, as her golden locks drifted at least down to her back.

With Alex down the stairs, he started counting.

"One..-" Alex could barely finish before he heard what vaguely sounded like Ember Celica launching the Huntress elsewhere.

"This may take a while."

17 minutes later

"...497...498...499...500!" Alex finished counting. He leaped down from his perch and rocketed towards the ground. He landed hard on a truck, but his Aura took more damage than Alex himself.

Alex looked around. Yang could be anywhere by now!

Was there a time limit? Because this would take damn near forever. The rest of Team Unity would be back before Alex found her!

Regardless, he walked towards a young girl in her twenties.

Yang said nothing about asking for directions.

"Excuse me, miss? Have you seen a girl, long blonde hair, about in her late teens? Small brown jacket?" Alex asked.

"I saw someone like that, but I don't remember where she went exactly, I think I might need something to jog my memory." She insisted, rubbing her thumb and forefinger together.

Materialistic pricks.

Alex handed her $25 cash.

"Yeah, she was flying around in the direction of the LS Customs." She said.

No further evidence needed.

He set his jump jets in the direction of the LS Customs.

----

Alex walked inside the car shop, and waved to the proprietor.

"Hi. Have you seen a girl in her late teens? Long blonde hair, small brown jacket, gauntlets of death, ring any bells?" Alex asked.

"I'm not sure. I think I saw someone like that, but I'm not quite sure..." His voice trailed off, and he rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together.

This again?!

Alex grabbed a $50 out of his wallet and handed it to him.

"Yeah, I've seen her. She said something about an amusement park, wanting to ride a roller coaster or something." He said.

"Thank you for your time, sir." Alex nodded.

"Come again!" He waved.

----

"Excuse me, have you seen a girl in her late teens? Long blonde hair, brown jacket?" Alex asked the guy operating the roller coaster.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." He replied, rubbing his thumb and pointer together.

"Fine, god dammit!" Alex groaned, reaching into his pocket and throwing a $50 and a $20 at him.

"Okay, sheesh! I did see her! Said something about a bar afterwards. She also bought a picture we took of her on the ride and asked me to give it to you." He said, handing him a picture.

The picture consisted of Yang with her hair flowing back, middle finger extended, with the words 'Find me if you can' written on the front.

"Thank you for your time, sir." He said, trying to control his anger.

----

Alex walked into the bar, picture crumpled in his hand, and slammed it on the table.

"Has anyone seen this girl?!" Alex asked, pissed beyond belief.

"I have, but it'll cost ya." A middle-aged man with black hair stated to his right.

"Listen, you. What's your name?!" Alex grasped his collar.

"Michael!" He gasped.

"Listen here, Michael, I've been looking all damn day, with literally everyone I asked demanding a bribe! I'm completely out of money, so unless you want me to beat you on the damn sidewalk, you'll tell me where she went!" Alex seethed. Alex knew well enough that he wasn't usually like this, but Yang's 'exercise' had really gotten to him.

"She said something about a tower..." He gasped.

Alex released him, Michael gasping for breath on the seat.

"Thank you for your time." Alex nodded, but just as he was leaving, he heard a loud boom and something bounced off the back of his helmet.

Alex turned around to see Michael holding a gun up to his head.

He merely grasped his gun hand and punched him in the face.

"As much as I'd love to kick your ass for that, I really don't have time for this crap." Alex said before leaving the bar.

----

Alex landed on the tower to find the woman of the hour standing on the top of the tower, looking over the view.

"About time you showed up!" Yang smiled.

"Very funny. Ha ha HA!" Alex wasn't as amused.

"Upset because you spent the whole day looking for me? Oh well, I'm gonna split." She teased.

"Okay. THAT'S IT!!!" Alex had enough of this crap, and lashed out with Electric Fury.

Yang leaped out of the way just in time and was flying away from him.

"Gotta go fast!" She yelled.

Alex was thoroughly pissed.

"GET BACK HERE!!!" He yelled, leaping after her.

After he had landed on a construction site, he looked around for the Huntress, who was nowhere to be seen.

He peeked around steel frames cautiously, noticing piles of rebar dangling haphazardly above him.

"SURPRISE, BITCH!" Yang yelled at the top of her lungs as Alex was hit hard by Ember Celica.

Right in the face.

Alex reared up an attack and swung with all his might, knocking Yang into a pile of steel beams.

Yang got up immediately after and launched herself at him.

Alex evaded the attack just in time, Yang skidding across the floor and stopping herself with the steel beams nearby.

Alex immediately converted Electric Fury into it's gun form before she could harm him.

She launched shell after shell at Alex, who fired back into the blasts, blowing them up in midair before aiming right for her gut.

The bullet was met immediately by two shells, one to block and the other for Alex.

Alex leaped out of the way, reloaded, and repeatedly shot again and again. Yang seemed to be having a thrill with this fight, and blocked all the bullets with her gauntlets, and went up close.

Uh, oh.

Yang hit him again and again as Alex tried fruitlessly to defend against such a devastating torrent of flame and buckshot.

Once Yang ran out of ammo, Alex's armor was severely damaged, a jump-jet activated and left Alex struggling to balance.

This could work.

Alex reloaded, and leaped into the air with his good leg, the jump-jet causing him to spin and flip uncontrollably, occasionally hitting Yang and sending her backwards.

Yang was fully reloaded. This wasn't good.

She punched out his jump-jet and tossed him aside. Alex grasping his injured leg in agony.

Using his pain, he fired all six rounds at Yang as fast and as accurate as he could, supercharging his bullets with the little Aura he had left.

Yang leaped at him with a rod of rebar and swung it at his leg, she hit it pretty hard and it sent him flying across the room.

Alex had to focus his Aura. His leg was likely broken, as it was bent at an awkward angle. What could he do?

Alex focused his Aura to his bad leg, it glowed a deep red-violet and straightened up immediately with a loud crack, all pain subsided.

"What the?!" Yang asked, baffled.

Alex lunged at Yang, firing multiple shots close and reverting it back into sword form, slicing through her blasts.

Yang hit him hard in the chest, leaving Alex gasping for air.

"Come on, man. Face it, I won." Yang stared at him.

Alex lurched up, facing her.

"Not yet." He gasped, clutching his chest before focusing his Aura to it.

Alex lunged again, a series of punches, kicks, and swings flawlessly meshed together into a formidable attack, Yang could almost barely keep up with him.

And for a final attack, he focused his Aura into a blast of lightning that sent her across the room.

And disabling his temporary sedation.

Alex gasped and screamed in pain, his shattered leg and rib cage were causing him a lot of pain. So much so that he almost couldn't refocus his Aura to his injuries.

Alex remembered his hard landing, that hadn't been a temporary painkiller, it was full blown healing, and he used up most of his Aura into it, and Aura took forever to completely regenerate.

Long story short, he was in terrible pain.

He noticed Yang walking up to him, something sounding vaguely like sounds of pride and encouragement before he passed out.

He felt his Aura regenerating again, rather quickly. He could now heal his disastrous wounds.

Doing so, he staggered up. Grabbing Electric Fury and reholstering it back into it's proper spot.

"Not bad for a trainee. I didn't know your Aura could be used for a painkiller!" She beamed.

"Neither did I." Alex replied.

"Come on, man. Let's get you back to your apartment." Yang suggested.

"Yeah, why not." Alex said, emotionless due to how tired he was.

----

Alex was back in the apartment, watching TV and drinking the closest thing that LS had to offer to a slush. Yang insisted coming over, despite Alex's pleas not to. He just wanted to sleep.

"So, Alex." Yang said.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"I know Kat already talked to you about this, but what's your status, relationship-wise?" Yang asked.

"Single." Alex answered.

"Are you even thinking about getting a girlfriend?"

"Nope."

"What about that incident on the motorcycle?" She asked.

"That was an accident and you know it!" Alex retorted.

"Just teasing you, man. Relax!" She defended.

"Okay, then." Alex said apathetically.

Silence fell upon the apartment complex until Yang spoke up.

"When would be the best time for a date?" She asked.

Alex sighed, staring her in the eye.

"As soon as this mess is cleared up, and that's if I'm stable enough."

Yang seemed a little disappointed. Staring at the TV.

"Why do you ask?" Alex said after a while.

"Huh?"

"About my relationship. Why are you asking?"

"I don't know. You seem cool enough, sure you're a little young, but it's normal for couples to be a year or two apart, unless one is 18, then it's probably not okay."

"So the customs are at least a little similar." Alex notes.

"They're the same in your world?" Yang asks.

"Yeah, pretty much." Alex shrugged.

"What was it like?" Yang asked.

"Earth?" Alex asked, it seemed like a lifetime away now, his old life.

"Yeah, tell me about it!" Yang punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Well, to put it simply, nobody is special." Alex replied.

"Define special."

"Like, nobody had any sort of superpowers, that sort of thing is only in movies and comic books." Alex explained.

"Then how come you were able to activate your Aura, by yourself no less?" She asked.

"Hell if I know." Alex shrugged.

"Sounds boring enough, for you anyway." Yang smiled.

"Earth is a lot of things, peaceful is, under no circumstance, one of them. Why do you think I ran off to Ponyville?" Alex asked.

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, rampant terrorist groups, corrupt governments, and hordes of people who are exactly the same." Alex frowned.

"You always felt like you wanted more out of life?" Yang asked.

"Precisely. Lemme guess, you felt the same way at one time or another."

"Not as bad as you."

"Well then." Alex scoffed.

"In all seriousness, that's why I became a huntress, I like the feeling of not knowing where I'll be tomorrow." She elaborated.

"I'd readily trade my job for yours any day of the week. I don't know what kind of jobs you did in the past, but I'm sure none of them involved leaping through universes being hunted by the same assholes 24/7." Alex said.

They continued talking for a while, it was almost one in the morning before Yang left the apartment.

"I guess you want me out of your hair, see you around." She waved goodbye and left.

Alex staggered downstairs to bed, turned off all the lights, and welcomed sleep with open arms, with one last thought.

I literally have the most ridiculous life ever.

Act II, Chapter 8: Confrontations

Alex sat in his apartment..

The rest of Team Unity returned to the city a couple days ago. After an hour long chewing out about how none of them should even be in public, for fear of their enemies closing in and finishing what they started. They found out that they had no idea in mind as to what to do about the Syndicate, he figured they should sit tight until something happened. After all, none of them had any clue as to where they were.

Alex wondered again why Sigma would team up with him, especially after killing his friend and threatening to kill the others. She had said that Winchester wasn't the one who hired her, so who was?

It was a question that plagued him day and night since Karis's death.

That wasn't the point. She agreed to it, she had to die.

Horribly.

Alex was immediately met by a buzz at his apartment door. Who could that be?

Walking over to his door, he pressed a small button and spoke.

"Who's this?" Alex asked.

"It's Twilight and the others, can we come in?" Twilight asked.

"No problem."

Alex pressed another button to let his newest allies inside.

A minute or two later, Alex was met by the six ponies.

"Hi." Alex greeted, he invited them to sit down and have something to drink.

"Hello Alex. I bet you know why we're here." Twilight grimly, but calmly stated.

"Not really." Alex calmly replied.

"We want to know why you've been killing all of these people!" Rainbow Dash blurted out.

Ah, he should've expected this. Ponies were typically against violence and bloodshed. Similar in nature to how normal people would react.

Regardless, there was a reason behind it. All of it.

"Do you think I really had any other choice?" Alex coldly retorted.

"What do ya mean?" Applejack questioned.

"If I had just accepted my fate and got taken away by those men, I would be dead. If I didn't use Die Glocke to escape, after killing my way to getting there, I would be dead. And if I hadn't followed Kat and the others out of that damned prison, WE WOULDN'T EVEN BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE I'D BE SIX FEET UNDER!" He yelled.

"That's no excuse for what you did after that. Sure you killed to save yourself in the beginning-" Rarity tried to finish.

"MY MOTIVES HAVE STAYED THE SAME THROUGHOUT! I'M A WANTED FUGITIVE, WHAT THE HELL DID YOU EXPECT?!" Alex reasoned.

"AND WHY IS THAT? DO YOU EXPECT US TO BELIEVE YOU AFTER EVERYTHING YOU DID! ALL THOSE MEN YOU KILLED? THE INNOCENT DON'T RUN!" Rainbow yelled.

"Um... Please stop arguing..." Fluttershy shrank back from the hostility.

"LET'S YELL RANDOM THINGS! FORGET INSIDE VOICES!" Pinkie yelled.

"IF THE INNOCENT NEVER RUN, THEN WHY WAS I ABDUCTED FROM MY HOME, MY PARENTS MURDERED, AND MY HOUSE BURNED TO ASHES?!"

"AND DOES THAT JUSTIFY THE HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT PEOPLE YOU KILLED?!"

"THOSE MEN WERE NEVER INNOCENT! THEY TRIED TO KILL ME, OR SEND ME OVER TO SOME SADISTIC ASSHOLE THAT WOULD TORTURE ME UNTIL I PISSED BLOOD! AND YOU SUPPORTED HIM!" Alex angrily yelled back.

"HE'S DEAD NOW SO WHY WORRY?! THE BODY COUNT IS NEVER ENOUGH FOR YOU, IS IT?!"

"IT'S BECAUSE OF THAT INQUISITOR YOU HIRED! THAT SAME INQUISITOR THAT MURDERED ONE OF MY FRIENDS IN COLD BLOOD!"

Twilight stepped back in shock.

"Did you think I didn't know? Did you think I was that dim-witted? Sigma told me that Winchester didn't hire her, so I got to thinking, who did?" Alex scoffed.

Twilight froze, and her other friends looked guilty.

"And when you and your 'Elements of Harmony' drop this topic on me. That's when I realized. It was you. It was you all along. You didn't trust me from the beginning. And it was only after you and your friends called the hit that you finally figured out that what you were doing was wrong all along." Alex continued, that angry stare not even moving an inch from Twilight's eyes.

"Do you realize now just what you did? That if we all die, if we all fail in defeating the Inquisitors, that the blame will fall directly on your shoulders, the blood in your hands? And was I even the first? You had to have at least known what the Inquisitors do for a living. Did you call hits on other innocent men like me who lost their way? Or the dozens and dozens of protesters and naysayers?" Alex cruelly finished.

Twilight honestly didn't know what to say, how to respond. He was right. This was their fault.

"Did you even consider the consequences of your actions? That if I survived, that more, stronger warriors would come my way until, finally, death takes me? Or did you think that if Cinder failed, everything would just be all sunshine and rainbows and I'd live happily ever after? NO! I WON'T! IF I HAD EVEN THE SLIGHTEST CHANCE OF HAVING A NORMAL LIFE, IT'S GONE DOWN THE SHITTER NOW!!" Alex finished.

Twilight sat down, shocked. What had she done?

"Is that really what you want? A chance for a normal life?" Rainbow asked.

"You know me well enough that this is what I've been fighting for all along. Before all of this, I was just your average, run-of-the-mill kid until I was blamed for that attack. And it's only escalated from there." Alex said.

"Then, why bother with all of this? You know that you're never going to go back now." Twilight asked.

"Yeah. I've never really understood that." Applejack agreed.

"I already tried that, in Ponyville. You all know how well that turned out for me." Alex elaborated.

"What about Remnant?" Rarity asked.

"We all know I passed the point of no return with that. Remnant is anything but." Alex bluntly replied.

Alex stood up, walked to the window, and stared

Thoughtfully at the view.

"Sometimes, I wonder what could have changed, how everything would be if I had just accepted my fate and died. All the lives that would be saved, all the damage that would never be." Alex sighed.

Alex turned back to the mares, a sorrowful expression on his face.

"I don't expect forgiveness for what I did, or pity from anyone that knows me well enough to know what happened to me all those months ago. But what I do expect is anger, fear, loss, and pain. In here and everywhere that I go. No matter what I do or where I go. I always wonder if I'll even be here tomorrow. But all I'm asking is for acceptance. From the small group of people that I am willing to call 'allies'. Perhaps even 'friends'." Alex finished.

Him and the six mares sat in silence. Thinking about what Alex had said to all of them. Even Alex never expected his words to make that big of an impact on them. On all of them.

"If it's any consolation, darling," Rarity began, Alex looked at her with an unidentifiable expression,"I will help you get through this. I understand some of the blame may fall upon us, but then again, nobody is innocent. And I accept it. I will help you."

"So will I." Rainbow raised a hoof in agreement.

"Same here." Applejack assured.

"I don't agree with what we're doing here, but count me in... If that's okay." Fluttershy weakly rose a hoof.

"WOOHOO!" Pinkie yelled, waving a flag with the word 'Alex' draped in gold.

"Alex." Twilight began.

Alex looked at Twilight expectingly.

"If it's all the same to you. I'll do what I can." She said.

"Thank you. All of you. I'm not sure what we're going to do now, but all we can do is stick together and hope for the best." Alex nodded respectfully.

The apartment buzzer sounded again, and Alex ran to the door.

"Who is it?" Alex asked.

"Alex, It's Kat. I need your help. Bring the Elements with you." Kat said. Alex was nervous, she sounded like the Grim Reaper itself had followed her here, she was that afraid.

"On our way." Alex nodded.

He turned to the ponies.

"Kat needs our help, if you want to prove to me if you meant what you said, you'll come with me." Alex stated.

"Of course." Twilight replied.

"All right. Let's go."

Kat led them to an alleyway, Vanoss and company, Team RWBY, and Zera were among them in the alleyway.

"Look at this." Kat gestured to a bloodied corpse.

"Jesus!" Alex turned away at the sight, and the mares gagged.

Vanoss knelt down, emotionlessly, and checked the dead body.

"Well?" Alex asked.

"This person hasn't been dead for too long." Vanoss stated.

"Look, there's an note!" Ruby notices.

Alex knelt down and plucked a bloodied piece of paper off the corpse. Needless to say, what was written on that note disturbed him so much that he felt sick just reciting it.

Greetings, Team Unity.

This sacrifice is addressed to you as a warning.

I am a mercenary hired by the Inquisition. I know how your group operates, how you manage to defeat us, and how to defeat you.

If Commander Walker does not turn himself into the Inquisition, Team Unity will die, one by one, starting at about 1300 tomorrow. And every day until either he turns himself in or you all die.

Oh, and I have a special surprise for those who respawn.

Until we meet again.

Zodiac.

Author's Notes:

Boom! Plot Twist!
DUN DUN DUUUUUN!

I figured this fic was becoming more RWBY-related than anything else, and then I figured, 'Well this is a website for MLP fan fiction, so I'd better make it more MLP-related or else.

'Or else what?' You may ask?

Exactly.

One more thing, I've been wondering a lot about this, What do you guys think of this story, it's nice to hear feedback once in a while, especially if it would make a more interesting fic for you people to read, and I can't exactly do that if people never tell me how I can improve, because, truth be told, I know it needs improvement, but I can never be sure what I need to fix and what I need to keep.

And I'm boring you guys. Again.

You know what? Just ignore these.

Act II, Chapter 9: Deception

Alex stared at the note in horror.

"What's wrong, Alex?" Kat asked.

"Is it an eviction notice or some shit?" Delirious smirked inside his hockey mask.

Alex turned to his friends, well, his 21 friends and one enemy.

"This note says that one of us is an Inquisitor." Alex grimly announced.

"What?!" Weiss gaped in disbelief.

"I can't believe it. We all just got Hoodini'd." Vanoss blinked.

Alex wasn't sure how Vanoss got the inanimate owl mask to blink, but he figured he couldn't be bothered with it.

After all, stranger, and occasionally, more embarrassing things have happened.

Ruby grabbed the note from Alex's hands and read it carefully.

"It also says we have to turn Alex in, or this 'Zodiac' is going to kill us all one by one." She announced.

"Wait a minute! We can respawn, we'll be fine! Nice knowing you Alex and the rest!" Wildcat waved goodbye before he was nudged by Twilight, who levitated the note and read it.

"It seems like they planned for that." Twilight grimly stated, showing Wildcat the note.

"Well, shit."

"Anyone have any bright ideas?" Alex asked.

"I have one-" Vanoss said before Dash covered his mouth, or rather, beak.

"No, you idiot! If one of us is a bad guy, announcing the plan to that bad guy is a terrible idea!" She whispered.

"Can we talk about this somewhere else? This place literally stinks!" Blake covered her nose and gestured to the dead body.

"Fine by me." Alex nodded.

"But I'm hungry!" Vanoss pouted.

"I need FOOOOOOOD!" Delirious announced.

Alex face-palmed, grabbing a wallet and looking inside.

"It's empty. No thanks to Yang's quote-unquote 'training exercise'." Alex rolled his eyes in her direction.

"Hey, you're the one who decided to ask for directions in this town!" Yang retorted.

"I'll pay, if that's fine." Kat said.

"Sure, where do you guys want to go?" Alex asked.

-4 mystery pizzas and a 10-piece bucket of Cluckin' Bell later-

"Okay, now that we've spent, like, $250 of Kat's money on food and drinks, let's at least try and figure this out." Alex announced.

"Hello! Earth to Alex! Bad idea! Villain in the room!" Rainbow Dash waved a hoof.

"Oh, please, you know as well as I do that they're all going to be talking about any topic other than this one for, like, an hour, right?" Alex gestured to the rest of the group.

"And Alex was all like; 'AAAH! I didn't mean to do that!'" Yang told them all about his embarrassing moment.

"Nah, Ah've got a better one, so we were at Sugarcube Corner..." Applejack begins to tell the others about the party all those weeks ago.

Rainbow turned back to Alex, waving a hand at the small crowd sitting on his couch.

"Huh."

"Case in point." Alex muttered, still upset they they were talking about him.

Rainbow went over to join in the conversation, leaving Alex with some time to think.

'Now who could it be?' Alex thought.

He looked at Twilight and the other Elements. Given their recent reconciliation, he was going to give them a pass, for now at least.

Vanoss and his crew? No, they weren't clever enough to plan that far ahead, and they had promised to pay Kat back.

Kat? She had trusted him from the start, and he regularly spoke with her, even more so than Yang.

Team RWBY were already out of the question, they had taken an oath on not working with people they knew were evil, and he was sure that included the Inquisitors.

Who, then?

"Something wrong, Commander?" Zera asked.

"Trying to think about who among us could be this 'Zodiac' person." Alex sighed.

"This could be, in itself, a lie. A mind game designed specifically that we would all destroy ourselves without the inquisitors themselves actually having to lift a finger." Zera explained.

"How do you figure? I trust most of the people on this team with my life, and I'm pretty sure this isn't going to change anything in their situation." Alex gestured over to the crowd.

"...And then my brother walked in and saw it." Nogla said, telling them an embarrassing tale of his own.

"Did you even close the door on your way in?" Kat laughed.

"...Ya got me there." Nogla admitted.

Alex waited until Zera looked back at him to continue the conversation.

"If this Inquisitor really took the time to at least try to know all of us, that inquisitor would probably defect by now. If a fifteen year old pubescent idiot with a bad history can manage to make the same bond with everyone here, then so can a highly trained warrior for hire." Alex nodded, pride encompassing his voice.

"So, what you're saying is that, you can't bring yourself to accuse anyone, guilty or not." Zera concluded.

"Pretty much." Alex replied.

Zera sighed.

"Are you sure you're not putting too much faith in your comrades?" Zera asked.

"I know, they can be idiots, but hell, even I have my moments." Alex admitted.

"Are you talking about that incident with Ms. Xiao Long?" Zera asked.

"And a majority of my decisions. Including joining the Militia." Alex replied.

"Nobody can blame you for that. You were desperate, inexperienced, afraid even." She elaborated.

"I'm not denying it."

"Well, then I'm not denying my identity." Zera replied.

"Come again?" Alex asked.

"I respect your dedication to your comrades, but I am not forgetting my mission." Zera continued.

"No way." Alex backed away.

"Alex Gabriel Walker, under Article XIII of the Kalos Accords, 'If an undercover agent bonds with multiple targets, that agent is obliged to duel with the leader among them. If the agent wins, the agent will take the target and spare the others. If, however, the target is the victor, the agent is to be permanently associated with the group, the agent's status as Inquisitor is to be decided by the current Alpha Inquisitor.'" Zera announced.

"Zodiac." Alex gaped.

"There is more to this arrangement. 'I; Neither the agent nor the target is to receive any assistance from their allies. II; The duel is not to the death, both must remain alive. III; the terms of the duel are to be discussed between the agent and the target until an agreement can be reached. IV; The duel is not to be announced to either party, though if the duel is discovered by Inquisitors or the target's allies, neither party will be penalized."

"Sounds fair for a cult of assassins." Alex admitted.

"'V; to ensure a fair fight, both duelists are to inform one another of their known abilities, augmentations, and equipment, if an ability unknown to either party happens to manifest itself during the duel, neither party shall be penalized.'" Zera finished.

"Of course. I accept your challenge, let's discuss this further somewhere where they can't hear." Alex figured.

"Glad to see you have respect for the law. Let's take this to your garage." Zera announced.

Once both Alex and Zera arrived inside the garage, Alex sat on the hood of a sedan, while Zera continued to stand.

"Okay, let's start with a decent location." Alex figured.

"I have to go with the Helipad on top of the Maze Bank, no obstacles, nothing in the environment either of us can use to our advantage." Zera decided.

"What if either of us is launched to another building in the process?" Alex asked.

"Not to worry, one of my ablilities includes shield spells and active cammoflage. Neither of us will be able to leave, and the others will not be able to see us." Zera replied.

"Intresting, does it take an extended period of time to set up?" Alex asked.

"Yes, it takes a full 30 minutes to fully deploy anything of that magnitude." Zera replied.

"Okay. So what time? Tomorrow at dawn is good for me. Your offer starts at 1:00 pm, before you are obliged to kill my friends." Alex asked.

"I accept, dawn is about 6:38 tomorrow." Zera announced.

"Great, I'll be there at 6:08 so you can set up." Alex agreed.

"Deal."

"What else? Oh yeah, abilities. Androids first." Alex nodded.

"Ah, yes. My model is outfitted with long-range radios, Internet capabilities, and advanced shielding."

"So none of that is useful in the duel." Alex wondered.

"No."

"Good, continue." Alex wanted this over with, he had an idea of what Zera was capable of.

"Due to my model being mostly used for performance, enhanced for combat by an Inquisitor called 'Delta'. This allows me to summon bladed weapons using only my voice. Such weapons include a Katana, Zweihander, dual short swords, and a Magnum Research Desert Eagle .50AE, modified with such attachments as laser sighting, a scope, extended magazines, and full-auto firing."

"Jesus. A full auto Deagle." Alex gaped.

"I am also able to leap about 93 meters, punch with three times the force of an average human punch, and due to my Internet capabilities, I am an unofficial expert in Kung Fu, Silat, Krav Maga, The Atlesian offensive form Arcamida, and the Minstraili defense form, Okira."

"Well, shit."

"What about you, Commander?" Zera asked.

"Ah... I carry a primary Atlean Battle Rifle-"

"Two things; One, the proper term is Atlesian. Two; please state the model of your rifle, as well as any attachments you may have." Zera corrected.

"Sure. As a primary, I'm carrying the Atlesian KMG-157 Battle Rifle, equipped with a Ver-Kai sight and an A-17 grenade launcher. As secondaries, I'm carrying a heavily modified Colt Anaconda .44 Magnum pistol, able to fire iron pellets at the target, as well as Electric Fury, with four forms; a .499 Kaiser revolver, a rail gun that fires all six rounds at full auto, a long sword, and the blades of the sword separate and spin fast enough to cut through steel. My armor is composed entirely of Equestrian Steel, and is outfitted with rockets, jump-jets, and at one point, a Shoulder-mounted Browning M2 .50 BMG machine gun. My semblance is Electricity Manipulation, I can just fire regular electric bolts, condense them into balls of lightning, use them to augment my weapons, and temporary sedation if I'm injured. If I have enough Aura, I can also fully heal my wounds. Since I activated my own Aura, I can grow more powerful once I'm mad enough." Alex explained all of his abilities.

"What combat forms have you used?" Zera asked.

"A combination of Arcamida and Voikara, though I only trained for a week or so. I was also a red belt in Kung Fu when I was about 13, not sure how well that stuck, though." Alex admitted.

"Very well then. That checks out." Zera nodded.

"Okay then. I can't exactly wish you 'good luck' without sounding masochistic, so this is as close as I'm able to get." Alex admitted.

"It is not a weakness to wish an opponent luck before a duel. The only reason I am doing this is so you may have a chance to stay with your comrades." Zera replied.

"A damn small one, if you ask me. You've got much more experience than I do! I'll probably die!" Alex lamented.

"The rules state it is not a fight to the death." Zera stated.

"You don't seem to understand. The Inquisitors want me dead more that any target they've been given." Alex elaborated.

"I am fully aware of your situation, and you have defeated countless inquisitors before." Zera stated.

"Not without help."

"True, but when you fought Beta, Sigma was wounded. And when you last fought Sigma, you fought her to near death."

"I can't fight an inquisitor!"

"There is more reason to this than you think."

"Like what?! Dealing with failure, torture for dummies; the sequel?!" Alex exclaimed.

"I shouldn't tell you this, but I'm doing this to make sure you are ready for any challenge."

"Explain to me how me possibly dying is going to prepare me for anything!"

"I did the math, and you may have a slight advantage." Zera answered.

"What?!"

"I am not telling you in which field this advantage lies, I'm only telling you it is there."

"Fine." Alex relented.

As Zera left the garage, she turned back.

"You will understand. You just need to look." She said as she closed the door.

Alex didn't understand what Zera told him. All he knew was he was probably going to be handed over to te Inquisitors and killed.

He needed something before this whole mess went down.

Alex walked out of the Ammu-Nation store with new grenades for his KMG and some spare parts needed to repair the shoulder mounted MG.

Should he really be going through with this? The whole reason he even had the thought to take another life was because of his will to preserve his own.

But he had other lives beside his own to protect.

He couldn't stand to watch any if his friends suffer more than they already did.

No matter the cost.

Author's Notes:

After watching a few youtube videos of people reacting to fanfiction, I'm starting to reconsider my options.
Imagine that, someone like, I don't know, The voice actors of MLP reacting to your fan fiction. Yep, Cringefest 2015.

Act II, Chapter 10: Preventing A Cringefest

Alex listened to the others joke about his incident again.

And he was getting tired of it.

Like, really tired.

"Don't you think this is getting a little old yet?" Alex groaned.

"Uh... Nope!" Vanoss replied.

"Not really." Kat added.

"It's still funny." Rainbow shrugged.

"Don't you mean it's still punny?" Yang joked.

Everyone collectively groaned at the pun.

"What?" Yang asked.

"Vanoss, you're up." Alex shoved.

"For what, exactly?"

In response, Alex gestured to the huntress in front of him.

"Rainbow, do you know where Twilight is?" Alex asked.

"She said something about 'studying the effects of trans-dimensional pathogens' or something weird like that." Rainbow replied.

"Of course, where is she though?" Alex asked.

"The airport."

"Thanks." Alex said, walking out of the apartment door, hearing Vanoss's screams of agony accompanied by yelling and what sounded like gunshots.

He didn't expect Vanoss to actually tell her that.

----

The cab driver dropped Alex off at the airport, and sure enough, Delirious was coughing loudly and was visibly shaking.

"Come on, Delirious! I still need to inject you with the Blue Flu and the Grimm-pox!" Twilight said, two needles being levitated near him.

"Get that shit away from me!" Delirious yelled in response.

"Twilight! I need your help with something!" Alex yelled.

Delirious took this time to get up from the dirty bench he was laying on, run up to a truck, shoot the driver, steal the car, and drive away at a solid 89 mph.

"See you on the other side, Alex!" Delirious waved before crashing through a light pole and continue his escape.

"Alex, what is it?" Twilight asked.

"You've travelled through time once, right?" Alex asked.

"That was to prevent a disaster that was never going to happen anyways." Twilight answered.

"Okay, good. Y'know that little 'accident' I had on the back of Yang's motorcycle, right?" Alex asked.

"I see what's going on here..." Twilight's voice trailed off.

"Yep."

"REALLY, DESTOYER?! YOU CAN'T UNDO EVEN THE MOST EMBARRASSING INCIDENTS!" Pinkie yelled.

"Pinkie Pie?!" Alex gaped.

"Yupperoonie!" Pinkie chimed.

"Why are you here?" Twilight asked.

"Exposition."

"Oh."

"Basically, when the not-so-great author, Destoyer, saw a Youtube video of Barbara Dunkelman and Arryn Zech reacting to fan-fiction, he panicked and decided to write this chapter to undo what he already wrote in."

"Even if that were true, that's a terrible idea." Alex face-palmed

"Do you think I didn't already tell him that?!" Pinkie asked.

"So, you want to go back in time to fix your mistake and preserve your now-tarnished reputation?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, pretty much."

"But think of the dangers! The sheer chaos that would be produced by messing with the past!" Twilight pleaded.

"Nah, The Terminator movies did it, so did Star Trek and Back To The Future." Alex retorted.

"And look at the consequences! The new Terminator movie sucked!" Pinkie yelled.

"I don't know, I actually liked it." Alex shrugged.

"Shun the clueless one!" Pinkie yelled.

"But you didn't get the point-"

"SHUUUUUUUUUN!!!" Pinkie screamed.

"Okay, Jesus!" Alex backed up defensively.

"...There's no way I can change your mind, is there." Twilight deadpanned.

"Not by a damn sight."

"Alright fine, but if you want me to do something for you, you gotta do something for me." Twilight announced, smiling evilly.

"What do I have to do?" Alex groaned.

-About a week ago...-

Alex coughed loudly. Thanks to Twilight, Alex was now colored blue, and covered with itchy red bumps all over his body. He knew he shouldn't have agreed to her demands.

But no matter, he had to do this.

It was about night now, Past-Alex should be there any minute.

Seeing a large amount of explosions down the road, he had his own mission.

Prevent Cringefest 2016.

Past Alex skidded to a halt in the middle of the highway, shooting at the hit men repeatedly whilst getting badly wounded.

He didn't have much time.

A yellow motorcycle drove up and the remaining attackers were killed violently.

Now!

Alex sprinted, tackling Past-Alex before Past-Yang could help him onto the motorcycle.

"Don't go on there!" Alex ordered.

"Why the hell not?! And why are you blue?!" Past-Alex's voice trailed off as he realized who gave the order.

"What the..." Past-Yang was obviously confused.

"If you go on that motorcycle, something deeply embarrassing will happen to you, or us... I guess.." Alex said.

"Like what?" Past-Alex asked.

Past-Yang walked up to Past-Alex, whispered in his ear, and Past-Alex looked deeply disturbed.

"Blue Alex is probably right. Something like that happened to a guy named Neptune during a mission." She whispered to him.

"Ugh. Now I get why you went back in time." Past-Alex agreed.

"But why are you blue?" Past-Yang asked.

"Twilight injected me with the Blue Flu and Grimmpox." Alex groaned.

"And you tackled me?!" Past-Alex backed up.

"Listen... I'm sure blue-you can handle the rest.. So I'll just be on my way.." Past-Yang got back on the motorcycle.

"So, what, you're going to leave me with a bullet in my arm?!" Past-Alex asked.

"I thought you already pulled it out!" Past-Yang drove away.

"Great! So, Mr. Great and Wise Future Blue Me, how do I get home?" Past-Alex asked.

"Don't know, don't caaaaare!" Alex yelled as he was being pulled back into the present..

-About a week later...or now.-

Alex reappeared, and rolled over to Twilight.

"Did it work?" Alex asked.

"Not in the way you intended." Twilight cringed.

"How do you mean?" Alex asked.

"There are two realities now, one where you stopped yourself, and the one we're in right now. This is a lot different from when I tried to stop myself from worrying about the future.." Twilight said.

"So..."

"You're still in the reality where you... Violated.."

"I get the point!" Alex groaned.

"But there is a way to see what happened instead." Twilight said.

"How?"

"Here." Twilight handed, or hoofed, him a small screen, Alex peered into it.

And what he saw really disturbed him.

"I can't believe he's dead." Yang sighed.

"Still, it was nice of him to try and fix something he did." Kat comforted.

"Yeah, I guess. I didn't expect that bullet wound in his arm to get infected like that." Yang replied.

"That did look really painful."

"So much pus..." Yang shuddered.

Twilight groaned.

"I'll get the spell ready, go... Buy some medicine or something." Twilight said.

"Okay."

"But first..."

"Oh, Christ. Not again..." Alex moaned.

-About a week ago (again)-

Just as Alex #2 left. Alex arrived at the site where Yang left him, apparently, to die.

"Come with me if you want to live." Alex said.

"Why?" Past-Alex asked again.

"I needed to distract you while I did this."

"Did wha- AAAAAGH! WHAT THE HELL?!" Past-Alex screamed as Alex splashed the bloodied wound with peroxide.

"There, good as new, get a taxi, Zera is an Inquisitor, buy gold, byeee!" Alex yelled as the time spell faded and was sent back to his own time.

-The Present-

Alex fell back to his own time, immediately Twilight handed him the screen.

And what he saw disturbed him slightly less than the previous iteration.

"I can't believe he's dead." Yang sighed.

"I'm still not sure how he figured out that Zera was an Inquisitor." Kat comforted

"It was obvious in hindsight."

"But that was no reason to impale the poor guy."

"Yeah, even I felt that one." Yang cringed.

Twilight took the screen back.

"Okay, you know the rules, two more injections, a sample of Horngitis and Deathstalker Venom." Twilight said.

"Deathstalker Anti-Venon, you mean." Alex said.

"You wish."

"Why do you do these things?!" Alex moaned.

-another time travel spell later-

Alex returned to his time, and Twilight handed him the screen.

"I can't believe he's dead" Yang sighed.

"How did he even get a nuke?" Kat asked.

"I don't know." Yang shrugged

"But still, that doesn't change that I'm covered in radiation burns now."

Twilight took back the screen.

"Yeah, where did you get a nuke?" Twilight asked.

"Don't ask." Alex responded.

"Okay, then. Now for your PIV and Sinuitis injections." Twilight said.

"Okay, I'm done with this. I'm out. Goodbye." Alex groaned, he was tired of getting injected with every disease Equestria and Remnant had to offer. He would deal with this conundrum himself.

----

Yang sat comfortably in her home, drinking a glass of lemonade and reading Ruby's 'Weapons Weekly' magazine.

Her relaxing day was interrupted by a loud knocking on her door.

"Who is it?" She asked.

"A very embarrassed, angry, angst-y kid." She heard her apprentice, Alex, respond.

He didn't sound very happy.

Regardless, she went and opened the door.

Sure enough, he was blue, covered in itchy red bumps, sweating profusely and visibly shaking.

"You don't look very good." Yang noticed.

"You don't say!" Alex groaned irritably at her.

"There's probably a reason why you're here other than to yell at me infected with dust-knows-what." Yang figured.

"I have spent the past 3 hours getting random diseases shoved into my arm! All so I could fix something stupid I did a while back!" Alex yelled.

"Oh... This is about that incident a week ago." Yang concluded, smirking.

"Yep!!" Alex groaned.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about not telling them the actual truth." Yang apologized.

"What do you mean, 'actual truth'..?" Alex asked weakly.

"Never mind. Do you need me to get you to the hospital or something?" Yang asked.

"Nah... I'm good... Ugh..." Alex said before passing out on the floor in front of her.

"Alex..?" Yang asked, poking him with Crescent Rose, which Ruby had left inside the apartment.

"Yellow is red..." Alex groaned.

Yang sighed. Figuring it was the right thing to do, she picked him up, put him in her newly installed sidecar, and drove to the hospital nearby.

-a week earlier; normal continuum-

Alex was still riding on the back of Yang's motorcycle, still uncomfortable about his position.

"You okay man?" She asked him.

"Not really." Alex responded.

"Why not?" Yang asked.

"Well, to put it simply, I'm a dude." Alex responded.

"Okay.."

"And you're a girl."

"Right, you can tell us apart, you're a genius." Yang sarcastically joked.

"Not my point. Look at how we're sitting.."

"Oh, I get it now..." Yang realized.

"Yes... Now you get why this is disturbing for me."

"Yeah, actually, a similar thing happened to this guy named Neptune."

Alex had stopped listening at this point, he was too distracted by trying to find an appropriate, family friendly, area to hold onto.

The shoulders might've worked, but there was a risk of going too low, the waist had a similar problem, as it would be a disaster if they hit a bump.

Eventually, he held onto the seat itself, while in no way secure, it would probably spare him some embarrassment.

"And then I yelled, 'Sexual Harassment'!" Yang yelled.

Alex lost his grip of the seat, and the motorcycle hit a bump, and Alex fell off the back of the motorcycle, landing on the road. Hard.

"OW! MY HEAD!" Alex screamed in pain.

Yang stopped the motorcycle and walked over to him.

Needless to say, he was a mess.

Red splattered on the road in a sticky trail that led to Alex, the road burn was intense, the hair on the back of his head was nowhere in sight.

She picked him up, and Alex said.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that!" Alex gasped.

Yang realized something, she could use this to get a few cheap laughs out of the other guys.

Besides, he was too perfect.

"You know what, don't worry about it, it was a first offense, so I'm going to leave you off with a warning on this one." Yang said.

"Thanks."

"But we're still telling everyone what happened."

"What?! No!" Alex defended.

"I'm sorry, it's how I roll."

"NOOOO!" Alex screamed, similar in manner to Delirious

-a week later-

Yang looked back on that memory. Still feeling bad about this, she sighed. He was actually okay as a person. She thought, how did he get involved with assassins, Inquisitors, Crime Syndicates, and all that?

Getting her mind back to the subject at hand, she read the last of her magazine until someone called her name.

"Ms. Xiao Long?" The nurse asked.

Yang walked over into the emergency room, and met with the doctor.

"Hello, Yang."

"Hey doc, how is he?" Yang asked.

"He's in pretty rough shape, we got him on some sleeping gas to ease the pain. We're not sure what kind of diseases he had, but thanks to Ms. Sparkle, he should be up and running in about a week." The doctor replied.

"Sleeping gas?"

"Yep, I will warn you, though, it'll make him a little loopy for a few hours, but he should be just fine." He assured.

"Thank you, doc. Can we be alone for a few minutes?" Yang asked.

"Sure." The doctor left the room, leaving Yang and Alex alone.

"Alex, you still there?" She asked.

"Yeah... He said a week, right?" Alex asked weakly.

"Not important right now, I have some questions." Yang said.

"Sure... Whatever." Alex groaned.

"Why did Twi inject you with all that?" She asked.

"I tried to change the past... So that incident... Wouldn't happen." Alex replied.

Yang was surprised, he did this to save him a little embarrassment?

"Why were you nervous about that?" She asked.

"I can be kinda... Well, stupid. I don't have that luxury anymore.."

"What else?" She asked.

"I... Uulgh." Alex groaned.

"You what?" She asked.

"Never-never mind..." Alex shrugged it off.

"Fine, why did you ask if you would be fine in a week?" Yang asked.

"Duel... With. Zodiac..." Alex mumbled.

"Duel?" She asked.

"On top of the Maze Bank... 6:38 am tomorrow..." Alex said.

"What?!" She gaped.

"It's for.. All of you, if I fail... You all... Live." He groaned.

"We're not doing this without you!"

"Not...my problem...lives..to worry about...other than mine."

"What about us?!" Yang asked him.

"You...end this... Without me.. Holding you back.." He said before falling asleep.

Twilight ran in the hospital room.

"Did you hear?" She asked.

"That Zera is an Inquisitor?" Twilight replied.

"Zera's the Inquisitor?!" Yang asked.

"Yes, is there something you know?"

"He accepted a duel with her at 6:00 tomorrow morning!" Yang said.

"Why would he do that?" Twilight asked.

"Something about him having other lives to worry about other than his. He took it so we could end this without him!"

"That's insane!"

"We have to stop Zera!"

"Yeah, you're right, we have to go now!" Twilight replied.

Both ran out the door, leaving Alex in the room.

----

Alex looked up, he heard everything, the effects of the sleeping gas wore off instantly after that realization.

The sickness returned with a Vengeance, while his Blue Flu had subsided, the effects of the Deathstalker Venom, Grimmpox, and his other ailments struck back.

He couldn't let them kill themselves!

He staggered up and out of the bed, coughing up foul mucus and his Grimmpox beginning to itch intensely.

A doctor immediately tried to stop him.

"Mr. Walker, what are you doing?! You're in critical condition!" He yelled.

"Not now! I have to help my friends!" He retorted, shoving him into a wall and staggering into the elevator.

Author's Notes:

At first, I made this as a joke chapter, then I figured that this could actually work.

So yeah.

I will confirm that Pinkie's reasoning behind this chapter is pretty much fact.

EDIT:
Specific things. Derp

Act II, Chapter 11: Zodiac Killers

Vanoss was chillin' with Terroriser and Wildcat.

Right now, they were recovering from a full-on no-holds-barred brass knuckle/marksman pistol brawl.

"Okay, so now what?" Wildcat asked.

"I don't know, skydive into the city like in the new Godzilla movie?" Terroriser suggested.

"Wrong reference, Brian!" Vanoss yelled, shooting an RPG and killing the Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonator.

"NOOOOOOOO! REALLY?!" He exclaimed, his corpse flying upwards about 30 feet in the air.

"You know what I'm talkin' bout. Right, Evan?" Wildcat asked.

Both the pig and the owl inhaled deeply, about to utter one of their most favorite past-times.

"DAAAAAAAAARTS!" They yelled simultaneously.

"God damn it!" Terroriser face-palmed. When the hell would they stop referencing old videos.

"Wait, wait, hold on, Yang's calling me." Vanoss stopped before entering Wildcat's McLarry.

"I thought her and Alex were already a thing, Evan." Terroriser warned.

"Nah, she's probably still mad that I said her puns were terrible." Vanoss reasoned.

"Yeah, but they are, so..." Wildcat shrugged.

"Whatever man." Vanoss rolled his eyes.

"Evan?" They heard Yang ask through the speakerphone.

Vanoss recoiled from the phone, holding an ear in pain before continuing.

"Yeah, what is it?" He asked dryly.

"I don't care if you and Alex's gf are talking, but can you at least turn it off the speakerphone?!" Terroriser groaned.

"Brian, stop talking." She retorted.

Terroriser immediately backed away defensively, holding up both hands.

"Zera is the Inquisitor threatening to kill us, we need as many people as possible, I already got Team RWBY together, and Twilight and the other Elements are over there now. Get the others!" Yang ordered.

"Zera? As in the robot bitch coordinating the missions and shit?" Wildcat asked in disbelief.

"Really, do we know anyone else with the name 'Zera'? Seriously, who names their robot child that?" Terroriser scoffed.

"Yeah, I have to go with Terroriser on this." Yang agreed.

"So, get the rest of the team together?" Vanoss asked.

"Yes!" Yang groaned.

"Alright, boys. Let's terminate this terminator!" Vanoss exclaimed.

"GET TO DA CHOPPA!!! YAAAAAAAUGH!" Terroriser screamed, running towards nothing in particular.

-Meanwhile-

Zera sat on top of the construction site overlooking the city. She had heard everything. Her comrades were on their way to kill her.

Opening up the data pad installed in her wrist, she pressed a small button, and was immediately met by static, and then a deep, raspy, cold voice.

"What is the situation?" Alpha asked.

"I've been discovered. Unity is on their way to kill me." Zera replied.

"Unfortunate. For you at least. If you can, buy us some time." Alpha instructed.

"Of course." She sighed.

"Is something the matter?" He asked.

"I had grown... Attached... To them. Walker is a decent leader, and his allies, no, friends, trust him completely." She sighed.

"Do not allow this to get in the way of your prime directive, Zodiac. Alpha out."

"You really shoulda called for backup while you had the chance!" A raspy, tomboyish voice came from behind her.

"Turn around... If it's alright with you..." A meeker, lighter voice ordered.

"OR I'LL FIRE THIS PARTY CANNON RIGHT UP YOUR-"

"Pinkie! I think she gets the point!"

"Aw... I wanted to swear!"

"Pinkie, this ain't the time fer games!"

"Swearing isn't a game, but it's fun! FU-!"

"PINKIE!"

Zera stared in disbelief. The Elements, the self proclaimed defenders of friendship, were the first to try and kill her.

"So you're the first to arrive, I figured I'd meet someone decently formidable." Zera coldly stared into them.

"We're not afraid of some bucket of bolts!" Rainbow Dash crouched into a take-off stance.

"Yeah! If you want Alex, ya gotta go through us!" Applejack readied her hind legs for a powerful kick.

"We're not letting you lay a circuit on Alex!" Twilight boldly proclaimed, horn glowing a bright magenta color.

"I didn't want to have to do this, but you leave me with no choice." Zera sang loudly and produced a pair of deadly swords, swinging them stylishly before readying into a combat stance.

-54 seconds after the battle began-

Alex walked back to his garage sluggishly. Those diseases did a number on his immune system. He was actually really sick.

"Gotta...uurgh...get to the armory..." He gurgled. The Deathstalker Venom had drained him of most of his Aura and sickened him to his stomach.

Running over to a dumpster, he vomited inside, the foul mucus leaving his nose and throat stinging.

Looking up, he saw a burst of purple-hued magic, and what sounded like a hardcore fight going on above.

"Oh, shit. I gotta go!" Alex gasped, sprinting back to his apartment building.

It was only a matter of time before the others got there.

He had to hurry up!

Opening the garage door, he trudged inside, looking for the key he hid inside the wall, he had to be quick about this, or who knows how many of his friends would fall to her?

The key was roughly where he left it, good.

Going up the elevator was a challenge. The motion sickness rushed to him like a brain freeze, slowing overall movement and making him feel even more nauseous.

Finally, he ran inside his apartment and immediately inside his armory.

The main problem was rather obvious.

"WHERE THE HELL IS THE SCARAB?!"

Only one thing remained in it's spot.

.44 Scratch, as well as it's remaining 42 caps.

He had to make it work.

Running inside and grabbing said firearm, he put it inside his holster and opened up his Pocket Dimension, which had been laying on the ground.

Since getting the EMP device, he added a few extra assets to his collection, there was only one thing he was actually looking for.

Admiring the EOD he had bought online, he packed it into a bag, which was easier said than done, and ran back out the door, he'd put it on later.

But where was his Scarab armor?

-meanwhile-

"Twilight, watch out!" Ruby yelled to the Alicorn.

Twilight quickly set up a magic barrier to defend against Zera's broadsword, she was much faster than most of them had imagined.

"Ruby, get out of the way!" Rainbow ordered,

Immediately complying, Ruby fired Crescent Rose towards the ground in front of her and was blown away, and Rainbow immediately made contact with Zera afterwards.

Zera grasped Rainbow by the front hooves, and with great effort, threw her towards the other side of the rooftop.

"Checkmate!" Ruby yelled out, Yang was knocked back after a brief skirmish with the Inquisitor and she needed to reload.

Weiss set up a row of glyphs between Blake and Zera, all colored black. Blake leaped onto one of them and sped to the Inquisitor, blocking and dodging each potential blow and dealing out an equal amount.

Weiss then arranged a bunch if glyphs around Zera as Blake kept her distracted. Immediately using each one to propel herself and swing at their enemy.

Ruby grabbed another mag, this one marked with a black cross, and loaded it, pushing the bolt into place and chambering the first round.

Zera looked around her. She knew she was beaten.

Or at least looked like it.

She planted one foot on the ground in front of her, and immediately a large circle similar to Weiss's glyphs formed on the ground, it glowed an ominous light blue.

"Leo!" Zera yelled.

The glyph turned a bright orange, and so did this inquisitor.

The orange blur sped about the room, much faster than any of them, and knocked them down before they could even react.

After finally knocking down all of them, Zera stood tall in the center of the room.

"As fun as this was, it is not you who I'm willing to fight. Where is Alex?" She asked.

"Right here." A deep, obviously altered voice said behind her.

Zera turned around, and saw someone wearing Alex's armor, the Equestrian Steel chassis polished beautifully, with the Machine Gun reattached and pointed at Zera. And Electric Fury glowed a dim blue.

"Hello, Alex. I had thought you were recovering."

"Aura, Remember?" Alex had scoffed.

"Uurgh.. What the hell?!" Another voice gasped behind them.

Alex stood, looking quite sick, and pointed .44 Scratch at Zera.

"Go back to the hospital, Alex!" The imposter ordered.

"Like hell I will! I'm not...uurgh...letting Zera hurt anyone!" Alex groaned.

"Admirable. You're willing to masquerade as the boy so he would be safe." Zera nodded

"That's not exactly admirable..." Alex grumbled before running to the side of the building.

"I know it's you. Kat." Zera concluded.

Kat removed the helmet, tossing it to the ground and brandishing Alex's weapon.

"I propose a new challenge, if that actually is how you tell people that." Kat proposed.

"Let's hear it."

"If I win, You're rejoining Unity and telling us exactly what these Inquisitors are doing." Kat announced.

"And if you win..."

"You kill me and spare the others." Kat glared.

"Seriously, do you have any idea...uurgh... How bad of an Idea that is?! I'm not letting anyone else die if I can help it!" Alex opposed.

"You're too ill to fight. Besides, I'm already fully equipped with your weapons." Kat scoffed.

"Not all of them." Alex smirked, spinning .44 Scratch on his pointer finger.

"Interesting proposal. But we'll see if you're worthy enough for me to even consider accepting this challenge." Zera nodded, pulling out the full auto Desert Eagle.

"Alex, go to the crane." Kat ordered.

Alex nodded and ran up to the crane, leaping off the building and grabbing on at the last second.

Kat swung Electric Fury, spinning the blade before locking with Zera's.

Alex climbed to the top of the crane. It wasn't easy given his condition, but he did it all the same.

Noticing something, he ran over to the end of the crane, and got a look at what it was.

Kat's sniper.

He grabbed hold of it, grabbing the keys and turning them sharply to the right as she taught him.

"Open, gate of the guardian! Sentinel!" He muttered.

A metallic bird apparated in front of him, flying over to one shoulder.

Repeating the process again, both birds sat on either shoulder.

"Help Kat, I'll cover her!" He ordered.

Both sentinels flew off and into the battle.

Kat was holding up a little better than Alex previously thought. And with the Sentinels, she would probably win.

But he needed to do his part.

Grabbing the sniper, he looked down the scope, waited until Zera's head was exposed, and pulled the trigger.

A brilliant flame erupted from the weapon, and the recoil was actually more manageable than he thought.

The bullet had hit it's target, Zera was hit!

She staggered to recover, only just in time managing to block Kat's attack.

Again!

Alex grabbed hold of the sniper, waited until Zera's knee was open, and in that instance he fired the weapon again.

The bullet severed Zera's leg in two and Kat could deliver a final blow.

Kat grasped Zera by the head, and decapitated the robot.

The body grew limp as the metal shell clattered to the ground.

Kat dug through wires in the neck and pulled out a small hard drive, tossing the head aside.

Alex attached the grappling hook and fired, swinging to where the rest of the group was, and handed Kat the sniper.

"That was actually impressive." Alex congratulated.

"Thanks, good shooting." Kat replied.

Ruby and the others staggered up, injured.

"Well. That was a thing." Yang said.

"Really, Yang? 'That was a thing'?" Alex rolled his eyes.

"And this is the same person who's the self-proclaimed 'queen of puns?'" Kat joked.

"Hey! That was a one-time thing!" Yang defended.

"Yeah, yeah, 'Yang Xiao Pun." Alex scoffed.

"Alex." Kat face-palmed.

"See? I can make bad puns too!" He sarcastically announced.

"Anyways, bad puns aside, what is that?" Blake asked.

"It's Zera's CPU, all of her memories are right here. I did say she would tell us everything." Kat smirked.

"But did you really have to decapitate her? That's probably insanely offensive to some people." Alex argued.

"Yeah, I'm with the 'king of puns'. Couldn't you have just deactivated her and then get the CPU?" Weiss asked.

"We are not in a relationship! What is up with you guys and my non-existent love life?!" Alex groaned.

"Well, I guess. I didn't exactly think about that at first." Kat admitted.

"Whatever, let's just get Alex back to the hospital." Yang groaned.

"Actually, his body temperature is at 102 degrees. He might actually burn the diseases out." Twilight pointed out.

"What about the Deathstalker venom?" Ruby asked.

"Nah, that was just water and food coloring." Twilight smirked.

"How many of those were actually placebos?" Weiss asked.

"Just the venom."

"Yeah, if it was, he'd be dead as soon as it was injected." Blake pointed out.

"Wait, where are Evan and the others?" Alex asked.

"Badoop, badoop, BANANA BUS!" Wildcat yelled.

A large bus fell on Zera's robot corpse, and Evan's crew walked out of it.

"Hey, guys! Why is Kat cross dressing?" Vanoss asked.

"Oh yeah!! She is!" Delirious laughed.

"Yeah, Kat. Why steal my armor?" Alex asked.

"It looked cool..." Her voice trailed off.

"Yeah, I'd probably steal it too, if I was her." Yang smirked.

"AAAAAAGH! WHY?!" Alex groaned, his face turning a deep red.

"He's a tomato again!" Pinkie laughed.

"Just kidding!" Yang said.

"Also, about that incident on your bike... WHAT THE HELL, YANG?!" Alex screamed at Yang.

"I thought it would be funny!" She defended.

"It's hilarious." Vanoss added.

"YOU TRICKED ME INTO THINKING I DID SOMETHING STUPID WHILE I WAS BLEEDING FROM THE HEAD!!" Alex yelled louder.

"How often do you deal with these people?" Kat asked.

"All the time!" Alex groaned.

"Ouch. Now I feel really bad about hanging out with Trevor." Kat cringed.

"Wait. Who's Trevor?" Alex asked.

----

Alex and Kat were alone in the apartment. The doctors gave him some pills and suppositories that Alex was supposed to take twice a day for three weeks.

"Alex!" Kat called.

"Just a moment! I'm still working on the suppositories!" Alex yelled back.

"Ugh. Okay, whenever you're ready. Okay?" She probably cringed.

Alex finished his pills and ran upstairs.

"Yeah?" Alex asked.

"I've been looking through Zera's CPU." Kat said.

"What did you find?" Alex asked.

"Her mind. Her personality, her memories. Everything."

"Sweet. Is there a way we can reprogram her?" Alex asked.

"Already did, just one problem." Kat sighed.

"What?" Alex asked

"Her body was completely destroyed." Kat sighed.

"Oh." Alex cringed.

"But we can communicate via computer." Kat said.

"I have another idea." Alex said.

Alex ran into the pocket dimension and grabbed the data pad Karis used, Veil was still installed.

He ran back inside.

"This data pad could work, but the A.I is still inside." Alex said.

"Let's see here..." Kat said, turning it on.

A hologram of a woman who looked almost exactly like Karis appeared on the table.

"Greetings, Si- oh! Hello, Mr. Walker, Ms. Anderson!" She noticed the two.

"Hello again, Veil." Alex waved.

"Anything I can help you with?" Veil asked.

"We need another A.I in there, she has important information on the Inquisitors." Kat said.

"Another individual A.I cannot be downloaded, put I can persuade the A.I to merge with myself." Veil said.

"How?" Alex asked.

"There is a small cord inside, connect it to the device the A.I is currently on." Veil instructed.

"Of course." Kat replied, plugging Veil in the computer.

Immediately, two holograms appeared in the table.

"Who...who are you?" The second hologram, Zera asked.

"I am Veil, an Artificial Intelligence System developed by the C.I.A. Who are you?" Veil asked.

"Z-Zera..." Zera replied timidly.

"Well, Zera. You seem to be under distress." Veil noticed.

"The Inquisitors...they made me betray m-my friends." Zera lamented.

"Unfortunate. I'm sure they will understand." Veil smiled at her.

"R-really? Even after I hurt them..?"

"If they truly are your allies. They will." Veil assured.

"What do you want from me?" Zera asked.

"Mr. Walker and Ms. Anderson need us to become one singular A.I so we can better assist them." Veil explained.

"I-I don't know... What if the Inquisitors hack into us.?" Zera asked.

"My programming is equipped with the most advanced cyber security software, and even if they do, You can produce backups." Veil assured.

"I see. I'll merge with you.." Zera smiled back.

"Thank you for understanding. And before we continue..." Veil stopped Zera before they could fuse.

"Alex Walker. You may not know this, but I am a literal A.I copy of your dead ally. The C.I.A could not simply create an Artificial Intelligence. They instead scanned your friend's brain. I currently contain all of her memories. If you'd like, I can manifest this data." Veil explained.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked.

"It would seem to be the easiest way to provide emotional closure." Veil replied.

"What's going on?" Kat asked.

"My first recipient was Karis Thorne of the C.I.A. She helped Alex Walker evade Task Force Crimson when they first found him in Ponyville. The two worked closely together for the next month, she assigned him on the mission that led Ms. Dash to forgive him for what he did. She helped Alex join with Mr. Fong and his friends. And, most importantly. She died trying to protect him from Sigma." Veil said.

"So, if it weren't for Agent Thorne, Alex would have died." Kat concluded.

"I ran the simulations multiple times. Alex, if it had not been for our intervention, would likely have spent that time hiding from them in his own manner. He would grow spiteful towards the Elements after he discovered the Royal Guard were after him. It is likely he would run his own mission. Obtaining revenge on Winchester and the Elements for torturing him. He would likely kill Winchester in the process, until he would be cornered by the Princess and slaughtered." Veil explained.

"Ouch." Alex winced.

"Indeed. So, I need an answer to continue." Veil stated.

"Thank you. But I-" Alex was prepared to deny it.

"Yes. He would appreciate that." Kat interrupted.

"What the?" Alex asked.

"You've been really moody and depressed since I first met you. And that hasn't gotten any better. If Veil says she can help, then let her." She laid a hand on Alex's shoulder.

Alex took her hand and placed it at her side.

"I got all the time in the world for that once this is over. For now, we have a job to do." Alex reasoned.

"Interesting predicament." Zera commented.

"Typical human emotion at it's finest." Veil replied.

"I know."

"I say we put it to a vote. All against?" Veil asked.

Alex raised his hand.

"All in favor?"

Kat raised her hand, and surprisingly, so did Zera.

"What?" Alex gaped.

"Alex. I've seen the inside your head. Do you think nobody else notices that you still have nightmares? That you're still tormented by everything that has happened to you?" Zera asked.

"You know?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"Yep." Kat said.

"The part of the brain related to depression has increased activity by 50% the past few weeks." Veil nodded.

Alex sat on the couch.

"It seems like he just wants to be alone for a couple minutes." Kat sighed.

"I'm running the simulation now. Katherine, if you'd like, you can leave." Veil said.

"What?" Kat asked.

"You said it yourself. He needs a bit of alone time. But we won't let him stay like this. Don't worry." Zera smiled.

"Okay." Kat left the armory, walked out the door and closed it softly behind her.

-one day later-

Alex laid down on the couch. Watching television. Not that there was anything good on. He was honestly bored.

Looking at his data pad, he wondered exactly how the C.I.A had gotten so advanced.

"Alex?" A voice said.

"Yeah, Iris?" Alex asked. The two A.Is had agrees on that name, he wasn't sure why, but he didn't mind it much.

"Text message from Ms. Rose." Iris replied.

Alex looked at the data pad, reading the text Ruby sent.

Ruby:

Alex. Kat told me everything about what happened. I wanted to check on you.

Alex was not surprised at all. Ruby was generally a caring person, he respected her for that very reason.

He privately wished that more people shared that trait.

Alex texted back.

Alex:

Yeah, Everything's fine.

Author's Notes:

And that was the conclusion of the Zodiac storyline!
I think Act II is going to end sooner than I thought. Act I took forever to complete!
To those who don't read my blog,(so everyone) Chapters will be posted on Saturdays!
As well as the occasional exception

Act II, Chapter 12: SOS

Alex shot at the Syndicate hit men.

From what he heard, Basically and Mini walked straight into a meeting and drank all of their alcohol. Sure it was a dumb move on their part, and, had it been someone else, he would have made them apologize, but they were already in too deep.

Plus, he hated the Syndicate. He hated them a lot.

Firing the KMG at, yet another, car, he killed both the driver and whomever was sitting behind him.

Mini and Basically were also shooting at the hit-men, and rather decently, one had been shot right between the eyes, causing brain matter and gore to spew out the back like a 2-liter soda bottle. Another one had been shot in both knees, both arms, and several times in the chest.

When the rest had retreated, Alex turned to face both men.

"What have we learned here today?" Alex groaned, he'd hoped they would learn their lesson now. Next time, he wouldn't bail them out.

"Drinking other people's booze is a bad thing..." Basically grumbled.

"And..?" Alex prompted.

"...It's even worse when it's the bad guys' booze." Mini Ladd finished.

"Good. You're lucky I was getting ammunition and medicine when they attacked you. Next time, I won't go out of my way just to bail you guys out." Alex chided yet again.

"Yeah, like I don't have enough problems with Vanoss." Basically scoffed.

"Pssh, you wish. At least you guys aren't dealing with holographic projections of dead friends and helpful, creepy mentors." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Interesting thought, Alex. May I remind you that you started crying about 30 seconds into the sim?" Iris mocked.

"Wow. That is just sad." Mini smirked.

"Shut up, Mini." Alex scowled.

"Yeah, yeah, Tobey Maguire." Basically laughed.

"Laugh it up, assholes." Alex grumbled.

After a few more minutes of taunting, Mini and Basically left for their own apartments, leaving Alex alone with an annoying A.I.

"Phone call from your waifu, Alex." Iris beamed.

"Ms. Xiao Long is hardly my waifu, you know-it-all piece of crap." Alex scowled.

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Really."

"Well, better hurry up now. The phone is still ringing."

"Yeah, sure." Alex calmly replied answering the phone.

Alex grabbed his cellphone, sure enough, that same picture Yang had given him of her flipping off the camera with her name written in white underneath appeared on the screen. He swiped the touch screen to the right in a quick motion.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alex!" Yang happily sang from the other end.

"What is it? Is something the matter?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. I heard gunfire coming down the road. It stopped and I wanted to check and see if you were still alive."

"I'm fine." Alex assured.

"Quite the contrary, Alex was shot once in the stomach and another skinned him. In addition, his blood pressure is at 148/93." Iris said.

"What?!" Yang gasped

"That isn't true! My blood pressure is at 125/82!" Alex scowled.

"Actually, given the stress you have experienced in the past two to three months, your blood pressure has raised significantly. Relatively common in patients with Post-Traumatic Stress."

"Is she serious?!"

"Oh, please. I don't have PTSD."

"Actually, according to what Ms. Dash has said, you've been suffering from symptoms of PTSD as early as your stay in Ponyville."

"And you did tell me that you have a lot of nightmares." Yang said.

"Alright, fine! So I'm not the healthiest! Maybe my blood pressure is at 150, and maybe I do have PTED!" Alex groaned.

"Actually, we are referring to your Post Traumatic Stress, not your Post-Traumatic Embitterment."

"That too?!" Alex groaned.

"You do constantly reject help." Yang pointed out.

"That is not a mental disorder, but it is worth bringing up." Iris stated.

"Can you two shut up about my health!?" Alex facepalmed.

"I agree, now is not the time to discuss his detrimental state." Iris agreed.

"Thank you, Iris. So what is it you wanted to talk to me about?" Alex asked.

"I wanted to tell you that Ruby and I just bailed Vanoss and Wildcat out. They were having a 1v1 sniper duel at the airport and it got the Syndicate's attention." Yang explained.

"Thank you for keeping me updated." Alex smiled.

"Your welcome! I'm feeling a little tired after killing them though."

"Sure. Take care." Alex said.

"Bye!" Yang said before hanging up.

Alex continued his walk home.

"So. About Ms. Xiao Long..." Iris began.

"You have 10 seconds to make your case." Alex groaned.

"A relationship would likely lower your blood pressure and possibly help you with your nightmares." Iris stated.

"So, relationships are prescriptions now?" Alex scoffed.

"In all seriousness. It may be time to let go some of that pain inside."

"What pain? Winchester's dead, Sigma knows not to mess with me, and Kat's with us, what could be wrong?" Alex asked.

"The fallout from the torture, the pain of Karis's death, the fact that you are all being hunted by mad men." Iris began listing every negative thing in his life.

"Yeah, yeah. I get the point." Alex groaned.

"If you won't have an intensely intimate relationship, then at least try and make more friends, and not just ex-gamers who you had to pay so they wouldn't kill you."

"Who?" Alex asked.

"Find some. You'll be sure to feel a little better."

"Not in this city, I had to bribe 5 or 6 people just to find one girl." Alex scoffed.

"Do not worry. True friendship finds you, or you find it."

-4 hours later-

"Uugh. My head..." Alex groaned as he stumbled around the brightly lit room.

Then Alex noticed something a little peculiar.

This room had no direct source of light, that and it was white and foggy.

"Iris. Come in." Alex automatically beckoned to his A.I, but the wrist-pad that he usually wore was gone.

"Hello?" Alex asked, pulling out both .44 Scratch and Electric Fury.

He turned to his left, nothing. He turned behind him, still nothing, but the room started to get darker.

"Alex Gabriel Walker of Geo Vector 0-1, Faust Zeta 3-7, Oum Alpha 1-2, and RS Eta 7-3?" A voice beckoned.

He had no idea what any of those were, but he remembered Oum Alpha 1-2 from his initial escape. And RS Eta 7-3 was where he currently resided. He really needed to ask just who came up with the system of naming universes.

"Yes, that's me... I think..." Alex stumbled.

A dark blue Alicorn floated in front of him before landing on all fours, a very familiar blue Alicorn.

"Princess Luna?!" Alex gaped.

"Finally! Do you have any idea how many of you there are?! I must've met at least 36 other yous before I asked Discord!" She sighed, as though exasperated.

"Is everything okay?" Alex asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing. You left before your trial." Luna scoffed.

"Trial?" Alex asked.

"So you really don't know..." Luna cringed, as if what had happened was too terrible.

"What?" Alex asked.

"Rainbow had turned in a few copies of your dossier into Equestrian authorities. They were to have you on trial in court."

"How much?" Alex asked.

"Torture records and your bio."

"Oh."

"So, when you left, there couldn't be a fair trial, and Celestia and I formally pardoned you. Naturally, ponies got angry with the fact that you pretty much got away with murder."

"A whole political scandal over me of all people?" Alex gaped.

"I'm afraid it is far worse than that. A lot of those angry ponies were Royal Guards and Criminals. They, led by a Gryphon named Iron Talon, led an insurgency against Equestria itself, called the Rogue Guard."

"That sounds terrifying." Alex backed away.

"It is. Most of these ponies thought that war was just something of legend, never to happen again. And now..." Her voice trailed off.

"So, Rainbow started a war?" Alex asked.

"Not exactly, there were many responsible, but it was Rainbow Dash who set these events in motion." Luna figured.

Alex leaped with joy.

"Human! 'Tis not the time to be joyful!" Luna scolded.

"Finally! Someone started a cataclysmic war and it's not me!" Alex sang.

"What dost thou mean?"

"Apparently, I killed Winchester, which, according to your mythology, starts the apocalypse." Alex explained.

Luna's dark blue visage turned white.

"The end times are upon us?!"

"According to a bunch of very old books."

Luna paced back and forth.

"This is bad, this is very, very bad..." She muttered.

"Not as bad as what else happened!" Alex added.

"God's wounds! Cease thy words!" Luna gasped.

"Myself, as well as all 22 of my friends are being hunted by the Inquisitors."

Luna deflated, face-hoofing before turning to face Alex.

"You ignorant buffoon! Dost thou realize what you've done?!?!"

"Apparently doomed multiple worlds, including your own?" Alex meekly added.

"...Yes!" Luna's left eye twitched.

"What do I have to do?" Alex groaned.

"Thou is to return to Equestria to sort this mess out!" Luna concluded.

"I can't! I've got my own problems!"

"You must! The fate of all is at stake here!" Luna pleaded.

"Fine. I'll do this the same way I dealt with the first crisis in Equestria. Alone."

Luna looked at him like he had just grown three heads.

"This is not something that can be dealt with alone! You need your allies!" Luna slapped him.

"Ow! They'll be fine! Kat can lead them! Besides, I may as well be alone! To everyone else there, I'm nothing but a cold-blooded murderer and a coward!" Alex reasoned.

"Is that really what you believe they think of you?" Luna asked, an edge of sympathy shining amongst the contemptful anger.

"That's what I am! When I found out that the Militia was working against me, I ran! When your sister's pupil was against me, I ran! Even now, I'm running away, trying to delay the inevitable! So if you think that I'm some sort of role model, or someone to be admired, think again!!" Alex elaborated.

The princess of the night gaped at him.

"You really are ignorant. Thou cannot see what your own comrades see in you." Luna sighed.

"What could they possibly see in me?!" Alex scoffed.

"They see a brother in arms. A friend, an ally, a trustworthy leader who will stare death in the eye. To some, even a potential lover-"

"Too much!" Alex waved both hands defensively.

"Thy point is, thou should have more confidence in yourself. But I am getting beside the point."

"Which is..?"

"Return to Equestria. Aid us in these dark times. Soldier." Luna nodded as she walked away.

The room grew brighter. He was waking up.

Alex gasped in his bed. He felt the data-pad on his arm glow bright blue.

"Good morning, Alex. Your brainwaves were off the charts during your sleep! Any dreams you're willing to share?" Iris asked.

"Just one thing. Where can I find the Die Glocke on this world?" Alex asked.

"Do you wish to return to Remnant? Earth?" She asked.

"Equestria."

"What about Equestria?" A voice asked from upstairs.

"Who is that?" Alex asked.

"Ms. Xiao Long requested to stay in the apartment at 0500, they said their wi-fi was disabled. Ms. Belladonna came very recently.."

"What?! Why did you let both of them in here?!" Alex yelled.

"You were asleep. I did not want to disturb you. Besides, she drew on your face." Iris stated.

"Well, Yang did. I just talked with Evan on the phone." Blake smirked, coming down the stairs.

"You guys suck." Alex scowled.

"I tried to stop her." She shrugged.

"Wait.. Why are you here? Aren't you a little... I don't know... Too anti-social and respectful of other people's space to just drop in to a guys apartment while he's sleeping?" Alex asked.

"Actually, I just came to get Yang before your face was completely covered in marker." Blake explained.

"Seems reasonable, did she draw anything inapropriate?" Alex asked.

"All of it is."

"Figured. Now please leave, I'm still in bed." Alex sighed, it was about 8:00, much to early for him.

"I was just about to."

"Thank you."

Blake suddenly perked, and stood very still.

"What?" Alex asked.

A quick look further up the stairs explained everything. Yang held a small laser pointer in her hand, and had it pointed straight at him.

That, combined with the fact that Blake was a Faunus, told him this was probably bad news.

"YOU FU-"

Author's Notes:

I feel like I'm starting to lose readers as the story goes on, so I'm going to try something here.

Long story short, I changed a good amount of the plot to try and get that demographic back, while still trying to keep what's already been written so it doesn't seem like 'A did this and B did that because God was bored' kind of deal.

For example- Alex is returning to Equestria, who goes with... Yeah, I'm not going to spoil that much.

Act II, Chapter 13: Return to Equestria

A purple vortex appeared suddenly on the plains south of Ponyville.

A young man in full Equestrian Steel armor stalked out of it, with him were the six Elements of Harmony.

"Stay close. Luna said that these 'Rogue Guard' pretty much swarmed the town." Alex warned.

"I still can't believe Rainbow turned over those documents!" Twilight lamented.

"Hey! I had to do something!" The Pegasus defended.

"Like having Kat take over Evan's crew in our absence?!" Rarity gaped.

"Stow it. I'd be helping Kat and Vanoss out with the Syndicate, or, hell, maybe going with Ruby and the others to Remnant if I wasn't required to come along!" Alex tried to end this as soon as he could.

"And how do ya expect to stop them?" Applejack inquired.

"Only way I know how."

"A PARTY!!!" The hyper-energetic pink horse interrupted.

"Er... Something along those lines." Alex admitted.

"Just...leave me out of it. My animals must be worried sick! Angel is particularly gun-shy... If that's how you say it..." Fluttershy darted her eyes, almost expecting to be caught dead center in the fray.

"Okay then, you two were clearly made for each other." Alex said, more to himself than the yellow Pegasus.

"All right, Mr. Big shot mercenary, how are we going to stop them before things get worse?" Rainbow asked.

"Go home. All of you." Alex ordered.

"No way!" She yelled back.

"Yes way. It's me they want. Not you. Go home, try to make the best of it, avoid any confrontation until this is all sorted out."

"And how do you think this is gonna end?" Applejack asked.

"Two ways. A; They kill me and leave my rotting corpse to the buzzards..."

"Ew.." Fluttershy immediately gagged

"Or B; By some circumstance, I kill Iron Talon or whatever the bastard's name is, and his whole guard falls apart and you guys are safe." Alex finished.

"Ah can tell you're more the 'glass is half-empty' kinda fella."

"Thanks a million, Sheriff Obvious." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Racist."

"My point is that this isn't your problem. It never was and it never should have been your problem."

"We are not letting you do this alone! We're helping you!" Rainbow stood directly in front of Alex, glaring at his helmeted eyes.

"You want to help me? Good. Go home."

"If you haven't already noticed, our homes have probably been destroyed!" Twilight angrily stated.

"Oh come on, your ponies, for cripes sake! The closest since this you've gotten to armed conflict is a bunch of insane, egotistical monsters that you've defeated pretty easily." Alex scoffed.

"You don't get it, do you? Since Equestria hasn't been involved in a war for a millennium, we have no laws governing what they can and can't do!" Twilight retorted.

"Really? In the thousand years you guys had to chill, none of you had the foresight to write something like the Geneva Conventions?"

"You've never abided by any of those laws either! I bet once you get home, you'll be tried as a war criminal!"

"Who the hell said I was going back to Earth?"

"What do you mean?"

Alex facepalmed, if he facepalmed any harder, his hand would have gone straight through his skull.

"Haven't I told you guys this like, a MILLION F***ING TIMES ALREADY?!"

Pinkie gaped at Alex.

"You defy the not-so-great Destoyer by using the forbidden word?!" Pinkie gasped.

"YOU KNOW WHAT? YES, I DID!"

"You fiend! SHORYUKEN!" Pinkie yelled, upper cutting Alex in the face with what appeared to be...

"What the hell? Is that Yang's?!" Alex asked in surprise.

"She let me borrow it!" The party horse smiled broadly.

"You...do know she's back at Remnant, right?"

Her smile faded into one of genuine surprise, as if she had completely forgotten that she had to give it back.

She ran away, panicking and hollering.

"DISCOOORD! I NEED YOUR HEEEELP!!!" Alex heard her say.

All of them stared in disbelief at what the hell just happened.

"Well, Ah've gotta check and see if Apple Bloom's okay." Applejack said as she walked in the direction of her home.

"And I have to make sure that Opal didn't destroy all of my projects in my absence." Rarity nodded her goodbyes and left for the Boutique.

"Wait, where's Spike?!" Twilight had immediately come to her senses and ran off for her castle.

"Oh! Poor Angel bunny! Momma's coming!" Fluttershy flew off in speed almost comparable to Rainbow's.

"Well, I have to check my mail for Wonderbolt acceptance letters!" Rainbow flew off towards her home, leaving Alex alone.

As Alex watched Rainbow fly away, he started to think, about all of this. About Earth. About Equestria. About Remnant.

He thought about all the times he had to run away from whomever wanted him to die, Task Force Crimson, The Inquisitors, The Syndicate, and hell, maybe even the White Fang.

And nothing's changed since. Now he was off fighting whoever the 'Rogue Guard' was. And it all boiled down to this single thought that echoed through his mind.

'I hate always having to do this.'

-2 Hours Later-

Alex was almost back in Ponyville, the small town was in his line of sight now. Only it was...different.

No Fillies or Colts or...wait, did he even get that right?

Anyways, no children were out playing, no old friends conversing, nothing.

It was...almost scary to think about.

The storybook-perfect little world he was first introduced to in this state deeply unnerved him.

Even the sky itself was a dark grey-ish color.

"What the hell happened here?" Alex asked to himself.

"Halt! Hands where I can see them!"

Alex turned around to see Stallions in grey armor bearing what appeared to be firearms perfectly designed for use by a pony.

"What the-"

"Are you deaf? Hands up!" The captain ordered again.

"Do you know who I am?" Alex asked them.

"No, but you must be quite the coward to hide behind that suit! HANDS UP!"

Alex removed his helmet and dropped it to the ground before them.

The captain looked up at Alex, and he knew what was running through his mind.

"We need backup!"

They all fired their weapons at Alex, to little effect. All the bullets bounced off his armor.

Alex himself made short work of the patrol in 7 shots, all to the head.

Dusting himself off, he walked around the town some more, still not over the fact that the town he once knew was so...barren.

"Walker spotted! Moving in!" Alex turned around to see dozens of armed ponies and the odd gryphon here or there, all bearing weapons.

Alex shot back, killing two of them before a gryphon lashed out at him with a huge knife.

This gryphon in particular held the blade high before finally plunging it down, Alex could barely hold it in place, he was decently strong, but no match for a trained soldier.

Alex punched the gryphon in the face, grabbed the knife, and jammed it square into the side of his neck before pulling out .44 Scratch and shooting him off.

Before he even had time to react, a pony punched him square behind the knee, causing Alex to kneel to the ground.

He lunged for the knife in the dead gryphon's throat, sharply pulling it out and placing it dead center in the stallion's forehead.

Alex turned around, firing his gun at anyone he could until he was brought down again by a gryphon.

"You're dead meat, Human!" The gryphon spat an Alex struggled to get it off of him.

It lashed it's claws, barely noticing that the claws were reinforced by Equestrian Steel before they ripped through the armor and into his skin.

The pain fueled his anger, and he punched the gryphon in the beak, enhancing it with his own Aura.

It was absolutely devastating, the punch broke the gryphon's beak entirely, grasping what remained in agony before Alex ended it all.

He looked on at the dozens of soldiers still on the way.

He could take them.

Focusing all of his power into his right hand, he leaped high and punched the ground below, sending red lightning out in a huge wave that electrocuted the crowd of soldiers, frying them all and filling the air with a revolting stench.

Alex put his helmet back on, holstered .44 Scratch, and unsheathed Electric Fury, it's blade glistening in the light.

This time, they brought in what seemed to be horse-drawn carriages armed with machine guns.

Alex leaped into the air, bringing the sword down on the gunner, slicing him clean in half.

Alex stole the machine gun, aimed it below, where more soldiers were, and fired until the roof collapsed from under him.

Tossing the MG in his hands, he set the shoulder-mounted MG to automatically target hostiles, and it absolutely ripped them apart.

A large explosion struck at Alex's back.

They were using mortars?!

The MG was destroyed, but not any of the other weapons.

"Something you need?" Iris asked.

"Mark all the mortar positions!" Alex ordered.

"Now now, say the 'p' word..." Iris stalled.

"Fine. Will you please target all the mortar positions." Alex groaned.

"Thank you for being so polite! Okay, targeting six Rogue Guard mortar positions!"

Alex saw six green dots marked on his HUD.

"You have a plan, don't you?" Iris asked.

"Don't I always?" Alex smirked.

He opened up every last compartment on the suit, causing wave upon wave of rockets to completely wreck the mortars and their crew.

"Iris, are we all cleaned up?" Alex asked.

"I wouldn't say that."

"What do you mean?" Alex asked.

"You know how Die Glocke was a Nazi super-weapon, right?"

"Yeah but what does that have to do with... Oh, no."

"Have you ever heard of the Landkreuzer P. 1000?"

"The Rat. How in god's name did they get that thing?!"

Alex looked behind him, and saw the massive tank.

It was damn huge, even all of team Unity combined would have difficulty taking it down.

Alex summoned all of his remaining Aura, pulled out both .44 Scratch and Electric Fury, and leaped towards it, his battle cry echoing through the desolate place.

The tank fired everything it had at Alex, quite literally everything.

As Alex neared closer to the giant tank, he knew this would probably end horribly.

-4 Hours Later-

The Armored Pegasus landed on the ground, the shattered remains of a giant tank lay smoking on the ground, only calmed by the light rain that casually landed on the ground and barely dousing the flames.

She wandered a bit until she came across a human body, the visor cracked, the armor blackened by rapid fire from the previous battle, at least, what remained of the armor. It was shredded completely, but the body within was completely intact.

And alive. The young man was unconscious, and badly injured, but alive.

She gently removed the young man's helmet to get a better look at him.

The boy had ashy-blonde hair that almost curled at the edges, and it was rather messy, even worse given what had happened.

His features were quite gaunt, pale with the exceptions of multiple scars and bags under the eyes.

Scars were present almost everywhere on the boy's face, of all shapes and sizes, but almost all of them were barely noticeable that one could only see them from way up close.

The scar on his eye was one of the only exceptions, it started just above his eyebrow, ended just above the socket, then met the skin below going another half inch down.

She couldn't quite get a clear look at his eyes, since he was unconscious, but she already knew who he was.

"It's been a while since I've seen you. I know all about what happened to you. " She said, placing a hoof gently on his shoulder.

She removed her mask, and placed it at her side, in a compartment on the powered suit that completely concealed any trace of coat, only the tail bare.

The pony herself was a deep purplish color, the mane white lined with a light blue, with bags under her eyes similar to the boy's.

She held the boy gently, as she was preparing for the flight back.

"But don't worry, We're going to put you back together again."

Author's Notes:

Well, here we are, Alex's return to Equestria!

I think you guys should know how this exactly worked, since I doubt I described it well enough.
Alex and the Elements of Harmony went back to Equestria to deal with the Rogue Guard,
Kat stayed in LS with Vanoss and friends to deal with the Syndicate,
And Team RWBY went back to Remnant, why? Well it's called a spoiler alert, I can't tell you that yet.

I was a little late with this chapter, but I'll try to release the chapter earlier next week.

-The Destoyer

Act II, Chapter 14: Scratchbolts

"Alex?"

A voice echoed through his ears again, it seemed familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"You in there?" The voice beckoned again.

Alex cracked his eyes open slightly, the room was dark aside from the blue light.

"Wake up, Alex."

He drowsily propped himself up on one elbow, but his vison was still foggy.

"What...where am I?" Alex coughed.

"Alex? It's me!" Alex knew it was a pony, and he knew her, but he still couldn't quite figure out who.

"Who are you?" He quietly asked.

"Come on, It's only been a month! Don't tell me you forgot!" She slugged him lightly on the shoulder, waking him up.

"Cloudchaser..?" He asked.

"There you are! I never thought I'd see you again! How's it hangin'?" Cloudchaser asked.

"Well, the second time I end up in this town, I get knocked off my ass. So..."

"That'll teach you a lesson about dealing with a Rat, am I right?"

"Hell yeah."

Cloudchaser looked a little concerned.

"You okay man? I know you just woke up and everything, but you seem... Different."

"Let's just say a lot can happen in a month." Alex replied.

Another pony, a unicorn, walked in the room. He could tell who this one was even with the mask covering her face.

"I thought I heard voices! Good to see you again, man!" Vinyl greeted.

"Likewise. Where are we, though?" Alex asked.

"Your basement." Vinyl responded.

"What?! I don't own a house!" Alex looked shocked.

"Dude, did you fall on your head while you were gone? Of course you have a house!" Cloudchaser scoffed.

"A lot happened in the past month." Alex defended.

"Actually, Alex's A.I told me everything he did the past month or so." Vinyl agreed.

"Dammit, Iris!" Alex groaned.

"What? Upset that this 'Yang' person clearly has feelings for you?" Vinyl smirked.

"Someone's a bit more talkative that usual." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Wait. I'm lost here. Who's Yang again?" Cloudchaser asked.

"The blonde girl from Iris' recordings."

"You recorded me?!" Alex turned to wherever Iris may have been.

"It's pretty obvious that you wouldn't have told them. I took it upon myself to feed them every bit of information I knew about you." Iris replied.

"Not only that, she took screenshots of pages from your journal. You say self-promotion jokes are your true comedic weakness?" Vinyl joked.

"Damn you, Iris."

"Aw. Thank you!"

"My personal favorite was Entry 40. You kicked Sigma's ass!" Cloudchaser applauded.

"There was even video from Sigma's perspective to go along with it! You went Bat shit insane!" Vinyl added.

"I forgot to mention, great job starting the apocalypse, buddy."

"IRIS!!!" Alex screamed

----

The three newly reunited friends discussed their escapades in-depth. Apparently, after Dash released those documents and they heard about it, they had been among his most spirited supporters and even tried searching for him when they discovered he escaped.

"Then, next thing I know, Twi and the others were gone! All that was left was some type of device that required a ridiculous amount of power. I'm not even sure where they got all that energy!" Cloudchaser explained.

"So, then Celestia and Luna are pretty much out of ideas, so when they discovered the tech used in your raid, they went to me." Vinyl added.

"Wait, isn't there anyone else who could've helped? It seems like they instantly decided to go to the resident disk-jockey for help." Alex reasoned.

"I think Shining Armor and Cadence would've done something, but considering that, for all they knew, Twilight was dead, they were left to just grieve." Cloudchaser shrugged.

"Ouch. I know what it's like to lose a family member or two, or all. Considering how close they must've been, it hit them pretty damn hard." Alex winced.

"So, Celestia gives me a grant of about 250,000 bits and tells me to build weapons. I decided that weapons were, well, overrated." Vinyl explained.

"Vinyl went up to Flitter and I and asked us to be the first to use some type of new technology." Cloudchaser said.

"Your armor." Alex figured.

"Yep! With this baby, I can fly almost as fast as Rainbow, plus I'm equipped with some kind of dubstep machine gun and a sound cannon. And the HUD on this thing is pretty top notch!" Cloudchaser beamed, showing off the cannons.

"Huh. I thought Vinyl said that weapons were overrated." Alex scoffed.

"That was before things went straight to hell." Vinyl deadpanned.

"I heard, that's why I left the team back in LS. I heard that Ruby and the others were going back to where they came from. Why, I have no idea." Alex shrugged.

"Yeah, it's so bad they sent you to deal with this mess." Cloudchaser rolled her eyes.

"Wait, where are Twilight and the others now?" Vinyl asked.

"I sent them back to their homes. I felt like since this was my fault, they shouldn't have any part in this." Alex replied.

"Okay. Good to hear that they're safe." Cloudchaser sighed in relief.

"By the way, Alex. Your armor was destroyed when you fought the tank. I hope you don't mind if I make you some based off the designs Iris gave me. We really need you helping out." Vinyl said.

"Deal. I'm not sure how long I'd last without it." Alex nodded.

"Good. Where's Flitter, I sent her out on Recon about an hour ago!" Cloudchaser asked.

Vinyl immediately ran to the computer she designed, and pressed a button.

"Flitter? You there?" Vinyl asked.

"Yeah. You guys need to see this.." Flitter replied.

"Do you guys have a video uplink?" Alex asked.

"Who is that? Is Alex here?!" Flitter asked in disbelief.

"Yep. He woke up about a minute after you left!" Cloudchaser said.

"Yeah. I'll send you the uplink." Flitter replied.

On the screen, it showed an aerial view of what appeared to be a convoy of large transport vehicles of all kinds. Syndicate, Crimson, Rogue Guard...

"Who the hell are they?" Flitter asked.

"Alex here made more than his fair share of enemies on his little vacation." Cloudchaser replied.

"I figured they'd all be working together." Alex scoffed.

"They've teamed up before?!" Vinyl asked in disbelief.

"Once or twice." Alex responded.

"Flitter, can you hack into their radio frequencies?" Vinyl asked.

"I set up the software, I should be in by now."

A small window opened on the upper-right hand corner of the screen, radio frequencies.

"Fireteam Platinum, come in, this is Epsilon. I repeat, Fireteam Platinum, come in, over!" Epsilon ordered.

"Epsilon?" Cloudchaser asked.

"Epsilon... Why does that strike me as odd..." Alex muttered to himself.

"Epsilon, this is Platinum 0-1. We picked up a civvie, a human female. I think she said her name was 'Mako', or something. Over." A gruff sounding voice said over the loudspeaker.

"Beta to Epsilon, Sigma has decided to assist. She believes the Catalyst is here." Another, deeper voice boomed.

"Beta's still alive..? And Sigma wasn't even excecuted?!!" Alex gasped.

"No...not Mako.." Cloudchaser gasped.

"Who's Mako?" Alex asked.

"A woman came into Equestria one day looking for someone named 'Spectre'. She's been our undercover op for almost 2 weeks." Vinyl stated.

"Wait... If Beta's here, and Sigma's here... That means Epsilon..." Alex pondered again.

"This 'Epsilon' guy must be one of those Inquisitors." Vinyl grimly stated.

"Good, I'd appreciate some White Fang assistance from now on, Cinder." Epsilon said.

"I'll be looking forward to it, Talon." Sigma retorted sarcastically.

"Iron Talon's an Inquisitor?!" Alex gasped.

"This is bad, isn't it?" Flitter asked.

"Understatement of the f**king century." Alex replied blankly.

"Good to see you're working together, Get this 'Mako' girl into questioning immediately. If she is connected with the Catalyst, we have to know." Beta ordered.

"Iris, what's the ETA on Alex's armor?" Vinyl asked.

"Two days for maximized capabilities, 36 hours for Scarab Mk. III capabilities, and 18 for Goliath Mk. V standard. Agent Mako will likely be alive for at least three, she has no idea who Alex is yet, they may just let her go." Iris replied.

"Can Alex possibly help us without the armor?" Cloudchaser asked.

"No. You are dealing with at least three higher-caliber Inquisitors and 2,467 armed soldiers."

"What do we have here? Gentlemen, we appear to have quite the following about us." Another man came onto the radio, he sounded familiar.

"Gamma? Get back to San Andreas! There's still the girl and her group that you have to worry about!" Beta scolded.

"What do you mean by 'following'?" Sigma asked.

"Scratchbolt. 7 o' clock. High." Another voice said. This one wasn't as familiar.

"Who..?" Alex asked himself, he knew he heard him before.

"Jäger. I was wondering when you'd say something." Gamma introduced.

"It doesn't matter to me. I'll get 'er in the wing." Jäger replied.

"That son of a bitch. FLITTER, GET OUT OF THERE!" Alex ordered.

Flitter turned a solid 180 degrees and flew off as fast as she could.

"Finally, he speaks!" Sigma seemed sadisically delighted to hear him.

"Greetings, Catalyst." Beta added.

"Walker! There you are!" Gamma introduced.

"Hello, boy. I've been waiting for you." Epsilon exhaled.

"Hello, traitor. Permission to speak to the boy. It's personal." Jäger asked.

"Granted, just don't take too long." Beta allowed.

"Alex, if you're hearing this, I want you to know that I know all about your escapades, your actions. You were always a coward, and now you've decided to pay Equestria a little visit again. I know all about your Aura, your pathetic little toys, your weaknesses. And I hear all you have for help is a techno-Wonderbolt knockoff and the prissy princess gang. I've had time to...improve myself, so to speak. Dead or alive, You're coming with me." Jäger finished.

"I have unfinished business with Walker myself, Jäger. Don't take all the fun." Sigma warned.

"Speaking of which, how the hell are you still alive after that stunt on the carrier? Didn't you turn against Beta? I guess that makes you a dirty parent-killer and a power-hungry sociopath!" Alex retorted, hiding the fear in his voice.

"We have waited for your return, boy. Alpha is ecstatic to finally be able to meet you. Adieu." Beta finished, turning off all radio link.

"Alex..." Vinyl asked, concerned.

Alex himself did not answer, he walked back into the cot he had laid on, and stared blankly in mortal terror.

"Kid." Cloudchaser gasped. She had a fair understanding of what that look meant.

Flitter burst back in through the door to the basement, still in full tilt.

"I heard everything. Is he okay?" Flitter asked.

"Th-Those f**kers...." Alex shuddered.

"I doubt it..." Cloudchaser sighed.

"One of you gather up the Elements, the other has to get to Canterlot. This is serious." Vinyl ordered.

"Okay." Flitter said, flying off in the direction of Twilight's Castle.

"Got you." Cloudchaser nodded, who flew towards Canterlot.

Alex had gotten into a laying position, fear fresh in his mind and terror seeping into his bones, paralyzing him.

Vinyl trotted over to Alex, laid a hoof on his forehead, and tried to help him as best as she could.

"Come on, man. You've dealt with worse. We're getting Mako, The Elements, and the Princesses. You'll be alright." She repeated.

Alex still trembled in fear, hyperventilating like mad.

"Ms. Scratch, a word?" Iris asked.

"Sure." Vinyl replied.

"Are you sure this will be enough? Protocol 267 states that I am to summon Ms. Anderson, Mr. Fong, and Ms. Rose if he ever goes into shock like this. They're all elsewhere." Iris stated.

"Why did Ms. Rose go back to Remnant?" Vinyl asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, I'd say it was either to get help or complete their training. Given they know where he is, the earliest they may be able to get back is about two months from now, according to my logistics."

"One more thing?" Vinyl asked.

"Yes?"

"Has he ever gotten like this before?"

"I've seen him go into shock from his nightmares, but not anything like this." Iris sighed.

"Poor kid." She sighed, looking back at Alex.

Alex was completely drained of any color, hyperventilating still, and hardly moving at all.

"The earliest time of arrival for Kat and the others, though more likely, it may take as little as three days to a week, given they notice Gamma not being in LS anymore." Iris tried to reassure.

"I'll get to work on the armor." Vinyl said, rushing for her workbench. She had to help him now. She had to.

Author's Notes:

This is part of those rewrites I was talking about.

But, man, this chapter got dark. Like chapter 15 dark on steroids.

Act II, Chapter 15: Equestrian Electro-Naut Part I of II

Alex was hidden in the bushes near where the Rogue Guard's convoy would be.

Vinyl and the Scratchbolts had argued against it, and Iris had estimated that there was a very slim chance of survival for Alex, but he knew what had to be done.

He had to track this convoy. He didn't know where they were going or what they were planning, but it was a start.

Readjusting his makeshift ghillie suit, he used a pair of binoculars that Flitter let him borrow to see where he could find a spot to latch onto.

Alex knew this was likely a very bad idea, Vinyl had said his new armor wouldn't be finished for at least another 12 hours, but this was his one chance. Missing it meant losing any lead he had on what the Inquisitors were planning.

He saw the convoy; One Landkreuzer in front, followed by everything from Semi-trucks, Royal Guard Chariots repurposed into technicals, and M1 Abrams tanks to Helicopters, Fighter Jets and Bullhead VTOLs from Remnant. This was them, all right.

Sneaking on was going to be difficult, finding a suitable location for the Tracker that Iris and Vinyl put together was going to be even worse, as foot soldiers patrolled the surrounding vehicles.

Taking the Intervention Sniper Rifle that the Scratchbolts acquired, he went over a checklist of those he really did not want to run into.

Beta, check.

Gamma, check.

Sigma, check.

Epsilon, check.

Jäger... Nowhere to be found.

This likely wasn't a good thing.

"Alex, come in." Vinyl demanded.

"I'm here, V. If you could see the shit they got here." Alex muttered

"Just sit tight, I'm having Cloudy and Flits distract the air support so you have more of a chance." Vinyl said.

"Two things; one, are we really using pet-names on a military op? Two, that likely isn't the best idea, since these A-holes are armed to the teeth, even without air superiority." Alex sighed.

"Also, I have one other objective for you. Y'know about Mako, right?" Vinyl asked.

"Let me guess, you want me to save her, on top of getting that tracker on the convoy, and getting out of this alive, despite the fact that I have no armor." Alex concluded grimly.

"It's the best we can do for now, Celestia's Guard is pinned down out near Dodge City, and Twilight and the others are helping me build you the armor, It should be finished sooner than I thought." Vinyl elaborated.

"What good is armor if I'm not alive to use it?" Alex asked.

"Shut up, Alex. Let Iris do her thing." Vinyl argued.

"Iris? What the actual f*** are you thinking?" Alex gasped

"It's the best I can work with right now, most of Team Unity is out doing Destoyer knows what, and besides, you of all people insisted on taking this op." Iris retorted.

"Touché." Alex relented.

Alex stalked out, stopping on occasion to keep up the impression that he was nothing more than a bush.

"I am the master of my own bladder..." Alex whispered to himself as the convoy drew near. The sounds of multiple engines threatening to deafen the 15 year old.

He dove into a crawl, moving as fast as he could without being spotted, the dread of being discovered coursing through his system.

Once he was in the Mega-Tank's blind spot, he climbed up some loose steel lining the tank, hoping this would suffice as cover as well as a ladder, it seemed to be doing well enough.

What was that?

It looked like a ventilation shaft, it was wide enough for a person to fit through if they were thin enough, let alone a tracker.

"V, I found a vent on the tank, it might work as a spot for the tracker." Alex reported.

"I don't know, it could potentially interrupt the signal to the computer here. I'll have Iris test it." Vinyl replied.

"Alex, it will not suffice. Find something else. Maybe a little bit behind the bottom end of the tank, perhaps." Iris suggested.

"Screw that! the rest of the convoy is over there, I'm in too deep as is." Alex replied.

"Try the front end of the tank, It's slightly less exposed, and the engineers can't exactly see you that well." Vinyl suggested.

"WILCO." Alex nodded, shutting off the radio.

He climbed down as quick as he could, noticing the small porthole that the tank had.

"Jäger, I don't think that killing the woman is the best idea." One man said.

"Why is that? She's useless to us. Besides, I have a score to settle with the CIA, anyways." Jäger scoffed.

"She doesn't seem to care about this case as much. If you're telling me you're going to kill a surrendering agent, then you're not much better than they are!" Another yelled.

"Eh, I've committed enough war crimes in my career, what's one more?"

"You son of a bitch!" The first yelled.

All Alex heard from there was the sound of a knife ripping through flesh, and the fading screams of that soldier.

"I will not tolerate this insolence, next time we stop, get the Agent. Innocent or not, torture them long enough and they'll cave." Jäger seethed.

"Y-yes sir!"

Alex couldn't exactly say he didn't expect this from someone like Jäger, but it was a little hard to believe that he would do the very thing he stopped Winchester from doing so long ago.

Alex was now inches above the ground, hanging on for dear life and he placed the tracker on the bottom of the tank, seeing a little light filter through the mechanics of the tank.

He dropped down and rolled onto his chest, hoping his ghillie would convince the rest of the convoy he was nothing more than a bush.

Cars and chariots rolled over him, not noticing the boy.

Alex didn't move, didn't breathe, didn't even blink as the rest of the convoy rolled over him.

Once the last vehicle had passed him, he took out his sniper.

"V, tracker has been placed, infiltrating the convoy now." Alex reported.

"Nice. Once you're in, I'll have Cloudchaser and Flitter take out the air support." Vinyl sounded impressed.

"Gotcha."

Alex looked down his scope, it would be easiest to pose as another Crimson soldier.

He put on the suppressor, and aimed for the soldier's neck.

Firing, the soldier's body fell over, dead.

Alex snuck up to the corpse, removing the ghillie suit and putting on the Crimson soldier's clothes, thankfully, it included a balaclava.

They didn't exactly fit, the undershirt was a size too large, and the pants cut off most of the circulation to his toes, but it was close.

Placing the Ghillie on the dead soldier, he stole his rifle and caught up with the rest of the patrol.

Another soldier nudged Alex in the soldier.

"Vickers, where the hell were you?" The soldier asked him.

"Craziest thing happened, man. I saw a sniper lookin' at the convoy, so I shot him in the neck." Alex shrugged.

"You okay, mate? Your voice seems a little wonky." Another soldier asked.

"Just a bug, dude." Alex nodded in reply.

"Whatever you say, Vick."

"When do we stop? My legs are killing me!" Alex groaned.

"I know! It's not like we're marathon runners!" The first agreed.

"Quiet! The CO is giving us dirty looks!" The second urged.

Alex saw Sigma walking towards the three, pretty much in sync with the rest.

She specifically stopped in front of Alex.

"Lance Corproal Vickers?" She asked.

Alex did something he never thought he'd do in his life. He saluted Sigma.

"Yes, Ma'am?" He asked.

"Our associate is asking you to oversee the interrogation on our prisoner." Sigma explained.

"Me?" Alex asked, completely blindsided.

Every fiber of Alex's being pleaded to take the rifle at his side and kill his enemy, but he had to be at least somewhat convincing.

"Why not? After all, you are Silas Kahn's assassin, aren't you?" Sigma asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." Alex replied.

Sigma walked away, looking at him one more time.

"I feel like I should know you from somewhere else..." Her voice trailed off as she walked away again.

Alex sighed, was he just that lucky?

"Dude, you seem a bit scared. You good, mate?" The second soldier asked.

"Yeah, sure." Alex cleared his throat.

"I almost feel sorry for ya, Jäger is really strict." The first scoffed.

"I know, man." Alex sighed.

"Wait, really?" The second asked.

Oh, crap.

"Oh! You're talking about Jäger! I thought you were thinking about someone else!" Alex fake-realized.

"Whatever you say, Comrade Vickers." Another added.

"Hey, Simon!" The first greeted.

"Greetings to you too, Comrade Monaco." Simon nodded in reply.

"Guess what? Vickers here was assigned with Jäger for some interrogation." The second reported.

"Oi, poor kid." Simon cringed.

"Alright, listen up, maggots!" A loud voice commanded.

"Dudes, clam it!" Alex urged.

"Sergeant's pet." Monaco scoffed.

"We're about to stop any minute to refuel! I need Lance Corporal Vickers and Corporal Schmidt up here immediately to oversee interrogation." The CO ordered.

"That's your cue, man. See you on the other side." Monaco slapped his back.

Alex ran up to where the CO was, with him was another soldier, about eighteen years old.

"Lance Corporal Vickers reporting for duty, sir!" Alex saluted.

"Alright, you too. Meet up with Jäger in the front tank, he'll give you the rest of the details." The CO nodded.

"I-" Schmidt gasped.

"Corporal Schmidt and I got this under control, sir." Alex assured.

"Get out of my sight, maggots!" The CO ordered.

Alex and Schmidt ran towards the tank as fast as they could.

Jäger immediately greeted the two.

"Soldiers, listen to me very carefully. We're interrogating a suspected collaborator of Alex Walker. Do not hesitate to kill her if she does not do as I say." Jäger ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" Alex saluted.

"Very good, we're going in." Jäger nodded, opening the door.

Alex, Schmidt, and Jäger piled into the room, where another soldier's corpse remained, as well as a 20-something year old woman tied to a red-hot post.

Alex fell in line across from Schmidt, now all he had to do was wait.

Schmidt turned to Alex, unfolding the mask, mouthing the words 'I got this, Walker.' Before slipping it back on.

Alex blinked in surprise, how the hell did this total stranger know who he was?

"Agent Mako Cerise. Glad to see you here." Jäger mocked.

"I don't have time for this, Jäger! For the last time, I didn't have anything to do with the case!" Mako pleaded.

Alex aimed his rifle at Jäger, but didn't get a chance to shoot before Schmidt pulled out an M1911 pistol and shot Jäger through the neck, leaving him gasping for air. While Schmidt got to freeing Mako, Alex walked up to Jäger

Alex removed his mask in front of Jäger, revealing his identity before he grabbed Jäger's blood-splattered hunting knife and stabbed him in the throat.

"Go to sleep, you bastard..." Alex held Jäger's mouth as his eyes dulled and his breath silenced forever.

"Took you long enough. Who's the kid?" Mako asked.

"Walker. Ex-Private Alex Walker of the Kahn Militia." Schmidt responded.

"And I'm assuming you're this 'Mako' person Vinyl keeps talking about." Alex replied.

"You're with the Scratchbolts too?" Mako asked.

"Yes, Ma'am." Alex nodded.

"Then you know the plan." Schmidt nodded.

"What plan?" Alex asked.

"Oh, come on, don't tell me that you didn't know that tracker is actually a bomb, right?" Mako scoffed.

"That thing's a bomb?!" Alex whisper-yelled.

Both Mako and Schmidt nodded.

"Then you don't know about Overcharge?" Mako asked.

"Scratchbolt armor for humans, right?" Alex asked.

"Pretty much, Iron Man. They said that I was the original Overcharge, but since you have more experience, You're the main man." Schmidt shrugged,

"Sorry for stealing the spotlight. What's the plan?" Alex asked.

"Get out of here before these Inquisitors decide to check on us." Mako replied.

"Then you're gonna hate this." A raspy voice coughed in reply.

All three turned to Jäger, who pulled himself up, a splotch of what looked like liquid metal was all that remained of their attempted assassination.

"What the hell!?" Alex asked.

"You remember how I told you I made 'Improvements', you son of a bitch?" Jäger asked.

"Stand back, I-" Alex pulled out .44 Scratch.

"No, I'll deal with Jäger, get out of here." Schmidt interrupted.

"Schmidt, no!" Mako urged.

"GO NOW! GO!" He ordered.

Alex and Mako ran out of the tank, firing at the enemies in the convoy.

"Walker!" A few gasped.

Next thing Alex knew, it was raining Jets and Dubstep, he had a fair idea why.

"I see one major flaw in this plan!" Alex yelled.

"What?!" Mako asked.

"Inquisitors! Four of them! Want us dead! Ring any bells?!!" Alex yelled as he fired at the soldiers.

"Problem solved, Overcharge inbound, ETA 10 seconds." Iris responded.

"Okay, then." Alex shrugged, throwing a grenade towards a cluster of enemy soldiers.

Alex fired .44 Scratch and Electric Fury before throwing them high up in the air.

A large, grey hunk of metal came roaring across the battlefield and instantly began suiting Alex up.

Schmidt wasn't kidding about this 'Overcharge' armor. He felt his Aura refuel and go beyond it's limits. Large, metallic wings expanded out of the back of the armor and two Shoulder Mounted Machine Guns latched and clicked onto his shoulders. The mask looked similar to his Goliath Mk. V visor, only like the rest of the suit, it glowed a bright blue. The HUD was also practical and cool. In the end, the armor felt almost completely natural.

Grabbing both revolvers before they could hit the ground, he cocked them both.

"Let's dance!" The suit even had a voice changer?! Holy hell, he sounded like he had one of those Darth Vader voice changers, only the speakers had better quality.

Even so, four inquisitors was likely a challenge.

"Mako, run!" Alex ordered as Jäger walked out of the tank.

Mako escaped, with Rainbow grabbing onto her before zipping away as fast as she got there

Alex was surrounded. This got a little out of hand.

"Greetings, boy." Beta glared.

"You're surrounded, kid! No way out of this one!" Jäger yelled.

"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!!" Alex bashed the gauntlets together, causing a distinct red spark to burst between the gauntlets.

All four inquisitors, with the addition of Jäger, charged at him, brandishing their weapons.

If Alex was going down, he was taking a few of them with!

Act II, Chapter 16: Equestrian Electro-Naut Part II of II

Alex initiated his attack by converting Electric Fury into it's Rail-Gun form.

A yellow glow surrounded the gun, and it was ripped from Alex's hands and flung off to the side.

Pulling out .44 Scratch, Alex shot 4 rounds at Gamma, who likely stole his gun. All four bullets were blocked by Beta's broadsword, ricocheting back at Alex. Dodging the shots, they cannoned into the trees, probably hitting a timberwolf or something.

Alex's next move was to use his new mechanical jet-pack and fly about 30 feet up. Jäger and Sigma fired a Barrett at him and shot glass at him respectively, threatening to down him.

'Let's see what this thing can do,' Alex thought, his suit glowing brighter and brighter.

Massive arcs of lightning cascaded from the glowing areas of the suit, pacifying about two of the warriors.

Epsilon flew up to where Alex was, being a Gryphon, and clawed at his visor.

Alex was disoriented, but not for very long. His simple reply to the attack was to strangle the Inquisitor.

A yellow glow formed around Alex.

This wasn't good.

"FIIIIRE SPEEEEARS!!!" Beta roared from below.

Strands of fire lashed at the boy, burning him underneath.

In pain and rage, he curled into a ball and lashed out in fury, bands of electricity disabling Gamma's grasp on Alex.

Falling to the ground, Alex lashed out at Jäger, punching his old enemy hard in the rib cage. Alex's fist seeped right through the mercenary, liquid metal seeping out from both ends.

"Ever see 'Terminator 2?" Jäger mocked.

"Series devolved after the second, never stuck around besides that." Alex retorted, swinging the fist straight upwards, knocking Jäger back.

Alex ducked, narrowly avoiding Sigma's swords. He punched hard, sending her careening into a destroyed tank.

"Iris? You got a plan?!" Alex asked.

"Negative." Iris replied.

"You vapid, near-sighted little-" Alex could barely finish his sentence before having to block Beta's fist, which would have otherwise slammed into his face.

Instead, Alex skidded backwards, his feet making marks on the earth below.

"You should have surrendered at the ship, Catalyst." He spat.

"I could've stopped long before that."

"Damn shame." Jäger fired a revolver at him, a very familiar revolver.

Alex moved the fist away before lashing out at the mercenary, grabbing the gun and kicking him aside.

Razor-sharp claws lashed at the armor, causing Alex to recoil.

"You fight like a young stallion not being held back. Admirable, but futile." Epsilon quoted.

"Since when do you watch Christopher Nolan movies?" Alex asked.

"As soon as I joined my brothers and sisters." Epsilon smiled back.

"Is it just me, or is this pathetic Fanfiction getting more and more unoriginal?" Sigma asked, firing an arrow at Alex and Epsilon, the resulting explosion separating the two.

"Tell that to the 40-something people who added this to their bookshelves." Alex scoffed in reply.

"You children make me sick." Beta lurched, swinging his broadsword at Alex, blocking it with both gauntlets.

"Wait a second. Do we all go on Fimfiction?" Alex asked.

Beta, Gamma, and Epsilon charged at Alex, bombarding him with swipes and swings and gunshots. Alex dodged most of them.

"Poor kid, he has the commitment," Gamma scoffed as a beam of yellow-hued energy held Alex at bay, "He has the talent, but he lacks constitution."

Alex leapt upwards, avoiding any more extensive damage by the hands of these warriors.

"He's mine!" Jäger screamed, leaping high up and grabbing his leg.

Jäger grabbed the hunting knife and stabbed at his jet-pack. Alex was losing control of his suit.

Using this new-found unpredictability, he charged a gauntlet until it glowed red.

Aiming his blow at Beta, who was likely the most powerful, he landed a hard punch right at the helmeted face, sending the armored warrior backwards into the destroyed heap of a helicopter.

"Beta!" Sigma screamed, aiming an arrow at Alex.

Alex ducked just in time, the arrow flying behind him and blowing a gaping hole in Jäger's back.

"Power-hungry f**k! YOU KILLED MY PARENTS, YOU DIE FIRST!!!" Alex leaped again, the gauntlet recharged, and punched Sigma.

Epsilon blocked the deadly blow, grabbing it with an armored claw.

Alex was quite surprised when he noticed the massive sword swinging in his direction.

Throwing Epsilon towards the blade, it hit him head on, knocking the Rogue Guard leader into another broken vehicle.

Alex reached for Electric Fury and, before Beta could rear up for another swing, Alex converted it into it's rail gun form and shot Beta in the dented helmet.

Sigma leaped at him, both swords brandished. Alex blocked the blades with ease, converting the rail gun into the sword, and swinging at his parents' killer.

Alex was hit hard in the side, Gamma threw a Jeep at him!

The boy was knocked onto his side, caked in mud and blood.

"Ach... Should've seen that coming." Alex groaned, nearly standing up before he was attacked again.

Jäger shot at him, throwing a knife at him that landed squarely in the shoulder.

Gamma threw more vehicles and various junk at him, disorienting Alex further,

Beta and Sigma swung their swords at him, sending pain into his muscles strike by strike.

Lastly, Epsilon reared into a running start, grabbing the boy and tossing him into the air like a rag doll.

Landing hard into the Landkreuzer, he noticed a minor detail.

It hadn't yet exploded, but a series of beeps told him it was close.

Alex leapt off just in time before the tank, and anyone inside, exploded into a fiery heap, the boy falling to the ground nearby, beaten and bruised.

His Armor was in horrid shape, almost worse than Scarab Mk. III's.

Pulling the knife from his shoulder, he tossed it to the ground.

"We aren't finished yet!" Beta yelled, leaping high above the wreckage and towards the battered teen.

Alex blocked the blade, almost completely keeping it from wounding him, aside from the fact that part of the blade seeped into his leg.

Alex blasted lightning at the inquisitor, disorienting him and holding the brute at bay.

He needed a plan before the rest showed up!

"FIIIIIIRE WAAAAAVE!!!" Beta pounded the earth below, and the ground under Alex exploded in a burst of flame, sending him screaming high into the air.

As soon as he landed, he noticed Beta kneeling in pain as he held in his blood. He looked in front of him and was met with a surprising sight.

The Inheritor Alex met in Patch.

Raven.

"What. The. Hell." Alex gasped.

"Go, now!" She ordered.

"I'm not leaving just yet." Alex coughed.

"These Inquisitors are some of the most powerful ones alive! You have to go, they'll kill you if you stay here!" She urged.

"What's the plan? At least tell me you have some sort of idea for this!" Alex groaned.

"There isn't time! Return to your friends!" Raven ordered again.

"FYI, lady. Most of my friends are in different universes, so..."

"Celestia's sake, NOW!" She yelled, fighting against Sigma and Gamma, who had just arrived.

Alex was enveloped in a white glow, he had an idea of what was likely to happen. He was about to be teleported.

Before leaving, Alex tossed Raven a small box he had gotten from Vinyl before the mission began, what she called 'Plan C'.

"Give those Inquisitors my regards, at the very least." Alex nodded in acceptance before fading completely out of sight.

----

Alex awoke next inside a bedroom, the soft blankets and pillows providing some sort of comfort before abruptly waking up completely.

He was definitely somewhere inside a castle.

"Where am I?" Alex asked, he didn't exactly hear anyone, and almost no evidence of any other life besides his own was present in the large room.

Almost being the note on the nightstand.

Alex picked up the note and read it.

Alex,

If you're reading this, I suppose you have survived the assault. I applaud your persistence.

I sincerely apologize for not explaining things sooner, but we had no time to explain the main plan to you completely.

Remember how my sister, Princess Luna, had explained that the Rogue Guard had been waging war on Equestria? That wasn't exactly the full truth.

As you have probably noticed by now, the Rogue Guard were working with the Los Santos Syndicate, The White Fang, and Task Force Crimson. I am not sure what they were planning, but ours was to decrease their numbers and set back their plans at least a little while longer.

I can't exactly explain all of this in detail, given the size of the note, so I ask only that you meet myself, Luna, the Elements, the Scratchbolts, and Raven inside the throne room once you've awoken.

Sincerely,

Princess Celestia

Alex shrugged, he saw this sort of thing coming, but not from the Princess of the Sun.

Upon standing up, he noticed the pain throughout his whole body, the aching and stinging present throughout the boy's body threatened to keep him confined in the room.

He limped down the stairs, running into a guard.

"Excuse me, do you know where I can find the Throne Room?" Alex asked.

"Yes, Commander. It's the 4th door to your left." The guard saluted.

Commander?

Alex nodded politely, ignoring the sudden respect from the guard, and walked down the hall.

Turning to his left, he opened the door.

The eleven ponies and one human looked expectantly at the door.

"Well, look who decided to show up!" Rainbow yelled.

Twilight nudged Rainbow, silencing her.

"Are you all right?" Twilight asked.

"Do I look okay?!" Alex scowled.

"I don't expect you to, between four of the Inquisitors' best and a Terminator knock-off, I'm surprised you're even alive." Raven commented.

"Speaking of the schmuck brigade, what happened?" Alex asked.

"Plan C, baby!" Vinyl yelled.

"It turns out that Vinyl arranged a magic wave cannon into Equestria's atmosphere, blew them all away." Cloudchaser elaborated.

"So, what, are they dead now?" Alex asked.

"I wish." Raven scoffed.

"Where's Mako?" Alex asked.

"Right here, kid." A voice behind him replied.

Turning around, Alex noticed the Agent walk in.

"Mako Cerise, CIA. I understand you've met Agent Thorne?" She asked.

"I had the good fortune, yes." Alex replied.

"I'm... Sorry about what happened to your family and everything. I know it doesn't mean much, but..." Mako sighed.

"I get it. Thanks, Mako." Alex nodded.

"So, can someone explain to me what the hay is going on here?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, I'm lost here, too." Alex shrugged.

"Look, about a week after Twilight left for Remnant, the other factions started coming in, huge armies with weapons once completely foreign to Pony-kind were suddenly commonplace, and we weren't exactly sure why." Luna began.

"So Celestia, knowing a fair amount about the other universes, came to me for help. I told her that I could, and I knew someone else who could, too." Raven continued.

"Yang, right?" Alex concluded.

"Not just her, this was after you met up with Team RWBY, Raven said that once she met you, that they could help us." Celestia said.

"Keeping in mind that Celestia had a vision before you came that predicted the situation almost exactly, I knew what was going on right away." Raven said.

"Yeah yeah, Great War of the Ages, Apocalypse, blah blah blah. How could I have known?" Alex groaned.

"So once you guys went to LS, Celestia had me set up the Scratchbolts before Twilight came back while the Princesses built their military. Once we met with you, we had Iris take the reins on this case." Vinyl continued.

"And I shadowed the group and made sure they were on the right track." Mako added

"What they found was a bit more disturbing." Twilight said.

"Legend has it that before the Great Battle, the forces of darkness would come together and form the Scarlet Army of the Inquisitors, the Red Star Coalition, for short." Raven continued.

"The Red Star?" Alex asked.

"Five points on the same blood-stained army, The Inquisitors, the Rogues, the Syndicate, the White Fang, and lastly, Task Force Crimson." Luna elaborated.

"We had expected all of you, Team RWBY and Vanoss's Crew included, we didn't expect for all of you to go your separate ways." Celestia grimly stated.

"Well, shit! Get them over here!" Alex gasped.

"We already sent the letters, Darling. We've gotten one response." Rarity said.

"Team RWBY still needs time, Destoyer knows why." Rainbow scoffed.

"WOO HOO! MAKING RHYMES ALL THE TIME!" Pinkie yelled.

"PINKIE!" Twilight clamped a hoof over the pink party horse's mouth.

Alex had one last thing to ask.

"Earlier, the Guard called me 'Commander'. Was I already promoted or something?" Alex asked.

"Yeah. Don't bring yourself down, you earned that title several times over, if what I heard was right." Flitter said, placing a hoof on Alex's shoulder as he sat.

"HOLY SHIT, THIS CASTLE IS BOOTIFUL!" someone yelled.

"Shut up, Delirious, we're supposed to surprise them!" someone else chided.

"Well, that killed the mood." Cloudchaser scoffed.

"Oh, F**k no." Mako sighed.

"You know them, too?" Alex asked.

"I oversaw Project Immersion." She replied glumly.

Ten adult men and one fifteen year old girl burst in through the doors in the hall.

"SURPRISE, BITCHES! I'M THE REAL DELIRIOUS!" A hockey masked clown yelled.

"Hey, man! How've you been?" An owl greeted.

"Eyyy, never thought I'd see you again, scary lady!" A pig yelled.

"Tyler, I swear to god!" Mako grumbled.

"Kat!" Twilight yelled, flying over to the girl, hugging her tightly.

The whole throne room was abuzz with conversation from thereon, old friends reunited, new ones made in seconds, and a sense of friendship spread in the room.

"So, Vinyl gave me this kick-plot suit and now I can fly a lot faster!" Flitter laughed.

"Holy, shit. That's the best f**king thing I've ever seen in my life!" Mini smirked.

"Hey, when did Destoyer finally let us say 'f**k'?" Basically asked.

"Around when we got back, it was scary..." Fluttershy replied, shrinking back.

"So, you're a CIA agent like Karis?" Kat asked Mako.

"I take it Alex told you about her, only really close friends knew her on a first-name basis." Mako said.

"Every pony, listen!" Celestia yelled, everyone silencing, awaiting word from the sun goddess.

"From this point forward, you are now the best of the best, the A-Team, as Mr. Fong would describe it." Luna said.

"So, with that said. You are all taking orders from Commanders Mako Cerise, Alex Walker, Katherine Anderson, and Princess Twilight Sparkle." Celestia continued.

"So, Commander Walker, what's your first order of business?" Raven asked.

"Me?" Alex asked, pointing to himself.

"Go ahead, kid. We all trust you." Mako nodded.

"You have my approval." Twilight added.

"Well, Alex. They're waiting." Kat replied.

Alex stared out among his comrades, his peers, the men, women, and ponies he had the honor of knowing and working alongside.

"We link up with the Royal Guard troops in Dodge City, help fortify their defenses. Tell Team RWBY that we'll be over there in case they ever decide to show. If we can stop them before anything from this damn prophecy that I don't know about happens, maybe we'll all have a better chance at living out the rest of our lives instead of coming out in a box. Let's end this war."

Author's Notes:

And there we have it. I posted a surprise chapter!
I'm on a roll here!

Now that most of the plot has been established, what do you, the readers think about this overall? Has this been an interesting 7+ hour read, or has it ended up sucking later on, or, worse yet, sucked from the first chapter?

Leave a comment below, I love hearing from you guys!

Act II, Chapter 17: Room For Improvement

"Okay, I get why I have to stay here, but why keep the rest waiting?!"

Under Celestia's orders, Alex was apparently supposed to stay in Canterlot for a while longer for training so he wouldn't get his ass handed to him like his last scuffle with the Inquisitors. He understood why he had to remain, but what he didn't get was why everyone else had to stay as well.

"If you really must know, I can't always be around to save you, or your little brigade. You already know that the first years couldn't be around, so here we are." Raven replied calmly, but with a hint of annoyance.

Alex and Raven were inside a Royal Guard training room, complete with it's own sparring ring. The Guards would usually use this to keep themselves in shape for the defense of the country. Alex, on the other hand, was going to use this to sharpen his senses, for his aim left something to be desired, in spite of all that time he spent around firearms.

Not to mention that he only trained for one week.

"Gotcha, what's the plan?" Alex asked, turning to the Inheritor/Huntress.

"Simple enough, we're just going to get your baseline physical fitness in so we know where to start." Raven nodded in reply.

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

Raven leaped to the sparring ring, put on her mask, and drew her weapon.

"Attack me."

Alex was thunderstruck.

"What?!"

"Did I stutter?" Raven asked.

"Don't you remember what happened last time, with the 'Disablers' and the 'Blade Gun'?"

"Yes. Now attack."

Alex casually unsheathed Electric Fury, the once-elegant craftsmanship now scarred and maimed by almost constant abuse and weeks without cleaning or repair.

"You sure about this? You don't want me crippled before I even go out on the field, do you?" Alex asked

"I don't. Attack."

Alex summoned the Overcharge armor, fitting on to him with perfect conformity. Sure, the flight was disabled and that the armor itself was maimed so badly that most of the casing and some of the mechanics would have to be replaced, but it's Aura Enhancing features and HUD was still in proper shape, that plus Iris was now able to monitor his technique and inform him when it was safe to stop.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Alex nodded, leaping on the other end of the sparring pit.

The Pit was a solid 60 meters in diameter, with seats above for viewing purposes, now empty on account that most of the Guards were fighting in Dodge City. Other than that, it was essentially a dome littered with sand.

Alex readied in his fighting stance, feet shoulder-width apart, left side facing his opponent, sword over the right shoulder with both arms wrapped tightly around the handle.

Getting a closer look at his opponent, Raven's weapon was not exposed. It was still sheathed, but her hands gripped the handle, Raven was watching his every move through the slits in the mask.

'Let's see... How do I do this...' Alex pondered to himself.

He could go in, sword swinging, and hopefully catch her off guard and get the K.O early on.

Or maybe he could use his enhanced jumping ability and get behind her before she could so much as blink and distract her.

Who said it even had to be a jump!

"I'm waiting!" She announced, annoyed.

Before Raven could even finish the sentence, Alex's blade met her's, both locked together.

"Let's see... Impressive build, you definitely have the raw power, but you're missing one crucial detail." Raven said.

"And what's that?"

Alex stumbled forward, surprised by the sudden disappearance of his mentor.

Where-?

Raven seemed to reappear directly behind Alex before even finishing the thought, slashing his back and legs before he could even utter a word.

"Your apparent lack of focus. You have the attention span of a gnat." Raven replied.

"Do I?" Alex asked, picking himself up and swinging the blade in his hand, each time connecting with Raven's sword.

"Where did you learn your sword-fighting techniques? Aim for the person, not the blade." She scolded, catching him right in the arm before he could correct his attacks.

Gripping his arm in surprise, Alex swung the blade again, aiming right for Raven's sword hand. Blocking it, her blade slid down Alex's sword and nicked him in the fingers.

Infuriated, Alex spun completely, bringing the blade towards the midsection, connecting perfectly and causing the inheritor to fall to one knee.

Alex didn't waste any time afterwards, kicking and swinging the sword.

That is, until Raven blocked one of his attacks, hit him in the throat, and fired a red-tinted blade towards his chest.

Alex was lying flat on his back now, coughing loudly and staggering up.

"Good. You learn quickly." She nodded.

By this point, Alex was standing up, albeit still grasping his chest in pain.

"For an Entry-Level Inheritor, you're okay. I'd say you can take on five lower-ranked Inquisitors or two Higher-ranked." Raven nodded.

"What does that make you?" Alex gasped.

"I scare most Inquisitors by merely glancing in their direction." She replied.

"I gotta ask, how are they ranked? I took on four at once after we first met and won. Why couldn't I beat five now?" Alex asked.

"I got their I.Ds. You dealt with a few of the lower level Shadows then, Entry level to 2 years. Shadow-Hunters are more along the lines of Sigma's or Epsilon's caliber, 3 to 9 years. Shadow-Killers are higher level Inquisitors like Beta and Gamma, a solid 10-15 years at least. Then there's the Alpha. You'd have to be a Shadow-Killer for some ridiculous amount of time to even be considered, even after that, you won't be in the running until the old Alpha dies." Raven explained.

"They really work at this, don't they?" Alex asked.

"They're an Inter-dimensional fraternity of highly trained mercenaries. So I would say so."

"Alright. Thanks, Raven." Alex nodded.

"Anytime. Back to training." Raven immediately hardened, back in that stance, ready to fight.

Alex spun his sword in a flourish before it collided with Raven's. He leaped over Raven and spun around 180 degrees, slashing her in the back and unleashing wave upon wave of lightning. The Inheritor face-planted and regained her composure as quickly as she lost it.

She turned around to face him, emotion undiscernible through the expressionless mask.

"So we're going all the way, hm?" She asked.

"For god sakes, that sounds terrifying." Alex shrank back at the thought of another motorcycle accident type deal.

Another blade was fired in Alex's general direction. Alex dodged it, deftly crouch-sliding beneath it and rearing up for a huge spinning attack.

Raven completely disappeared when Alex finally looked again.

"What the?"

Alex was knocked on his back before he could finish his thought.

"Next time, don't make it so I know your attacks before you finish." Raven nodded, grasping his hand and pulling him up.

"Ok, now what?" Alex asked.

"I asked the other Elements and the Scratchbolts to assist with your training." Raven said.

Eight ponies trotted inside the pit, armor covering them head to hoof. Some of the nicer ponies waved hello, and the others just nodded their greetings to the boy.

"How are they going to help?"

"They'll be helping me knock you out. If you last three minutes, you win." Raven replied.

"What?!" Alex backed up in surprise, he couldn't take them all on!

Rainbow, Cloudchaser, and Flitter flew high above Alex, circling above his head akin to vultures over a dying animal in the desert.

Twilight, Rarity, Vinyl, and Raven walked around him, their weapons and horns gleaming in the low-light.

Applejack and Pinkie stood to his front and back, AJ's back legs were pointed at Alex, and Pinkie... Well.

Pinkie was juggling grenades.

And Fluttershy was backed into a corner, so far in that if she were any closer to the wall, she would simply fall right through it.

Alex held Electric Fury tightly, looking at his each and every opponent.

"Ourfatherwhoartinheaventhyhallowedbethyname..." He whispered to himself, horrified.

Eight horses and his temporary master were upon him, swords swinging, horns firing magic, hoof slamming hard into armor, and Fluttershy still buried deep into the corner, weeping softly.

----

"You couldn't handle the little ponies for three minutes?!"

Alex had told his embarrassing little tale to his comrades, Vanoss and crew, Kat, and Mako.

A mistake he would likely never repeat.

"Wow! I knew the ponies were tough, but Jesus!" Vanoss held back his laughter out of respect for Alex, but to little effect.

"Yeah! 'My little pony, my little pony, can beat the shit out of you!'" Delirious sang before breaking out in laughter.

"Come on, it's not that funny," Mako rolled her eyes, "I mean, sure, Alex got his ass handed to him on a silver platter, but then again, Raven was carrying the team on her shoulders."

"Actually, it's f**king hilarious." Mini chuckled, calming down.

"The ponies targeted Alex for termination, he only lasted about a minute and a half. Yaugh." Terroriser said in his Arnold voice.

Wildcat, of course, was still laughing his ass off.

"Oh, my god. That was a solid minute of me laughing without noise!" He continued laughing.

"You guys suck." Alex groaned, still sore from getting bucked straight in the stomach, and then blasted with three spells at once, and stabbed.

"You need me to bring you your bedpan yet, Alex?" Kat asked.

The whole room was then filled in an uproar of laughter.

Alex, of course, was not amused in the slightest.

"At least I didn't piss myself, like Mr. Hock-a-dookie over here." Alex said, staring straight at Nogla.

"Oh, fock you, Alex! I'm wearing an adult diaper, so it's fine!" Nogla fruitlessly defended.

Vanoss turned his laughter to Nogla.

"Wait, do you even change that thing?!" Moo asked.

Nogla merely stared as the sudden realization fell upon him.

"Mm hmm." He lied.

"Ew." Mako groaned, disgusted.

"I'll take that as a 'yes'. One bedpan and one extra-extra large adult diaper coming up!" Kat smiled.

Everyone then began laughing again, as Kat not only insulted Nogla, twice, but Alex as well.

Raven stalked inside the hospital room, everyone immediately silenced themselves.

"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to speak with Alex. Alone, if you'd please."

Everyone piled out of the room, many holding in their laughter.

"What do you need?" Alex asked politely.

"Couple things. One, here are the results of the training session I held earlier today." Raven handed him a piece of paper. He was being graded?!

Subject: Alex G. Walker

Mentor(s): Raven Branwen, Yang Xiao Long

Fighting Forms: Standard Atlesian Arcamida/ Standard Vytalian Vokaira

Training Exercise 0-3: Sparring II: Multiple opponents; Introduction

Time: 1:38

3:00-2:30: Mastery

2:30-2:00: Proficient

2:00-1:30: Average

1:30-1:00: Needs Improvement

1:00-0:30: Weak

0:30-0:00: Defenseless

Mentor's Notes:

Walker has improved greatly these past weeks. He is powerful, energetic, and conscientious in his combat. Though he is not without fault. He is predictable and slow in his combat tactics. He leans more towards the powerful and brutish Arcamida over the swift and unpredictable Vokaira he selected at Beacon. He may soon be ready for missions in Dodge City once he recovers.

Alex blinked. that was considered Average?!

"What else?" Alex asked

"Your combat team has been selected once you start fighting at Dodge City. Here you are." Raven handed Alex another slip of paper.

Canterlot Military Command: Royal Guard

Unit name: Task Force Lightning

Acting Commander: Alex G. Walker

Second-In-Command: Rainbow Dash

Personnel:

Blast Radius

Burning Ember

Haunting Horseshoe

Skirmish Sentinel

H2O Delirious

I AM WILDCAT

Vanoss

"I have to ask, how did Rainbow get to be my #2? I would think she'd be with Twilight." Alex wondered.

"I heard she volunteered." Raven nodded.

"What of Team RWBY?" Alex said.

"They still have a lot they need to do. Give it time." She said.

"Sure, when do we head out?" Alex asked.

"Tomorrow, 0900 hours. What you do then is your own decision." Raven said.

A Pegasus in royal guard armor walked outside the hospital door, he had an orange coat with a red and black mane, from what Alex could tell.

"I heard our CO was in here, team. Remember, this guy might have been through a lot if he's our commander at 15." He whispered, turning behind him.

"I think they're with you. I'll be on my way." Raven nodded her goodbyes and exited the room.

"Pardon me... Gentlecolt, I think." Raven shrugged.

"Thank you, Ma'am." The guard nodded.

Once Raven was out of sight, he and three other guards walked in, the second guard was a slightly darker orange Unicorn with a gray mane that fringed black at the edges, a mare, if he was right.

The third guard was a light grey Earth Pony stallion with messy grey-green hair, the colt's most distinguishing features were his eyes, both pure black around the near-invisible pupil, in addition to the numerous scars on his face.

The fourth guard was a royal blue Pegasus with orange hair that was tied into a single braid, the mare looked a bit more stoic, in spite of her slightly smaller stature.

The first stallion cleared his throat, "Are you Commander Walker?" He asked, seemingly trying to retain confidence.

"Chill out, Blast. You scared of a little colt?" The third guard scoffed.

"Shut it, Haunt. I'm sure he is, though." The second sighed, annoyed.

"I'm assuming you're the rest of my squad." Alex nodded in reply.

"Yes, Sir. Lance Corporal Skirmish Sentinel." The fourth held a hoof out. Alex politely shook it, and gestured to the others.

"Private First Class Haunting Horseshoe, reporting for duty." The third grunted, as if he had other things to do.

"Sergeant Burning Ember. Been on the guard for 4 years." The second stood firm, demanding respect from her compatriots.

"Wonderful introduction as always. Blast Radius. Corporal." The first chuckled.

"Well, nice meeting you all, look forward to working with you." Alex smiled.

"With all due respect, sir. Can I ask what happened to where you're in a hospital bed?" Ember asked.

Skirmish walked over to a nightstand to his right, grabbing his grades.

"A graded training session from a Mrs. Raven Branwen and a Mrs. Yang Xiao Long."

"Actually, it's Ms. Xiao Long, as far as I know. Not sure about Raven, though." Alex replied.

Haunting took the note.

"Says here he lasted a minute-thirty-eight in a Pit Match against multiple opponents, that's just sad." Haunting scoffed.

"There's a back side to it." Ember noticed, reading it before gasping in surprise.

"You fought against the Elements of Harmony, the Scratchbolts, and this 'Raven'?" She asked in awe.

"And got my ass handed to me." Alex sighed.

"Pony feathers, I think he might be a better fighter than Haunting if he can last a minute against those psychos!" Blast cringed.

"I resent that." Haunting scoffed.

"If I am, it's only because I had to." Alex sighed.

"Come again?" Skirmish asked.

Alex told them all about him, everything that happened to him in these past months, once he was done, they all smiled.

"Wait, what?!" Alex asked upon noticing their reactions.

"I figured that Celestia'd pick you to command us!" Ember nodded.

"We've all been there. I was once held in a Diamond Dogs' lair for two months, had to kill my way out with a sharp piece of amethyst." Skirmish recollected.

"I was hunted in vampony territory, sharpened a stick and, well, un-alived them all. Took a month and a half." Haunting gestured to a scar on his foreleg.

"Had to fight off a manticore and a chimera at once, you ever deal with those things?!" Blast whistled.

"That's nothing. You remember the botched wedding in the Castle,right? I boxed myself in the kitchen and used every last fork, knife, and spoon in there. I killed 26 of those flying bugs." Ember scoffed.

'Holy hell, these ponies are psychos' Alex thought to himself.

Ember of all ponies seemed to notice his reaction.

"Ahem, anyways. It was a pleasure meeting you, I guess we should meet up with Ms. Dash and the others." She said.

"F**king finally!" Haunting sighed loudly in relief.

"Sure. See you on the field." Skirmish smiled.

"Bye, sir!" Blast yelled before being silenced by Haunting.

Once they left the room, he reviewed their psych profiles again. What they said was all true, according to Celestia. These ponies had been involved in some of the messiest battles in Equestria's history. And that was actually saying something, Equestria was mostly peaceful!

It was also worth noting that these particular four had worked together before, they were often called the 'Doom Bringers' by other species, even Griffins were afraid of them.

How they would be around Vanoss, Delirious, and Wildcat was not a question he wanted answered. He suspected that, considering their often aloof behavior and indifference to bloodshed, they would fit right in. Rainbow would probably be horrified, seeing as how, like the other Elements, had seen disappointingly little combat, and they were probably the most sociopathic ponies out there, but that isn't to say they weren't nice ponies, most of them, with the exception of Haunting, were pretty casual and collected.

And if Team RWBY were to actually show up, how would they react?

Alex knew Yang likely wouldn't care, as long as they were willing to help out once or twice a week. As for the others, he didn't know. He hadn't gotten to know them personally, but he did respect them to some extent.

All Alex knew for sure was that he was going to Dodge City with the Elements, Vanoss's crew,The Scratchbolts, Kat, Mako, and their squads to fight the Red Star, and Team RWBY would arrive later, maybe with reinforcements, maybe not.

Regardless, things were back to normal for the most part...

... And using the loosest definition of 'normal' ever.

Author's Notes:

Well, another Saturday, another chapter to this fan fiction.
I took the effort of making more OCs, as apparent in the chapter. No, I can't get cover art or anything because I can't art!

See you all next Saturday! Peace!

Act II, Chapter 18: The Knights Myriad Part I of III

Alex and the rest of the coalition had entered the train headed for Dodge Junction about 30 minutes ago.

They had stopped for fuel in Ponyville, so they would be a bit late arriving, but he took this opportunity to look at the old house one last time.

He had fifteen minutes before he would have to go back now, he had just entered the front door.

Looking around, he found it almost exactly as he left it going out to the Dragon's cave about a month ago, minus the dust.

Walking up the stairs to his room, Alex pondered over what significance this would have, seeing his temporary asylum again one last time.

He entered the closet, seeing his old clothes hung up after putting on his uniform, ready in case he came back.

Inhaling the dust particles, he coughed silently. Why was he here again?

Remembering a minor detail, he dug further into the closet. There! An old present box!

He still remembered when he got it all those weeks ago...

----

'Are you really sure you want me to have this, princess? It seems a bit unnecessary.' Alex had said about a day after she initially came to visit.

'It's not necessarily because I pity you, but more of a 'Plan Z' , if it were. Something to have in case something were to happen,' Celestia replied, 'Remember one crucial fact about this, Alex.'

'Sure.'

'Only use this gift when you are dealing with something that cannot be overcome using conventional means.' Celestia directed, tapping one hoof on the box.

'It's a deal.' Alex promised.

----

Opening the gift, he used his fingernail to rip the tape enclosed in the box, and folding it open, he noticed a small, round object wrapped in thick, velvety cloth. He unfolded the cloth, and pulled out what looked like a crystalline TV remote, with only one button.

Not sure what to think of it, he re-wrapped the cloth and stuck in in one of his pockets. He would save it when he finally met this 'Alpha' inquisitor.

----

Alex was sitting inside of the train with Vanoss, Rainbow, and Skirmish. The Ex-Gamer and the iridescent Pegasus were talking about some of the things they had to deal with in the past.

"...I mean, I like Pinkie and all. It's just that sometimes, her personality is a bit much sometimes." Rainbow shrugged.

"Yeah, there was this one time when Delirious and I were playing GTA, and..." Alex figured he should end the conversation there, for fear of having this story bumped up to an 'M' rating.

Skirmish cringed, but was otherwise silent.

"So, Commander." Skirmish finally said.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I have to ask, what was your exact situation with Ms. Xiao Long?" She asked.

Alex sighed, it was complicated as it was.

"Awkward. Just very, very, cringe-worthily awkward." He responded, hoping she wouldn't ask for more.

"How so?" She asked.

F**k.

"How do I put this? I constantly have my life on the line, never have I gone two whole weeks without getting shot once or twice. I was tortured for a whole frickin' month and still, to this day, have never gone to sleep without having a nightmare. But having that on top of a full-blown relationship is a bit too much for me. You can imagine my reaction when Kat and Yang start asking me about this kind of thing.." Alex said.

"I understand." She nodded.

"And it's even worse because she's a Huntress-In-Training. I hardly consider myself on the same level. This-" Alex continued, pounding the armor on his chest, "- can only get me so far if any of them were to switch sides."

"You're not a huntsman?" She asked.

"Not at heart. An Aura doesn't automatically equal Huntsman material, nor do my weapons and armor." He said.

"Then what are you?" Skirmish asked.

"Huh?" He perked his head up.

"If you don't see yourself as a huntsman, then what do you see yourself as?" Skirmish clarified.

Alex thought for a moment before facing Skirmish.

"Somewhere between a soldier and a huntsman. A 'super-soldier', if you will." Alex replied evenly.

A conductor ran horrified to where the team conversed.

"What's the situation?" Ember asked.

The conductor hesitated.

"The Macintosh hills collapsed! A giant ship launched from the ground and destroyed Dodge Junction!" He yelled.

"What?" Twilight gasped.

"There's nothing left! I just looked outside and this giant ship just flew op from the dust!" He replied.

"What's the plan?" Alex turned to Mako.

Mako thought for a solid minute before announcing the plan.

"Full speed ahead!" She yelled.

"Are you insane?!" Wildcat said.

"The Knights Myriad is here?!" Kat gasped.

"How the hell do you know about this?!" Alex wondered.

"What's going on?" Skirmish asked.

"I'd like to know, too!" Flitter said.

Kat sighed.

"The Myriad is a massive super-carrier! It takes 8000 crew members to operate and stores at least a hundred jets!" She said.

"If that thing gets near Canterlot, we're done for!" Rainbow Dash gasped.

"Never mind Canterlot, imagine what happened to the guards stationed here!" Kat's sergeant, a stark white earth pony with a light grey mane named Winter Frost realized.

"They wiped out the guard?!" Blast asked, astonished.

"And the Junction!" Applejack said.

Haunting coughed loudly from the back of the train car, everyone turned to him.

"Listen here, if the Humans are as good as the Princess says they are, they should have no trouble at all taking down a measly little ship like that!" He scoffed.

"He trying to intimidate me, he trying to intimidate ME? HUH? YOU THINK YOU'RE BIG MAN?!" Vanoss challenged.

"Hell yeah, that's a challenge! Let's take the thing down!" Haunting yelled.

The whole room was suddenly in an uproar.

Did Haunt just rally the entire crew to battle in 30 seconds?!

As the entirety of the team charged outside, Alex turned to Haunting.

"Did you just boost their confidence in 30 seconds?" Alex asked him.

"Meh, I dealt with their type before." He shrugged.

"Good work, soldier. ONWARD AND UPWARD!" He ordered, activating the now-repaired jets and soared high into battle.

The Myriad was truly massive, to compare, the U.S.S Zancudo that Alex raided for the EMP would make up 1/8 of the carrier in total, yes, eighth. It was about 2700 feet in length, 2010 feet in width, and roughly 18 stories tall and built like an oversized, flying Landkreuzer tank, complete with eight 300 foot thrusters keeping it in the air, and filled to the brim with missile launchers, Machine guns, and five cannons with enough firepower to destroy a city.

Needless to say, this was going to take some work.

----

Kat slid to the ground, narrowly avoiding a barrage of missiles.

The Myriad was more challenging than she remembered Locust describing it would be. She went to the radio, searching for Alex's channel.

'-.-Copy, over! I repeat, this is Atlas One-Two-Six calling for support! Requesting authorization from Commanders Walker and Anderson, over!' one channel crackled.

Support?

"Atlas One-Two-Six, this is Commander Anderson reporting from Dodge Junction, respond!" She ordered.

She heard rustling and struggling until she heard a familiar voice.

'Kat? Kat, is that you?!' A girl asked.

"Affirmative! We're surrounded by Red Star and are dealing with the Knights Myriad!" she yelled.

'Do you have Alex? Is he okay?!'

"He's inside the Myriad, he's still alive!"

'Thank goodness. I'll tell the coalition to engage!'

----

Alex burst through the hull, landing inside the ship's many hallways, searching for anything vulnerable.

What the?!

The floor collapsed from under him and Alex found himself in a large storage room of Jets and White Fang Bullheads.

In the middle of the room was his worst enemy before Sigma came along. The most terrifying person he met from that time period other than the deceased Winchester.

In the middle of the room, was Jäger.

"You should've stayed with the convoy. Surrendered while you still had the chance." He scoffed.

Alex staggered up.

"Alpha wants you to die, but on his own, overly chivalric terms. Human sacrifice or something stupid. I just want to see you dead. No bullshit." Jäger scowled.

"Whatever these A-Holes are paying you, I can double it." Alex coughed, unsheating Electric Fury.

"This isn't business, kid. This is personal." He replied, ripping a thin, rusty, lead pipe off the wall and spinning it.

Alex surged towards his old enemy, their weapons locking in place as they stared hatefully into each other's eyes.

"Dead or alive, You're coming with me." He threatened.

"That's big talk for a small-time crook." Alex shrugged.

"Fine, Dead it is!" He yelled.

Author's Notes:

I'm going to be posting chapters all throughout the weekend, after that! I'm disregarding the schedule entirely.

Hope you enjoy three days of pre-written chapters!

Oh, by the way, here's to another 50,000 words. Don't know how I wrote that much in less time and chapters than the last 50,000. But eh, progress.

Act II, Chapter 19: The Knights Myriad Part II of III

Jäger stared into Alex's eyes with murderous intent, swinging the lead pipe at his head.

Alex blocked it with Electric Fury's blade before converting it into it's rail gun form.

Jäger then ducked, swinging hard for Alex's chest and denting the armor. Alex coughed, raised Electric Fury, and fired every shot the railgun contained at Jäger's head, leaving decent sized holes in his head and warping it into a flat, six-holed liquid-metal pan.

The abomination of nature re-morphed it's face before he simply threw the pipe at him like a javelin.

Alex narrowly dodged the pipe before it was embedded into the wall nearby. Swinging the blade through Jäger's midsection before going all 'Metal Gear Rising Zandatsu Mode' and chopping his enemy into a million liquid metal pieces.

Exhausted, Alex walked out of the room only to have to dodge a metallic spike. Turning around to find his adversary rematerialized.

"You didn't think it was going to be that easy, did you?" Jäger scoffed.

Alex turned around, both revolvers ready to fire.

"Actually, for a second there, yeah. I kinda did." Alex retorted.

The metal spike liquefied and slid under Alex's boot before returning to Jäger, who pulled out his own sword, jagged at one side, wickedly sharp, and a meter and a half long, he pointed it at the super-soldier.

"Let's dance!"

----

Mako slid, dodging a barrage of missiles and returning fire, blowing up other missiles easily.

"It's no use! Fall back!" Twilight ordered.

"No! Wait!" Kat yelled back, still fighting off Red Star infantry that were still fast-roping from the top of the ship.

"DIIIIIIE! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Delirious screamed, still hacking enemies with a hatchet.

"RED BULL GIVES YOU WIIIIINGS!!!" Vanoss yelled, Cloudchaser was pulling him up above her, throwing him in range of the enemies still dropping in.

"THIS IS THE FIGHT OF A LIFETIME! I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Haunting seemed to flourish in the battlefield, his two spears serving as mere extensions of his hooves as he sliced away infantry.

"Two, three, six, and nine! Shit! Surrounded!" Frost counted, blowing them all away with an SMG.

Just then, a massive amount of ponies in Royal Guard uniforms came pouring over the hillside, there seemed to be no end, they numbered in the thousands.

"HERE COMES THE CALVARY!" Mini laughed.

Then, Mako saw blurs from above, and Rainbow knew who they were.

"The Wonderbolts?!"

"In my armor?!" Vinyl gasped, pride edging her voice.

'Atlas One-Two-Six, you are clear to engage!' her radio crackled.

"Oh, my god!" Mako realized.

"Yep! Let's take this thing down!" Kat smiled broadly, the barrel of her sniper rifle now smoking.

"We got the gang back together, boys!" Wildcat yelled, firing an RPG rocket that met a missile in midair, causing a decent-sized explosion.

----

Jäger was launched inside the engine room by Alex, who was still fighting him.

Panting with exaustion, Alex holstered his revolvers, and sent electricity directly to the gauntlets on his armor.

Jäger staggered up, only to be met by Alex's armored fist.

BZZZAP!

The gauntlet collided with Jäger's face, generating a huge spark on contact.

Alex just kept punching and punching before holding both of his hands, as though he were about to swing a golf club, and delivering a devastating uppercut.

Jäger was blown upwards, colliding with the ceiling before falling down and meeting the stairway.

Coughing, Jäger picked himself up, noticing too late that Alex had stabbed him with Electric Fury, now glowing red-violet and shocking him.

"You...you will never win.." Jäger coughed.

"Never, you say?" Alex panted, upping the voltage on his blade.

Alex charged, slamming Jäger into a red-hot engine, melting his back and even the front a little bit.

Planting a foot on his enemy, Alex pulled the blade out, now partially melted, and irreversibly damaged.

Alex then pulled out .44 Scratch, firing all six rounds at his enemy, now nothing more than a silvery puddle on the ground.

"Give my regards to Winchester, you son of a-"

BZZZZOW!. The final shot all but incinerated Alex's rival, Alex himself was now tired.

"Finally..." Alex sighed, sweaty in the burning-hot room. He opened up the Pocket Dimension, went inside, and came back out with a familiar device.

The EMP.

If all else failed, he grabbed the control, meant to detonate it on a timer if he were to not be there.

Placing the detonator in his pocket, he ran out of the room and started up the stairs, hopefully by now able to get back to his allies. He had to hurry, they may already be dead.

He charged up the stairs, killing any soldiers unfortunate enough to be in the way. He didn't care, his friends were out there!

Running just near the runway, Alex was suddenly knocked on his back by another Inquisitor.

Epsilon, AKA Iron Talon.

"You really have a death wish if you think you can destroy the Knights Myriad. This ship has been here for ages, boy!" The griffin sneered.

Alex staggered up, .44 Scratch in hand.

"I do have a death wish, Talon. Yours!" He cried out, firing at the Inquisitor Leader of the Rogue Guard.

Alex dodged a reinforced claw, slamming hard into the mythical Eagle-Lion thing, and shoved it out the door.

Epsilon staggered up, screeching in fury before latching onto Alex's back and ripping the flight mechanisms, Machine Guns, and rocket launchers to shreds. Alex screamed in agony and ripped the Inquisitor off his back.

He lashed again, this time to be met by Alex's gauntlet and blown backwards.

"I will tear you apart!" Epsilon yelled, charging at Alex and tearing apart what remained of his armor.

Now Alex's Overcharge armor was destroyed, the visor cracked and revealed deep blue eyes, the armor now bloody through the claw marks on Alex's back.

Alex took off the armor, revealing dirty hunting gear and bloodstained blonde-ish hair. The boy was wounded badly and was going into shock, staggering down and holding in his wounds

"I will end you!" The griffin yelled again before getting blown away by green energy blasts, the Inquisitor getting knocked backwards with every shot before a very large bullet ripped through his cranium, falling onto the battlefield below.

Alex coughed up blood and was struggling to crawl away before whatever killed Epsilon got to him too.

F**k! A large explosion blew up next to Alex, who was now rolling haphazardly near the edge in shock. He found himself unable to do a whole lot as he nearly fell off the ship itself.

What the?! Something was grabbing him by the satchel and pulled him up, his vision was blurry and the blood was in his eyes, so he could not identify his savior. He definitely heard something, though.

"Alex? Wake up!" The person screamed as Alex continued to try and hold in a wound on his gut.

Another blur went up to the first, looked at him and back at his savior.

"He's hurt bad. I don't know if he can make it down by himself." The second shook it's head.

"He has to! We didn't come all this way to find him like this! Alex!!" The first screamed as he continued to writhe in agony.

Author's Notes:

Part II of the Knights Myriad trilogy continues.

I forgot to mention, Part III is pretty much the finale of Act II, just thought I should say it.

Act II, Chapter 20: The Knights Myriad Part III of III

Alex slowly blinked until his vision started to clear up.

His eyes widened once he saw who was currently defending him from Red Star troops.

"Ruby?!" Alex coughed, still bleeding profusely.

"Alex! Thank god you're okay!" She hugged him tightly.

Alex grit his teeth, the soul-constricting hug in tandem with his wounds left him in agony.

"Oh, right. Sorry." She apologized, wiping his blood off of her clothes.

"When did you get here?" Alex asked, pulling out .44 Scratch and helped her thin out the enemy forces.

"It wasn't easy. We had to convince the kingdoms to start-"

"I said when." Alex interrupted.

"About a half hour ago." Ruby replied.

"Listen... We need to get off this thing. Now!" Alex coughed.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"Remember the EMP? Yeah, it's in the engine room on this thing and I have it rigged to burst any minute now." Alex said, showing her the remote.

"Gotcha covered, hold on!" She said, holding onto him as the two leaped off the Myriad, Alex screaming along the way.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!!!!" He shrieked, cringing once they were close to the ground.

Ruby fired Crescent Rose just before hitting the ground, slowing their fall and landing relatively safe.

Alex himself handed hard on his chest, Ruby had slipped about 5 feet above the ground and, while not ending up a red mark on the dust, it still hurt like crazy.

"Ow! Damn it!" Alex coughed.

"Listen, Blake and Kat are still up there getting whatever information they can, as soon as they're off, then you can trigger the EMP." Ruby instructed.

"Alex! Ruby!" Twilight seemed elated to see Ruby again, and even happier to find out Alex survived.

"Hey, Twilight." Alex coughed.

"Is he okay?!" She asked, checking his wounds.

"He fought Iron Talon on the ship!" Ruby replied.

"Motherf**ker ripped my armor into bits and almost killed me, thank god she came in with a ray gun!" Alex added.

"Ray gun, you said?" Twilight asked.

"Yep!" Ruby said, handing her the Ray Gun.

"Where did you even get a Ray Gun?" Alex spluttered, then he remembered when Vanoss's crew brought in the mystery box just before the embassy massacre.

"The box that your team brought in, remember?" Ruby asked, turning to him.

"Just did." Alex replied.

"This is remarkable! I didn't know your species had adapted into atomic cold cell research so well!" Twilight beamed, unloading the weapon.

"We didn't." Alex said.

"Anyways, I'll have to do some research on this to see if I can implement this technology into your own weapon, Ms. Rose!" Twilight promised.

"Thank you so much!" Ruby then proceeded to hug the lavender Alicorn.

"That's all well and good, but where's the rest of your team?" Alex asked.

"It's not just us anymore, Alex. Every Huntsman and Huntress available is working on this, every huntsman school across Remnant has students participating!" She smiled broadly.

Alex's jaw dropped to the ground.

"Are you mad?! Your comrades are in danger!!" Alex scolded. He cared about Ruby, and couldn't bear to see her encounter more loss than she might already have suffered.

"Ahem, anyways, Weiss is helping Evan's squad and the other Elements, Blake is with Kat stealing information from the ship, and Yang is still fighting off any Red Star infantry left." Ruby reported.

"Anyone else?" Alex asked.

"Jaune and Pyrrha are with Evan and Weiss, Nora's with Yang, and Ren's with Agent Mako." She replied.

"Thank god. They're still alive, yes?" He asked hopefully.

"I think so."

'Commander Anderson to Huntress Rose, we found an Electromagnetic Pulse device in the engine room, what do we do?' Kat asked through the radio.

Alex took the radio from Ruby.

"Kat, I need you to stay away from the EMP! I repeat, stay the hell away from that device!" Alex ordered.

'No! Stay away from there! N----' the radio went out.

"Kat?!" Alex shook the radio. They set it off and the ship was falling.

"No!" Twilight gasped.

"Retreat! Fall back!" Alex ordered.

Most of his allies in the battlefield ran away from the falling ship, for a moment, he saw Blake and Kat leaping out of the airship. Hopefully they'd make it. They had to!

Everyone kept running as fast as they could.

"Regroup at the Intersection! Move! Go go go!" Alex screamed as loud as he could to anyone who could hear.

They were going to make it.

Turning around, he saw the ship crash into the dust, two parachutes above and floating towards the horde.

The skip exploded in a giant fireball, the destroyer of Dodge Junction was brought down entirely, seemingly disintegrating in the flames.

----

Once everyone finally got to the intersecting train tracks, Alex was tired, more tired than he had ever been in his life.

He staggered to the ground, coughing profusely and spitting blood. His wounds remained untended.

"Is everyone okay?" Alex asked.

"I've been better, man." Vanoss huffed.

"Good thing I read up on long-distance running." Twilight panted.

"Meh, I've had hangovers worse than this." Vinyl replied.

"No serious injuries in our squad." Ember said.

"I'm good, Lex." Mako added.

"We're okay, Alex." Ruby gasped for breath.

"We're all fine." Blake said, for she had just arrived, with Kat in tow.

Alex rolled onto his back, still wounded badly.

"Thank god." Alex's vision started to flutter.

A medic walked up to him, she looked like she was from Remnant.

"Sir, I think you're the only one with untended wounds, we need to clean these. Now." She said.

"Sure..." Alex groaned.

As the medic continued patching him up, he looked around. Everyone who was originally a part of Team Unity was now here, as well as some new additions. The sting of the disinfectant was pretty much the only thing keeping him awake, Weiss had fallen asleep on arrival, and Vanoss and some of the other Scratchbolts were beginning to get some shut-eye.

"There you go, sir. I'd advise not doing anything too crazy the next couple days. But you should be fine." She said after she finished applying bandages.

"Thank you." He said, collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion, blood loss, and the like.

Someone had sat down next to him and pat him on the shoulder blade.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Alex. What's up?" Alex just realized that Yang was laying next to him.

"Oh, hey Yang. I just helped take down a huge carrier ship and probably killed most of the crew, fought my old doppelgänger and won, and got torn apart by a bird-lion thing before your sister got to him." Alex replied blankly.

"So, just like old times?" She asked.

"Yeah, you could say that." He chuckled a bit.

Alex just sat there, blinking away blissful slumber for the next couple of minutes.

He saw a small light from the other side of the tracks, a train? Here? now?

"Who's that?" Alex asked.

"I'm not sure. Let's find out." Yang said, picking him up.

Walking towards the train, Alex and Yang saw the train slowly come to a halt before him, the door opened, revealing Princesses Celestia, Luna, and...

"Professor Ozpin?" Alex asked.

"Hello, Mr. Walker. Glad to finally see you again after so long." Ozpin replied, no emotion in his voice.

"Eh. I figured you might have something to do with the dozens of huntsmen being here." Alex shrugged blankly.

"Miss Xiao Long, may we have a moment?" The Professor asked, turning to the girl.

"Gotcha. See you around, kid." Yang waved.

Alex was led inside the train, sitting in a booth to Luna's right side, Ozpin and Celestial facing him.

"I assume you know I'm not here to antagonize you." The headmaster tilted his head slightly.

"It'd explain why you aren't attacking me, especially since I took off to an alternate dimension with some of your best huntresses." Alex replied rather bluntly.

"Miss Rose and Miss Xiao Long both explained at length why they went with you." Ozpin said.

"And that's why we want to assist you in your efforts, the Inquisition is a scourge." Celestia added.

"Well, thank you." Alex blinked, still tired.

"It's not just us, Mr. Walker. The Inquisitors hurt a lot of the wrong people. You are familiar with the prophecies, are you not?" Luna asked.

"Yes, I am. Beta's even going as far as calling me a 'Catalyst'." Alex replied.

"And for good reason. You are the one who will change everything in this universe. You, Alexander, are the key to our collective future." Celestia said.

"It's a pain. It really is." Alex sighed.

"True. But no burden is without reward. Needless to say, after this, you shall never be in the same situation you once were ever again." Luna said.

"I understand." Alex said, this time, he meant what he said.

"I would like to offer you a deal, Commander." Ozpin offered.

"I'm listening, Professor." Alex nodded, interested.

"Full control of Equestria's and Remnant's fleet, led by our best ship, which is outfitted with dimensional gateway technology, and more soldiers than you can count, with your team leading the charge. You'll have a chance at revenge for your lost comrade, life, and freedom, all you have to do is find the Inquisitor's Capital, and kill the Alpha." Celestia said.

"Gee, you make it sound much easier than it actually is, but I may need a tiny bit more than that." Alex said.

"Huntsman training beforehand?" Ozpin added.

"Eeeeehhh." Alex groaned.

"Full access to Remnant, Equestrian, and Earth weapons?" Celestia asked.

"Little bit more..." Alex offered.

"Magic enhancements? Super-Weapons?!" Luna added on.

"Just a little bit more..."

"By dust! What is it you want from us?!" Ozpin yelled.

"All of the above, plus an extra-something special.." Alex said.

Celestia's eyebrows shot straight upwards.

"Jesus! Not like that, you pervert! I mean as in materials. The strongest possible materials in your possession for armor building, because I swear to god, if I lose one more set of armor, I'm gonna be pissed!" Alex shook.

"Oh. Good. I noticed you've been using Equestrian Steel to reinforce your armor. There is another metal comparable to that." Luna said.

"I hear you..." Alex said.

"Invictium is one of the most durable, lightweight metals known to Equestria, aside from Equestrian steel." Celestia explained.

"The strongest metals in Remnant have been used extensively in Huntsman and Huntress weapons and armor, there would be no problem outfitting some to fit your standard." Ozpin added.

Alex smiled.

"You have yourself a deal. I just need all of those metals melted into an alloy and made into sheets. Two meters by two meters, about three centimeters thick. About... Seven, if it's at all possible." Alex instructed.

"We'll be right on it, Mr. Walker. Just make sure Alpha is dead once you get to him." Ozpin ordered.

"And Alex." Celestia said before Alex exited the train.

"What would you like the name of your flagship to be?" She asked.

Alex thought for a moment, his memory hearkening back to 8th Grade English Class for an unknown reason.

"The Iliad." Alex said in reply.

----

Alex sat in the train, looking over every member of the enhanced Team Unity.

Writing their names down on a list, he looked over them all admirably.

List of Current Team Unity Members (As of October 29, 2016)

Alex Walker

Katherine 'Kat' Anderson

Mako Cerise

Twilight Sparkle

Rainbow Dash

Rarity

Applejack

Pinkie Pie

Fluttershy

Vanoss

Delirious

Wildcat

Lui

Mini

Basically

Terroriser

Droidd

Moo

Nogla

Ruby Rose

Weiss Schnee

Blake Belladonna

Yang Xiao Long

Jaune Arc

Pyrrha Nikos

Nora Valkyrie

Lie Ren

Vinyl Scratch

Cloudchaser

Flitter

Winter Frost

Pitch Black

Burning Ember

Blast Radius

Haunting Horseshoe

Skirmish Sentinel

Looking at the list again, he gaped. The group count had jumped from 22 to 36?! What the actual f**k?!

"Something wrong, Admiral Walker?" Skirmish asked.

Alex forgot to note. He ranked up given his position in the Equestrian-Remnantian Coalition. As well as everyone else.

"What rank am I again?" Vanoss asked.

"Master Chief Petty Officer. Same as Kat, Mako, Ruby, Jaune, and Rainbow." Alex replied.

"Haha! Suck it, Delirious! I'm the Master Chief!" Vanoss yelled, shooting Delirious in the chest.

"NOOOOOO!" He screamed, running away.

"Get back here...uh..." Vanoss seemed lost for words.

'Commodore.' Alex mouthed.

"GET BACK HERE COMMODORE DELIRIOUS!" Vanoss charged at the Hockey-Masked man.

"Wait, what am I again, Alex?" Yang asked.

Alex sighed.

"'All huntsmen and huntressess not designated as leader are enlisted at the rank of 'Lieutenant Colonel'. Leaders of huntsmen/huntress teams are enlisted at the rank of 'Master Chief Petty Officer.''" Alex replied, repeating what he read from the syllabus.

"Oh." Blast nodded.

"So I'm..." Blake said.

"Lieutenant Colonel Belladonna. Yes." Alex replied.

"That puts me right over Adam's old rank." Blake said, more or less to herself.

"Which was?" Alex asked. He hadn't heard much about Blake's time in the White Fang, but then, not many people knew exact details.

"Major." She replied.

Alex made sure to keep this in mind before looking outside to his right.

"There she is, team," Alex said, admiring the large form in the Eastern Equestrian coast, directly between Fillydelphia and Manehattan.

"Woah." Vanoss gaped.

"Fine ship you got there. What's it called?" Applejack asked.

"That's our new home for the foreseeable future, until we find the Lion's Den that is the Inquisitor's Capital City. I present the E.R.C Iliad."

Author's Notes:

And so ends the second act of the story. It brings tears in my eyes.

Thank you all for enduring the six hours or so it took reading this story. When, even to this day, I didn't bother to include cover art. I may have to start asking at this point.

I'm not going to ask your opinion on the story this time, so leave it of your own accord.

Until next time,
- The Destoyer

Act III, Chapter 1: The Iliad

Once the team got on the ship, things seemed to move along a bit more smoothly.

"GET AWAY FROM ME, VANOSS!" Delirious screamed, as Vanoss was currently chasing Delirious around the obscenely large flight deck.

The Iliad was about half the size of the Myriad in overall volume, but even so, Alex was surprised that the ship itself stayed afloat. It was so huge that Vanoss had actually tired out before he could stab the masked man.

"Hahahaha! You can't catch me, bitc- NOOOOO!" Delirious screamed mid-sentence as Vanoss had fired a rocket on the flight deck.

"Evan! Not even thirty seconds on deck and you're already destroying Atlesian tech!" Weiss scolded.

"And Equestrian, and possibly Earth tech because the dimensional gateway was based off of Die Glock." Twilight corrected.

"That'll teach him to steal my loot-crate." Vanoss threatened.

"Should we be afraid?" Jaune asked, backing away in terror.

"Nah. In the 29 hours I've been with them, they're not much." Haunting shrugged.

"It's been one day since the Myriad battle? It's felt like three!" Rainbow asked.

"I hear ya, Dash." Mako shrugged.

Alex continued the short walk to the stairwell leading below deck. He needed to check the systems on this thing.

"All right, I'm going to need Master Chiefs Fong, Rose, Dash, Anderson, Cerise, and Arc with me. Soldiers, stay here until the rest of the crew comes along." Alex ordered.

"Yes, sir!" Most of his Company announced.

----

"Welcome, Admiral." A very familiar voice greeted once the group entered the center-most part of the ship.

"Iris?! I thought you went down with the armor!" Alex gasped.

"You'll have to thank Lieutenant Colonel Belladonna and Master Chief Anderson for that." Iris replied.

"You're not going to go all 'HAL-9000' on me for getting torn apart by a psychotic inquisitor griffin, are you?" Alex asked.

"She gon' stick a big ol' monolith up yo-" Vanoss joked until Mako elbowed him in the arm.

"Ow." He winced.

"Thanks for preserving the teen rating on this story, Mak." Rainbow smiled.

"Pleasure." She replied.

"I severely doubt it will come to that, Admiral. But regardless, I will schedule some training with Lieutenant Colonel Xiao Long so this does not happen again." Iris said.

"Oh, Alex. I've been meaning to ask..." Ruby began.

"Sure." Alex smiled, turning to the red-cloaked huntress-in-training.

"Can I help Yang train you?" She asked him.

"I don't see any reason why not. If anyone else wants to, I'll take help wherever I can get it." Alex replied.

"And so the trend continues..." Kat sighed, nostalgia heavy in her tone.

"Have I asked for other people's help that often?" Alex asked.

"Well, not explicitly ask, but rather wait until someone else asks if they can help you." she answered.

"Truer words have never been spoken." Vanoss nodded.

"I'm with you." Rainbow Dash added.

"Ditto." Ruby said.

"God dammit." Alex pinched the bridge of his nose, trying with most of his might to keep his internal screaming from becoming external.

Alex looked around the dimly lit room while the others continued talking, large computer monitors were laid out in paths, and the only other light source in the room besides Iris's computer, still working on diagnostics. Why were they arranged like that?

"Diagnostics complete. The ship is capable of transporting anything in a 40 kilometer radius to other dimensions as far as 100,000 yottaparsecs away from ours. The ship can carry as many as 500 Bullhead VTOLs, 64 M1 Abrams-sized tanks, and 500,000 soldiers excluding crew. The ship requires at least 300 operators to be even remotely managable, and is outfitted with several intercontinental missile launchers, Anti-Aircraft weapons, dozens of heavy machine guns, and one rail gun, capable of firing projectiles one yard in diameter up to 20 miles away with pinpoint accuracy. The ship is also outfitted with training quarters to anyone who may need it, it's own forge is also enclosed inside, and can travel up to 65 knots an hour thanks to two dark-matter reactors on the ship." Iris explained.

"Thanks. Iris, what's with the computers?" Alex asked.

"The ships systems are meant to holographically project important information in the correct settings. The light over to your right is actually a condensed laser awaiting reaction from the other computers." Iris said.

"Let's get to work on that." Rainbow suggested.

Several green lights appeared on the floor, indicating where the computers should be placed. Alex and his other friends got behind a few of the monitors and started pushing as hard as they could. Once Rainbow and Vanoss got one of the monitors onto the green light, it made a high beep noise before the light moved towards the monitor, once the light met the monitor, rays of cerulean light refracted around the room.

"Ooh, yeah! It likes that!" Evan smiled, moving onto another.

Mako and Ruby had placed another one, and one of the beams that shot out from the first monitor met the second, creating more retractions and causing the lasers in between to make a sort of hexagonal shape.

"It's working!" Ruby beamed before helping Jaune move another monitor.

"One...Two...Three!" Kat grunted, as Alex and her were moving another monitor into it's spot. The beams started to look a bit more complete, forming a shape comparable to a spider's web.

"Let's keep this up!" Jaune panted, trying to help Ruby move the monitor.

"Almost there..." Rainbow struggled, also helping someone move a computer in place.

"And...." Kat gasped for breath, as these monitors were heavy.

They placed their monitors in at the same instant, completing the blue hexagonal shape that was currently glowing brightly.

"Good work, everyone! I'll notify the crew!" Iris congratulated.

"Right... The crew.." Alex panted.

"One more thing, Alex." Kat said, walking up to him with a USB drive with the markings '16 TB' etched on the front.

"This flash drive contains information about the Inquisitors, some of it talks about the Inquisitors' main headquarters. It's a large island city known as Kalos Prime. We don't know which universe, but several of the higher-up inquisitors might." Kat explained.

"Great." Alex smiled, placing the flash drive in his pocket.

"Well, I see things have happened down here. Hey, Alex." Vinyl greeted.

Alex turned to greet the white and blue unicorn mare.

"Hey, V. We just set up the main logistics room." Alex smiled back.

"Listen, We have the materials for your armor and weapon in the forge right now. Iris, Ruby and I are helping you with the designs." Vinyl stated.

"Wait, Ruby's helping?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, who else do you think built the scythe she's always carrying around?" She asked him.

"Good point. That doesn't look mass-produced to me." Alex shrugged.

"Also, Twilight wanted me to bring you something." Vinyl said, handing him a small, pentagonal, purple hued gem.

"What is it?" Alex inquired.

"It's a very rare Dust crystal. A 'Oracon Amethyst', if I'm right." Vinyl explained as Alex examined the crystal.

Alex hadn't had a lot of experience with dust in it's crystal form. Mainly, it was ammunition for Electric Fury, and that was pretty much it. Granted, he went through the 'Dust for Dummies' pamphlet that Weiss gave him on arrival in about 45 seconds before getting a rough concept of what this stuff actually did. He also remembered reading about rare dust crystals, but could never exactly memorize specific crystals by name.

As stated, the Oracon Amethyst Dust crystal was purple hued, a natural match with his own Aura, and carved intricately into a pentagonal shape, and was rather sturdy and unlikely to break.

"What exactly is this supposed to do?" Alex asked.

"I asked Weiss, she said something about 'Enhancing semblance-related abilities by 20-something percent' or something, I don't know." The unicorn shrugged.

"Thanks Vinyl, I have some things I need to take care of, if you don't mind."

"Nah man, go do your thing and we'll make the armor later." She patted his back and trotted off.

Slipping the small crystal into his right pocket, he nodded in thanks and headed over to a computer to review the data on the flash drive Kat had given him.

'Kalos Prime', eh?" Alex smirked, cracking his knuckles and plugging in the device.

----

Alex had arranged a meeting with the entirety of the team to discuss the plans for their next mission.

The seats were filled, and Alex stepped up next to the holographic charts displayed nearby.

"Hey, everyone. So, I guess you all know why I called you here?" Alex began.

"We already f**king know why you called us! it was on the stupid little card you had the crew deliver!" Wildcat shouted.

"Ahem... Anyways, I better start with the big question here; what's our next move?" Alex said, gesturing to the charts, where several highlighted bits of information scattered behind him.

"According to the files Master Chief Anderson and Lieutenant General Belladonna were able to retrieve from the Red Star Aero-Carrier The Knights Myriad, The Inquisition's head capital is a huge island-city known as 'Kalos Prime'. Where it is, we don't know." Alex shrugged.

"How do you plan on finding out?" Mako asked, hand raised.

"It's rather simple, really. The Inquisitors Omicron and Sigma have orders to send a battalion of White Fang soldiers into Vytal. Those of you who have no freakin' clue of what the hell I'm talking about, Vytal is an island located just north of Vale. I believe members of Team RWBY have met both of these inquisitors. Thanks to the records that Raven managed to send after arrival, we know who they are."

"Who?" Someone asked.

"Sigma has been identified as 'Cinder Fall', a professional criminal who managed to sneak into the Cross-Continental Transmit Tower and hack into it's systems. Due mostly to recent events, she has been revealed to be connected to the White Fang." Alex explained, an image of the Inquisitor appearing on screen.

"Wait, then who the f**k is Omicron?" Haunting asked wryly.

"Omicron, AKA Adam Taurus, is a Faunus rather high up in the White Fang's ranks. His best known attack was the theft of an entire train shipment of Dust, with just himself and his Ex-apprentice. Both Inquisitors are dangerous on a ridiculous scale, and should be proceeded with caution if we're really going to interrogate them." Alex answered.

"How the f**k are we taking two of them down if you haven't even come close to killing one?" Lui scoffed.

"You're forgetting something. Just yesterday, Epsilon, AKA Iron Talon, the leader of the Rogue Guard, was killed by Ms. Rose, and I would've gotten away with killing Cinder if Raven didn't stop me." Alex explained.

"So, what's the plan here?" Ember asked.

"We hire someone to infiltrate the White Fang. Like most of their forces, they'll probably go with Omicron's lot into Vytal. From there, the undercover op should be able to get a decent amount of information before we move in. If we encounter either Omicron or Sigma, I'll need a full huntsman team to attack either. We knock the Inquisitor out, and bring them back into the Iliad for questioning." Alex elaborated.

"And once we're done?" Yang asked.

"Make the f**ker walk the plank, or just have Nora break the Inquisitor's legs and have him or her crawl down the plank."

Nora grinned ear-to-ear.

Most of the pony audience looked ready to vomit, except Haunting.

"OORAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!" He laughed heartily.

Vanoss and company made a few jokes about that quote.

"When your legs don't work like they used to before..."

"But before you learn to walk, you must learn to crawl!"

"Crawling in my skin! These wounds they will not heal!" Kat sang, trying and failing to contain giggling.

"Are you a child?" Weiss asked condescendingly.

"Don't patronize me." Kat threatened. Alex himself was surprised to see Kat's mood change that quick.

"Infant." The Ice Queen huffed.

"Tsundere.." Kat glared back.

"This is ridiculous. F**k this, I'm out!" Alex groaned, choosing to head to the forge, grabbing Vinyl and Ruby by the mane and hood respectively.

"Ow!" Vinyl winced.

"Friendship!" Ruby yelled happily, raising both arms while her feet dragged along the floor.

----

The hills between Manehattan and Fillydelphia were mostly silent, save the occasional Pegasus that drifted calmly across the cold, autumn night. Leaves also billowed through the late night breeze and filled the air with the scents of the season. Mostly quiet except for the birds that continued to chirp through the night...

And, of course, the swirling blue vortex that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

The portal was roughly six feet in height and spiraled around as though it were a cosmic wheel.

Out from this portal stepped a taller man, barely visible due to the silhouette effect made when he stepped in front of it. Two M1911 pistols in hand, the figure didn't so much as glance when this gateway closed.

The moon now illuminating the man's features, one would be able to see the man wore a black ski-mask, some night-vision goggles, a respirator, as well as a World War II-era M1 helmet. The man's breathing was raspy and mechanical, almost inhuman in nature.

'Have you arrived at the Target Location yet, Russell?' a voice from his communicator asked.

"Affirmative, E.R.C Iliad is in sight, Sirius" Russel said, his voice calm, but still gruff.

'Admiral Walker should be just inside. Knowing him, he'll understand why you're here in a heartbeat.' Sirius noted.

"This isn't your world, Sirius. If you're right about this, we can't afford to have him know why we're here." Russell asserted.

'Of course. Have you determined the date yet?'

"Roger that, it's October 30, 2016 here." Russell replied evenly.

'Perfect timing, Russell. Perfect timing. Proceed to Phase Two of Directive 2-378.' Sirius ordered.

"Gladly, sir."

Author's Notes:

Chapter unlocked!

So, yeah. Act Three. Yay!

I should note that, considering this is an alternate timeline, I won't add a whole lot from RWBY Volume 3 unless it's completely necessary.

Before I forget: Whoever's the owner of the white sedan, you left your lights on.

Act III, Chapter 2: Intruder Alert!

Russell finished inflating the small speedboat at the edge of shore, being careful to avoid the ship's spotlight.

"Sirius, the boat's ready. Any way you can get me in the ship?" Russell asked, moving to his communicator.

'I could potentially hack into the ship and have an entrance opened, but it would be way to dangerous.' Sirius sighed.

"Do we have any other options?" Russell asked.

'I wish...' Sirius grimly replied.

"Fine, let's get to work." Russell hopped inside the boat, started the engine, and sped towards the large carrier ship.

----

"And... Done!" Ruby instructed.

Alex helped Vinyl haul out the boiling vat of alloy, which Alex personally dubbed the 'Tenacia Alloy', as they were all composed of metals known not to shatter or break.

Heading to the molds that they had set up prior to heating and combining the metals, they poured the red hot liquid into the first mold, the blade.

Much like Electric Fury's old blade, it had a large gap towards the bottom of the blade, for weight as well as tactical reasons, meant to catch the enemy's blade and disarm, but the blades would not separate and then spin like with his original weapon. It was just a feature he rarely used, and it was ridiculously impractical, remembering all the times he nearly chopped off both of his arms. Instead, the single blade would move perpendicular to his right arm and then spin.

Tipping the red-hot vat of Tenacia Alloy upwards before the mold overflowed, he sat down, panting.

"Not bad, eh?" Alex huffed.

"Keep in mind that we'll have to make the cuts in the blade and add the mechanics so that this can turn into a gun, you do still want to be able to keep up with us, right?" Ruby inquired.

"Right.. Let's not worry about that now, Let's get to work plating the armor. Iris?" Alex asked.

"Yes, sir?" Iris appeared in the forge.

"Bring up all models compatable with the Overcharge V2 Exo-Suit platforms." Alex ordered.

"Bringing up OV2 Exo models 4-18." Iris stated, fourteen holograms appearing out of nowhere, all with different designs.

Ruby, Vinyl, and Alex looked some of them over, interest peaking in Alex's mind.

"I kind of like Mark 9, it looks almost like an Atlesian 200." Ruby noted, bringing up Mk. IX's hologram.

"I don't know, Mark 13's Chassis looks like it could support more upgrades, plus they can equip similar speakers that Crimson used to destroy the castle." Vinyl figured, Mk. XIII's model now equaling Mk. IX's in size.

"I feel like Mark 6 wouldn't short out on me if I were to use my Semblance in a fight." Alex stared, the three prototypes now equal in size.

"Couldn't we have traits from all three combined?" Ruby figured.

"True. Iris?" Asked Alex.

"On it, Admiral." Iris said, the three suits merging into one.

The armor they worked together on seemed to have traits from Goliath Mk. V, Scarab Mk. II, and Locke's armor from Halo 5 merged together, large speakers replacing machine guns, the visor was slimmer and wider, encompassing about 3 inches before each ear, and the gauntlets had a 1/2 inch thick layer of rubber under the main metal husk, with Electrical Enhancers in the middle of each palm.

"That actually looks badass." Vinyl nodded.

"We should do this more often!" Ruby agreed.

"I have to agree. Iris, get to work on the molds, please?" Alex ordered.

"On it- wait- am I reading this right?" Iris asked.

"What's going on?" Vinyl wondered.

"There's an intruder on the ship! He just outran Pyrrha and is headed below deck!" Iris exclaimed.

"An intruder?!" Ruby gasped.

"An Inquisitor?" Alex asked.

"Not exactly, he looks a little young for an Inquisitor, and he lacks significant training."

"I'll deal with this." Alex stood up, reaching for a red-hot poker.

"Here. You might need this." Vinyl said, handing him .44 Scratch.

"Thanks, get to your cabins and stay down, I'll deal with him!" Alex ordered again.

----

"Sirius! I'm in trouble!" Russell gasped, bashing in some guy's head with the shield he stole from the girl.

'You weren't discovered, were you?!' Sirius groaned.

"Just got rid of Nikos and I'm moving towards the deck-" He could barely finish before he had something extremely hot slam him in the chest and have him landing on his back.

Struggling to get up, Russell saw the boy who had done it, the familiar scar...the piercing ice-blue eyes...

Oh, no.

"Next time, ask permission before you come aboard my ship." Admiral Walker scowled.

Russell didn't give it a second thought, he kicked the pike out of the Admiral's left hand and hit him with the shield. Given he had put most of his strength into this one blow, he did well with it.

The Admiral simply flowed in line with the roll, conserving a good portion of his own energy before skidding to a halt on his knees, some of the fabric on his knees ripped away under the Tarmac.

"So that's how it's gotta be. Fine." The admiral chuckled, standing up, hardening his gaze, and charging at Russell like a bull.

Russell had mere seconds to dodge his attack, ducking just milliseconds away from getting hit in the face. The Admiral recovered from his own forceful attack and back-kicked Russell in the back of the knee, giving him even less time to avoid certain death by a dimly-glowing pike.

Said pike flung out of his grasp and stuck in the wall, giving Russell some time before the Admiral attacked again, he threw the shield at Walker's back. Giving himself enough time to fire both pistols into his legs.

Walker was fast. Much faster than he initially anticipated. He leaped out of the path of the first barrage and ran straight up the wall, the second bullet train slamming into the tower behind him. Walker leapt backwards once he was sure Russell had ran out, and using some inhuman ability, sped his attack and slammed an electrically charged fist directly onto Russell's visage.

Recoiling in pain, Russell ripped off the gas mask and pulled out some loose shards on his visor. His mask was severely damaged, leaving the ski mask and parts of Russell's pale complexion exposed.

"Surrender?" Walker asked, banging his charged fists together, creating a loud and radiant spark.

"You wish, Huntsman." Russell coughed. He heard of Remnant's guardians from Sirius; dangerous and heavily armed warriors hailing from different combat schools across the planet, and among the best trained in the multiverse, behind 'Force-sensitives' but still above 'Marvel superhero'. Russell had been taught how to distinguish Semblances from other, similar abilities, by Sirius.

"Blood Royal!" Someone had yelled from above the two.

A young woman, roughly Walker's age, dressed, for the most part, in black. Save one defining feature, the billowing red cloak. With her she carried a large scythe and what appeared to be a ninjatō, obviously for Walker. He knew all about her.

Throwing the blade for Walker, she fired the scythe away from her and was barreling towards Russell.

Russell didn't have a lot of time to dodge, just nearly evading a blow from the back of the scythe. The end collided with him and sent him reeling towards Walker, who slashed at him with the blade, which had been glowing a dark purple and electrically charged.

Impossible! No huntsman could be able to use their semblances to enhance their weaponry! Unless...

"So the stories are true... You activated your own Aura." Russell coughed.

"Enough about me. Who are you and what are you doing aboard my ship?" Walker stalked over and grasped him by the neck, holding him a good three inches above the ground.

"I was sent... Backup... Sirius Da Long!" Russell coughed.

"Sirius..." Ruby contemplated...

"Something wrong?" Walker turned to the huntress, punching Russell in the face and into the wall before walking over to Ruby.

"Sirius Da Long was a longtime friend of my father's... Why would he send someone here..?" Ruby contemplated.

"I might have a small idea!" Someone had said from across deck.

A blonde girl, about the same height as Admiral Walker, casually strolled on deck, despite the trickle of blood running down the girl's forehead.

"Yang?" Walker asked.

"Are you okay?!" The Red-cloaked huntress ran to her sister.

"Yeah, no worries." She shrugged.

"What the hell happened to you?" Alex asked, bewilderment blatantly clear in his eyes.

"Something came up and I got into a fight, but I took care of it." She smiled broadly, wiping the blood off her face.

"Cinder? Taurus?" Walker asked.

"The bartender." Yang cleared her throat before replying.

"Anyways, how do you know Sirius?" Ruby asked.

"I'd rather not get into that." Russell answered.

"Anyways, do I need to get you to the medic?" Walker asked.

"Later." She simply replied. Yang walked away, grasping the Admiral by the back of the shirt collar.

"I'll deal with you later!" Walker yelled.

"I got it!" Ruby assured.

'Russell, come in Russell!' Sirius called out.

"I'm fine, Sirius. I met up with the kids." Russell responded.

"Mr. Da Long!" Ruby grasped the microphone.

'So I hear. I guess there's no point hiding our support.' Sirius shrugged.

"So, Mr. Da Long, how are you?" Ruby asked him.

'Never better, kid. I just wanted to say we'll be keeping an eye on you. Make sure you're all safe.' Sirius laughed heartily.

"Sir. If I may?" Russell interrupted. Sure, the family-friend-whatever reunion was heartwarming at best, there was work to be done.

'Ahem. Yes. As Mr. Leone wanted me to tell you, I'll be coming along on your little voyage for official Inheritor support. We can't have another Great Purge, I'll tell you what.' Sirius informed.

"You're another Inheritor?!" Ruby gasped in awe.

'Of course, child! Again, I will see you soon!'

"Bye, Mr. Da Long!" Ruby waved.

"You realize that Sirius can't see us, right?" Russell asked her.

"Quite the contrary!" A voice said behind them.

The owner of the voice was a tall man with cyan hair that faded gray at the edges, dressed in white and blue attire that was often used for combat, but could also pass as formal wear.

"S-Sirius! I didn't realize..!" Russell waved both hands in defense, as Ruby ran to hug the aging Inheritor.

"No need to be alarmed, boy! You did good in your fight against the Admiral, up until he had you by the neck!" He laughed again.

"Heh, yeah." Russell rubbed the back of his neck in raw embarrassment.

"I also see Raven did a good job training Mr. Walker! No offense, Russ." Sirius assured.

"None taken..." Russell sighed.

"And you! I was happy to hear that someone got accepted into Beacon two years early!" Sirius turned to the huntress, who still had him in a death lock.

Russell walked away from the horribly awkward scene for the moment. From an outsider looking in point of view, it was odd to see two people so close together.

What was he thinking?! Was he just that spiteful?! Only people who didn't have that comfort would feel disturbed by the sight! Maybe a person who lost their family and friends, superficial or real, something like that.

...Something like that...

...Something like that... Happened to him.

----

"Alright! Good form, good tactical planning, but you're still forgetting when you lose the upper hand!" Yang yelled, before firing both gauntlets in different directions, likely dislocating his arm.

"DEUUEAUGH! THAT HURTS LIKE ALL HELL!" Alex grit his teeth in agony before sending his elbow towards his, still wounded, mentor.

Yang skidded backwards, fired both gauntlets at the ground, and while she was still in the air, fired Ember Celica so fast that even Alex had a difficult time blocking the attack, even without the dislocated arm.

Alex himself was now lying on the ground, writhing in pain as the Huntress walked up to him casually, as if she didn't just engage in a fight to the death twice today.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Sure...just do me a solid and relocate my arm?" Alex staggered up, his right arm still hanging limply at his side.

"Gotcha!" She smiled as she shoved the arm back in it's rightful place, a prominently loud 'crack' resulting from the action.

Alex gnashed his teeth, trying to keep a straight face.

"Are you sure you're fine?" Yang asked again.

"Yeah...totally... Can I use the soundproof room for a second?" Alex asked, his voice tight with pain.

"Sure!" She agreed.

Alex went into the room, deeply inhaled, and screamed as loudly as possible. Yang was pretty sure she saw his shadow rolling around on the floor like Zwei in the backyard.

'AAAGH! MY F**KING ARM!!! WHY IS IT BACKWARDS?!' she heard him yell.

After a few minutes of screaming, she saw Rainbow and Skirmish walk into the training room.

"Can you tell Alex to keep it down?! Some of us are trying to sleep here!" Rainbow groaned indignantly.

"What in the name of Tartarus happened in here? There's blood coming from your face!" Skirmish asked.

"Unrelated charge. No worries." Yang smiled, it was still bleeding?

"Anyways, what the hell happened here?" Rainbow asked again, covering her ears as Alex continued screaming as though he were in hell already.

"Dislocated arm." Yang shrugged again.

Rainbow and Skirmish took a collective cringe.

"Ouch, if it's anything like a wing, that really hurts!" Rainbow Dash tensed, keeping her wings at her sides.

"The skeletal structure is really quite similar. You didn't put it back in wrong, did you?" Skirmish asked.

"I'm sure it's on right," Yang assured both Pegasi before twisting her own are the way she saw Alex's arm go into.

"Oh, no..." Yang' smile quickly faded.

She was going to need a doctor...

Author's Notes:

Just another Wednesday

...And yes, I stayed up watching then new 'Death Battle' yesterday, can you please get off my back?!

...And yes, the 'DEUUEAUGH' was a Spongebob reference.

it's my fan fiction story, I do what I want.

Until whenever I have the motivation to post a chapter!

'Leedle Leedle Leedle Lee!'
-Patrick Star; from the Spongebob episode 'Shanghaied'.

Act III, Chapter 3: Next Stop... Remnant!

"Alright, boys. We've been on this ship for three whole months, and I'd like to say-"

Wildcat could barely finish his sentence before he was interrupted.

"Three months? It's been, like, two days." Twilight pointed out.

Twilight had decided to call for a meeting in the brief room, where most of the mission planning usually took place. She had let Wildcat begin the briefing after he had been begging for the past 5 minutes.

"It's felt longer, okay?!" He replied, exasperated.

"Not really, Tyler." Russell, one of two new additions to the team, scoffed.

"Yeah, no." Yang agreed.

"I can see where you're coming from, Wildcat, but I have to disagree." Winter said.

Wildcat sat down, staring furiously at the crowd.

"As I was about to say before I was so rudely interrupted, I'm sure that Alex and the 'purple horse' and the 'Super Saiyan God Grim Reaper' have something planned out. Cortana?" Wildcat gestured to the center of the table.

"It's Iris." She replied before arranging various maps, before layering a map of Equestria over a map of Remnant, adding a small ring around where Vytal was located before extending that ring onto the Equestrian map, forming a tunnel between the two worlds.

"The way that our teleporters were designed was that wherever we are, we land relative to that location, in this case, however..." Iris explained before being interrupted.

"There's no way we can get there because if we were to land at the island, we would have to be in Vanhoover, on the other side of the ocean, and furthermore, inland." Vanoss noticed, gesturing to where the Iliad was on the map, still outside of the Equestrian East Coast, and then to the tunnel.

"Not exactly. We could potentially arrive to Vytal, but we would have to sail around the continent, and be at the exact right spot in order to make the jump, but good observation." Iris congratulated.

"How long is it going to take to get from here to the jump point?" Ruby asked.

"Let's see... Keeping in mind we can sail, at best, 60 miles an hour, and around the continent... Carry the seven..." Alex tried figuring out the details in his head.

"Done!" Weiss announced, having written the estimated time of arrival on a piece of loose leaf paper, having done her work on another piece of paper.

"Two weeks?!" Kat gaped.

"Yep, two whole weeks! One to get to the southern end of the continent, five days to get to Vanhoover, and two to park!" Weiss smirked.

"Keep in mind, Weiss. Two weeks. Stuck on a boat. With us." Mako reminded her.

Weiss started to break down in tears.

"I hate this game of emotions we play!" She whined, slumping down in her chair.

"One of us! One of us!" Some of Vanoss's crew started to chant.

"Woooow, that's a bit mean!" Haunting chuckled.

"At least you insisted on the penthouse." Kat tried to cheer her up.

"You even paid me 3,500 Lien just to take it!" Alex added.

"Sleepover!" Ruby cheered, grabbing some blankets from practically nowhere.

"I knew she had a magic satchel!" Delirious shouted.

"What's that mean?" Sirius asked.

"It's when a character can grab anything from nowhere!" Pinkie explained cheerfully.

"Stop breaking the fabric of reality!" Alex's right eye twitched.

"Let me see... Aha!" Yang grabbed a glass filled with some type of beverage, with the slight addition of an umbrella.

"Really? You're doing this crap again! You all know this is filler, right?" Mako sighed, face palming.

Everyone instantly stopped what they were doing and stared at Mako.

"...Yes..." Vanoss stated before the room erupted in chaos again.

A familiar dragonequus suddenly teleported into the room.

"Ah, what a beautiful sight! It brings tears in my eyes." He smiled happily.

"Nah, that's just the bowl of onions." Nora said.

Russell scooted over to Alex, simply sighing and slowly drinking from a bottle of sparkling grape juice.

"How often does this sort of thing happen?" Russell asked.

"Every single time we have a meeting." Alex replied glumly.

"Man, sucks to be you." Russell smirked.

"Shut up, Russ. And get me something besides this sparkling grape juice. None of that diet crap." Alex ordered.

"What's in it for me?" Russell asked.

"Ten bucks. Twenty if you make it quick."

Russell charged out of the room in speeds that rivaled even Rainbow Dash, who had apparently gone Super Saiyan.

"KAAMEEHAAMEE-HAAAAAA!" Rainbow screamed, a beam of iridescent plasma erupted from her front hooves, leaving a massive hole in the roof.

"Nice!" Evan cheered, voicing his approval.

"Clean up on aisle... Everywhere." Alex told Iris.

"Sure." She replied.

Alex sat in wait for his soda. He knew, at this rate, it would be at least another hour before they finally got their act together, and 36 to board up the roof. It would take the full two week trip to completely repair it, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in Equestrian and Remnant taxes.

"Little miscalculation there..." Rainbow backed up before flying out of the room.

----

"V? Where's the undersuit? The mechanical parts?" Alex asked from across the storage room.

"The exoskeleton should be in the back left corner, the plating's in the cardboard boxes to the right." Vinyl explained whilst setting up the tools Alex would need to put the suit together, including a ratchet, a good amount of bolts, and work in progress weapon that Alex himself named 'Blitzklinge', translating to 'lightning blade'.

"Thanks, I'll work on the suit, you set up some targets." Alex ordered as he dragged the exosuit to the workbench, going back to grab the finished armor plating.

Heaving the boxes towards the work bench, he ripped open the tape with his finger, opening it and admiring the hard work.

The metal, unlike the bronze-gold coloring of his other armors, this armor was dark grey, almost black in color, that is, save the paint job, adorned with slightly brighter purple lightning bolts scattered throughout the armor, and that one decoration around the visor. An electric blue line, right where Alex's own scar was.

Carefully inserting the pieces into their proper places, he continued to tighten the bolts, still feeling a twinge of pain in his right arm from yesterday. He respected Yang and all, but dislocating his arm and putting it back in wrong was uncalled for. Thank god he had his enhanced aura, or he'd be out of commission until they got to Vytal.

That gave him an idea.

"Vinyl, can I borrow one of the targets?" Alex asked.

"Knock yourself out, it's 5 feet up to your left." Vinyl replied, placing more steel targets.

He knew how to make lightning balls and fire electricity from his fingertips, but was there more he could do?

Squeezing his pointer and middle fingers together, he steadily let a thin but powerful ball of lightning form in between the two, after giving them some space.

He could thank Delirious for this move. And Dragonball Z.

"SPECIAL BEAM CANNON!" Alex roared, swinging his right arm in the direction of the target.

Like a rail gun, the lightning zipped through the air incredibly fast, before hitting it's target, a loud crack emanating from where he hit.

"Woah! Bullseye!" Vinyl cheered, removing the metal plate, the lightning hit directly in the middle, leaving a black scorch mark in the plate.

"Sweet. I'm gonna have to wait until I have another training session. And I should start watching more anime... And Spider-Man." Alex noted.

"It's not enough that you have twice the potential of the other huntsmen, but you have to rub it in by repeating moves you see on TV?" Vinyl joked.

"Hey, I'm one of those types of people whose jokes need footnotes. Deal with it." He smirked as he returned to his work.

"And all I need is to show you another one of my albums." Vinyl retorted.

"Touché." Alex replied as he screwed in another bolt, this one placed the purple-hued visor onto the helmet.

"So. Be honest. You've seen some crazy shit these past few months, right?" Vinyl asked.

"F**king A right." Alex scoffed, as if Vinyl couldn't pick a more obvious question.

"I gotta ask, I know Rainbow told me she saw you hallucinating on the mountain before the party, and Yang told me that you weren't able to sleep when you were first at Beacon, but..." Vinyl hesitated.

"You're wondering how I can possibly keep a straight face throughout the bullshit, aren't you?" Alex stated.

"Well, yeah." Vinyl shrugged.

Alex sighed heavily.

"I don't think about it. It's as simple as that. On mission, I don't collapse on the ground sobbing because my mind is all 'you might die, keep your head in the battle'. I don't get all... morose until I get some alone time... And I think..." Alex explained in terms Vinyl was likely to understand.

"So... You still ha-"

"-Have nightmares and hallucinations? Yes. And there are times when I wonder if what I'm seeing is real, or if it's just another memory. Cursed to replay over and over again in my mind like some sick video. Hell, I'm not even sure if I'm even alive, and this is just some...post death dream." He sighed.

"Ouch. I can't say I know how you feel, but..." Vinyl said in a more sorrowful tone.

"Don't trouble yourself thinking about it. It's not your fault I'm a nut." Alex assured.

"No, no, that's not what I was saying." Vinyl waved both hooves in defense.

"Look, I know I can be a little off sometimes. That's just the way it is. If anyone has all this crap happening around them, who wouldn't?" Alex thought.

"So, all in all?" Vinyl wondered.

"... Ever read 'The Killing Joke'?" Alex asked.

"Is that another one of Evan's movies?" Vinyl inquired.

"It's a comic book." He replied evenly.

"Oh, right." Vinyl laughed a bit.

"In it, the main villain, Joker, goes into this... Monologue... About how all it takes is one bad day to drive people mad... Not that I'm agreeing with a villain or anything, but..." Alex elaborated.

"Sounds a bit dark for Equestria.." Vinyl figured.

"Yeah, well, if all it takes is one bad day to drive the sanest man alive into madness... Think about it... I've had more than one." Alex groaned, as if he felt like the conversation should end.

"I see your point... Sorry for asking." Vinyl smiled sheepishly and comfortingly.

"Don't be. Talking about it actually helps." Alex assured as he put the finishing touches on the armor.

"The...armor done yet?" Vinyl asked, still feeling awkward about having Alex open up to her like this.

"Should be." Alex replied.

"Well, try it on!" Vinyl encouraged.

Watching the armor attach itself onto Alex was amazing. Clicking onto him as the gears and springs wired and attached together, by the end of the 15 second suit-up time, Alex looked more like Iron Mare than anything else.

"You've outdone yourself, V!" Alex laughed, examining the armor thoroughly.

"I have to, I'm an electronic music artist, it's in the job description!" Vinyl replied.

"I'm serious! This fits on like a glove!" Alex cheered again.

"Don't trouble yourself, I know I'm great!" Vinyl smirked.

"Here, I'll test out the cannons on this thing, good work setting up those targets." Alex nodded, walking over to the center of the makeshift range.

"Don't blow yourself up!" Vinyl joked.

Alex hardened, examining each target. Each at one, three, seven, ten, and twelve, all ready for the lightning!

"FUS RO DAH!" Alex yelled as he fired the first bolt, violet zipping across his field of vision and onto the target, watching as the target itself shattered and melted.

"GALICK GUN!" The second bounced off three and landed on seven, melting them both.

"KAPOOYAH!" Alex shouted, destroying the tenth in seconds.

12 waved slightly in the rocking ship, Alex slammed both gauntlets together, generating a spark.

"I'M A FIRIN' MAH LASER!!" He fired both repulsors at once, sending two violet beams towards the target, which melted and sparked, leaving a metallic puddle on the ground after about 10 seconds.

"Ponyfeathers, I'm a genius!" Vinyl gaped.

"WOOOO! That was the greatest thing I've ever seen in my entire life! And I watched Star Wars VII!" Alex cheered, disassembling his armor.

"Not bad, Alex." Someone said from behind them.

A familiar blonde huntress had walked into the room, admiring the work he did on those steel plates.

"Hey, Yang!" Vinyl greeted.

"How much did you see?" Alex asked.

"All of it. All the time. I have my ways." She smiled.

"So, Alex just tested the suit.. And.." Vinyl hyperventilated with excitement.

"I know! Hey, do you think you can give Ember Celica an upgrade?" Yang playfully elbowed Vinyl on the shoulder.

"Why? Did Twi really implement Ray Gun tech into Crescent Rose?" Alex asked.

"Yep! She just tested it with her and I was wondering what you guys were up to!" Yang replied.

"Holy hell. We are ready!" Vinyl gaped.

"Yeah. The ship's A-Team is OP as shit!" Alex chuckled a bit.

"Yep, and I also know about your little 'Special Beam Cannon'." Yang teased.

"Aw."

"It's fine! Russell wanted to ask you if you wanted to come with us on a training session with Sirius." Yang said.

"Just them and us?" Alex asked.

"I got Ruby too!" She replied.

"Sweet. I'm in," Alex smirked.

"Cool! Glad you want to hang. See you around!" She waved.

"Right. Bye, Yang!" Alex smiled.

As she walked out the door, Vinyl turned to him.

"Are you 100% sure your relationship with her is platonic?" Vinyl asked, smirking.

"f**k off." Alex groaned.

Author's Notes:

RWBY Volume Three starts today, so I figured I may as well post a chapter before watching, enjoy!

-The Destoyer

Act III, Chapter 4: Halloween Special!

Alex casually ate his slice of pumpkin pie along with Vanoss's Crew, the Elements, Kat, Mako, and Team RWBY.

It was about 8 more days until the invasion, and the official plan wouldn't be discussed with the crew until tomorrow.

"So, we were playing this one map in custom zombies, it was a Christmas map, even though it was before Halloween by then.." Explained Vanoss.

"Wait, what's Halloween?" Rainbow asked.

"You don't know what Halloween is?" Basically groaned.

"Can it guys, they don't have Halloween, they have Nightmare Night, which is sort of the same concept!" Alex explained. Though he had been in Equestrian about 3 weeks or so, even he knew about this pony holiday.

"Wait a second, did we miss Halloween?" Yang gasped.

"Oh shit, we did." Delirious groaned.

"Well, it's easy to see why. I've been running around all day and night trying to keep this ship running smoothly. I haven't had time to even think about Trick-or-Treating, and besides, I stopped when I was like twelve anyways." Alex explained.

"You stopped trick-or-treating?!" Nogla couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Personally, I've been trick-or-treating into high school." Vanoss smirked.

"I imagine Evan always went as an Owl every year." Ruby giggled.

"Not always an owl! I went as Batman one year!" Vanoss yelled.

"I remember going to training one morning before Halloween and I saw Winchester dressed as Vegeta from Dragonball Z." Mako remembered.

"A friend of mine went as Natsu for Halloween one time." Alex recalled.

"He's lucky he has no idea that these Alternate universes exist. He'd probably freak out." Kat chuckled at the thought.

"So, any possible thing out there is in a universe?" Nogla asked.

"By that logic, yes." Twilight explained.

"So there's a universe where I'm Batman?" Vanoss asked.

"There's a universe where even Weiss is Batman." Yang answered.

"Hey!" Weiss turned to Yang, looking a little miffed.

"I actually think that could work." Wildcat laughed.

"Yeah, I can see that. She's incredibly rich.." Ruby noted.

"She's apparently really smart." Kat shrugged.

"One problem; she wears white." Vanoss shook his head.

"Albino Bat-Woman, maybe?" Moo laughed.

"I'd say Blake could probably be bat-woman." Mako said.

"No, I think Blake looks more like Catwoman." Terroriser nodded.

Blake scowled.

"Okay, then. Anyone care to explain that?" Terroriser asked.

"Blake's a F-" Ruby started to say before Yang clamped her mouth shut.

"A fun loving person who we all respect and admire as a person!" Yang forced a grin.

Blake face-palmed.

"Wait, we were talking about Halloween before, right?" Vanoss asked.

"Oh, yeah." Mako nodded.

"So, what can we do to celebrate?" Delirious asked.

"We could trick-or-treat, if someone didn't eat all of the candy on deck!" Alex indignantly responded.

"Meep.." Ruby planted her face to the table and groaned.

"We could probably set something up on the flight deck." Weiss noted.

"Too many jets. Can't risk losing one before the invasion." Kat replied.

"How about we set up like, a party in the ball room. We have that, right?" Droidd added.

"I think we might. Iris?" Alex asked.

"Actually, we have 4. Each of them are about three quarters the size of a football field." Iris confirmed.

"Great. We might be able to have a bunch of parties at once. The crew could take three of them, and we could have one for VIPs." Alex smiled.

"Should we start inviting people?" Ruby asked.

"Screw it, the more the merrier, let's invite as many people as we can!" Vanoss rallied the rest.

----

The party had started about 5 minutes ago, and the entirety of Team Unity, including some of the other huntsmen on the ship, as well as Kat's and Mako's squadrons. He also saw Russell and Sirius nearby, as well as Corporal Quill; one of the crewmen that Vanoss regularly hung out with.

The party wasn't exactly in full swing, but Vinyl, given her reputation as a DJ, had been asked politely to play some Halloween themed music at this room, while other crewmen who had music experience were hoof-picked by the unicorn to play at the other ballrooms.

Now, Alex wasn't one to party all that much. Even before the ill-fated events of late, he would usually stand towards the walls in a dance. For example, when he went to a Homecoming dance, he sat at a table the entire time, only moving to get some snacks and punch, and maybe talk to his peers.

Yang, however, was the exact opposite.

"Woo-hoo! This party's amazing!" Alex heard his mentor yell from across the ballroom before collapsing on the floor, and...well...

"Oh, my god." Alex groaned, face-palming.

"Clean up on aisle four!" Yang yelled again.

Not even ten minutes in, and Yang's reached her limit.

"Dance party!" Vanoss yelled.

Now, Vinyl made the mistake of letting people put in suggestions for what to put on. Vanoss had been the first to write down a suggestion. So now Vinyl was playing 'Time Warp' from 'Rocky Horror Picture Show'.

"Admiral?" Ember asked him.

"Yes?" Alex asked, turning to his Sergeant.

"How often does something like this happen?" She asked him.

"I've never seen them at an actual party before today. So, I'm dealing with a bunch of loose cannons here." Alex shrugged.

"Well, good luck. I have to get Yang to the washroom for a moment." Ember nervously smiled.

"Sure, you need any help?" Alex asked.

"I think I can handle it, this sort of thing happened to my a friend of mine in Ponyville all the time." Ember waved a hoof.

Alex watched Ember help Ruby drag Yang to the restroom, and then he went to get some punch or something of that nature. He was kind of thirsty.

The tables had been arranged full of cake and cookies and that sort of thing, along with small coolers where he could get some soda, and finally, there was one large punch bowl, filled about halfway with fruit punch.

Scooping a ladle full of the pink liquid, Alex noticed something was a little off about it.

He poured some into a little plastic cup, and held it to his nose, wafting it's scent into his nostrils.

"Yep, the punch is spiked." Alex groaned, pouring the punch back into the bowl.

He sat down, settling for a can of Orange Soda and taking long, slow gulps of the carbonated beverage.

"Walker, right?" He heard someone ask behind him.

Alex was face to face with the leader of Team CFVY, he had heard from Ruby that her name was 'Coco', or something.

"Yeah, you're the leader of Team CFVY, right?" He asked her.

She merely nodded in reply.

"Nice to finally meet you." Alex raised a hand.

"The pleasure's all mine, Admiral." She smiled slightly, returning the gesture.

"So, let me guess, you didn't come over here just to say 'hi'." Alex noted.

"I have to ask, how many times have you won a fight against these 'inquisitor' guys?" Coco asked him.

Counting the number of times he won a fight against his enemies was not all that easy, but after a few moments, he had his answer.

"I won about three fight out of the half-dozen or so times I had the misfortune of meeting them." Alex nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind, Admiral." Coco smirked.

"Why, you're going to gun down an Inquisitor, aren't you?" Alex asked.

"You think I'm scared of some overrated storm-troopers with cutesy little knives?" Coco scoffed.

"Keep in mind, these are the same people who blew up a train car full of dust and hacked into the Cross-Continental Transmit Tower." Alex warned.

"You scared?" She laughed.

"You never understand fear until you're leading people who can kill you in four seconds to battle against people who can kill you in two." Alex replied.

"I doubt anyone here really wants you dead. I wouldn't worry so much." Coco shrugged, turning to leave.

"Alrighty then, just start leaving mid-sentence." Alex scoffed.

"So..?" Ruby instantaneously sped over to Alex's right side instantly after the words left his mouth.

"Hi, Ruby." Alex nodded politely.

"How's the party going for you?" She asked him.

"I've never been the partying type, and keeping in mind you and Ember literally had to drag Yang to the bathroom, I'd say things are going well." Alex smirked.

"Has this sort of thing happened before?" Ruby wondered.

"Ms. Rose, in my one year of High School, I've seen and heard my classmates do really weird shit at parties." Alex remembered.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, you seem a little to... What's the word? You seem a little to innocent to hear about that sort of thing." Alex replied.

"Come on, I'm sure it's not that bad." Ruby assured.

"No, I don't want to scar you for life." Alex waved.

"Okay, okay!" She laughed a bit.

"About Yang, did you at least hold her hair for her?" Alex asked.

"Don't worry about Yang, this happens almost every time she goes to a party." Ruby smiled.

"By the way, someone spiked the punch, so I wouldn't drink that if I were you." Alex reminded.

"I know, Evan told me." Ruby assured him.

"Nice to hear." Alex said.

"Hey, Alex!" Rainbow flew over to Alex's left.

"Hi, Rainbow. How's everything with you?" Alex asked.

"Fluttershy drank some of the punch, Skirmish and I had to fly her back to her bunk." Rainbow replied.

"Ouch. I imagine they won't exactly be all there for the briefing tomorrow." Alex cringed.

"I have a question, Alex." Rainbow asked.

"Shoot."

"Were you ever accepted into Beacon?" Rainbow wondered.

"The Headmaster just let me use some of the equipment and the training rooms, but I doubt I was ever accepted. Besides, I was only there for about a week and a half," Alex replied.

"You weren't accepted?" Ruby asked.

"Guess not. I didn't even get my Aura activated until after I got in." Alex replied.

"I'm still scratching my head over that, why were you able to do that?" Rainbow wondered.

"Most of us get our Auras activated by the teachers at some of the combat schools like Signal, it just seems impractical. It's possible for anyone to do it, but it takes more work than it does just asking someone to unlock it for you." Ruby replied.

"Who unlocked your aura?" Alex asked.

"Yang."

"Neat." Rainbow blinked.

"How does that work? I was given the impression that only a few people can pull it off!" Alex groaned.

"You have to memorize the incantation, if you're just at home and have it written down, like Yang did, it's way easier." Ruby smiled.

"Well, twice the Aura for doing it alone, I'd probably take my chances." Alex murmured.

"You're actually pretty special. Like Ozpin said, only one other person bothered to even try it, but the legend says it took him months. It's similar to Lucid dreaming in that sense, it's possible, but depending on the person, it's either a piece of cake or it takes people months or years to get it right." Ruby explained.

"So, Alex's Double Aura is like my Sonic Rainboom." Rainbow noticed.

"Sonic what-now?" Ruby asked.

"Wha- you mean that none of you have seen me do a Sonic Rainboom yet?" Rainbow gaped.

"No, I guess not." Alex shook his head.

"I'll have to show you guys sometime!" Rainbow flapped both wings.

Just then, Alex heard the next song start playing; Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'.

"Oh, my god." Alex groaned.

"What is this?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah, it doesn't seem like Nightmare Night music." Rainbow shrugged.

"It's a song from my world. The radio stations literally over-play this song when Halloween rolls around." Alex sighed.

"Homesick?" Ruby asked.

"Considering I got tortured and almost killed on Earth, I wouldn't call it 'homesick'." Alex elaborated.

"You're still hung up about that?!" Rainbow groaned.

"Rainbow!" Ruby scolded.

"Too far, I know.." Rainbow shied back.

"Wait, do you still have that scar?" Ruby asked.

"Right here." Alex said, tracing the trail of the scar down his right eye.

"Ow.." She cringed.

"Wait, isn't there supposed to be a part of the story where everything goes wrong?" Vanoss wondered.

"Like what?" Delirious asked.

"I don't know, Zombies attacking the boat, the ghost of the Flying Dutchman showing up, spooky scary skeletons playing in the background?" Vanoss shrugged.

A horrid sound, like some inhuman scream, emitted from the other side of the door.

"What the..?" Ruby wondered.

"Vanoss, what did you do?!" Alex backed away.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! WHO DARES DISTURB THE FLYIN' DUTCHMAN?!!" A ghostly voice bellowed.

"Great. This guy." Discord sighed.

"You all suck." Haunt spat.

"Well, Gang, this next song is a request from Evan Fong, the Spooky Scary Skeletons remix by Wooden Toaster!" Vinyl announced, the trademark song starting to play in the background.

"Ruby, you still have that Ray Gun?" Alex asked.

"Yep!" She smiled, pulling out the device.

"You can keep the sniper, can I borrow that?" Alex asked her.

"Sure, thing." She handed him the iconic Zombie-killing tool.

"Alrighty, gang! I got the box again!" Terrorizer yelled as dozens of men charged to the back corner of the room.

"You four might need these." Alex said, handing Team RWBY four bottles of red liquid with the words 'Juggernog' on the front

"More booze?! This is getting better and better!" Yang smiled, cocking both of her Gauntlets.

"Someone politely let our guests in." Alex ordered.

"On it!" Vanoss and Wildcat fired their RPGs at the door along with Nora and Yang, blowing the door open and letting in swarms of zombies. Their eyes were glowing bright green to match their announcer; the Flying Dutchman.

"I'VE COME FOR YOUR SOULS!" The Dutchman screamed.

"Even now, you're talking about those pathetic sea creatures!" Discord grit his teeth, unleashing a barrage of magic attacks.

As he looked around, defending himself against the hordes of zombies by stabbing them with a broken bottle or shooting them with the Ray Gun, Alex kept one thought in the back of his mind.

'I have the most ridiculous life ever. Like, ever.'

Author's Notes:

Hey, Destoyer here! Sorry for not posting anything new the past week or so, been waiting 'till Halloween to post this.
Yep. Figured this would be my treat to you readers. Flying Dutchman Zombies vs. RWBY, Vanossgaming, and My Little Pony.

-The Destoyer

Act III, Chapter 5: Shock And Awe

*Warning!* *Warning!* *Dimensional Jump imminent!*

The intercom alerted the rest of the crew as the sirens continued to drone on and on, and the alarms continued to ring. Alex went to explain everything to his teammates and ensure they'd be ready once they're all in Remnant.

"Okay, team! Here's the plan! Dimensional Jump is in three minutes, the jump should take about 30 seconds. After that, we'll need to get our asses to the jets and the landing crafts and get moving! The target in question is located near the center, so it's a six hour drive to our target destination. The ship will stay off the coast and fire when ready. Sound good? Great! Now strap in, we gotta move!" Alex explained, moving to one of the designated drop seats, large, gyroscopes with chairs in the middle with more straps than it should. He went in and strapped in tight, Twilight and Vanoss were on his left and right, with Ruby directly across him.

*Warning!* *Dimensional Jump in T-Minus 60 seconds!*

"Aww, yeah!" Vanoss nodded.

"This is the ship's first time doing a Dimensional Jump?" Twilight inquired.

"The second, actually." Alex replied.

"We got dis! BRING ON THE EPICNESS!!" Delirious screamed from Vanoss's right.

"This is going to be AWESOME!" Nora beamed.

"Hell yeah!" Wildcat joined.

"Are you sure everything's going to be fine..?" Jaune nervously asked.

"We'll be fine, Chief, that is, unless you get motion-sick easily." Frost assured.

Jaune moaned.

"I'm so excited! And terrified, but mostly excited!" Pinkie bounced in her seat.

Fluttershy whimpered, crying and not looking up.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. It'll be like flying!" Rainbow tried to calm her down.

"You good, Blast?" Ember asked.

"Yeah. Haunt?!" Blast craned his head towards Haunt and Skirmish's direction.

"Ready for action, baby!" He yelled back.

"I'm all set, I hope everyone else is." Skirmish calmly stated.

"Hey, Alex." Kat asked Alex.

"Yeah?" Alex answered.

"Did you ever imagine, in your wildest dreams, you'd be here?" She smiled.

"F**k no! If you ask me, I thought I was done for at '51!" Alex replied.

"What exactly does this machine do, again?" Cloudchaser asked.

"We'll be playing real life Titanfall once we land!" Terroriser rallied the rest of his group.

"More like Bioshock!" Mini argued.

*T-Minus in 5.*

"We'll be fine! Stop worrying!" Ruby told Fluttershy.

"I swear, the Valians and Atlesians are gonna shit themselves..." Mako muttered.

*4...*

"I'll bet you five Lien they don't!" Yang challenged.

"Deal, blondie." Mako retorted.

*3...*

"Oh, fock...oh fock! OH, FOCK!!" Nogla hyperventilated.

"Daithi, calm down." Weiss sighed, pitying the Irishman.

"I hate this fan fiction, boys.." He moaned.

*2...*

"You good, Belladonna?" Russell asked.

"I'm fine." She calmly stated.

"Well, shit, I'm not!" Russell panicked.

*1...*

"BLAST OFFF!!!" Moo yelled.

"KEEP 'ER GOIN'!!!" Vanoss added

"LUDICROUS SPEED, GO!" Kat joked.

"ADVENTURE!!!" Sirius cheered

"THIS IS GONNA SUCK!!" Blast ducked down.

"DROP THE BASS!" Vinyl yelled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Delirious screamed.

The entire room seemed to suddenly go zero-G, various personal items floating and Alex personally felt his stomach fly into his neck. The windows turned bright red before fading into a light blue color.

"BRACE YOURSELVES!!" Alex ordered.

The drop was immediate, the lights flickered off and they all felt the effect of a 9 million-something pound ship drop into a wormhole.

At this point, the seats adjusted them to face downwards into the floor to ensure their equilibrium as they plummeted from Equestria directly into Remnant.

The ship suddenly crashed into water, displacing various organs in Alex's body. The Unity Team made a collective sigh in relief as they unstrapped themselves from their seats and collapsed on the ground below.

"Heh heh. And fluush." Vanoss laughed weakly.

"Holy shit." Delirious gaped.

"Is that puke?!" Twilight recoiled.

"Sorry.." Jaune sheepishly replied.

"This is why I don't hang with the Doctor!" Russell groaned.

"Uuuh..." Ruby moaned.

"You okay?" Kat asked, helping her up before the two of them fell over.

Rainbow tried flying, but was so dizzy she couldn't stay in air properly and fell on her side.

"Gyroscopic seats don't do shit..." Sirius shook.

"That was AWESOME!" Yang laughed, in stark contrast to everyone else.

"YAYY!" Pinkie high-fived the huntress, leaping high to meet the girl's fist.

"Only those two..." Alex chuckled.

"Come on, Cloudy." Said Flitter, who had been third or fourth to recover, as helped her sister up.

"Everyone good?" Alex asked.

A few nauseated replies entailed that everyone was A-Okay.

"Iris, where are we?" Alex turned to Iris.

"Off the coast of Vytal, Valian aircraft flying in above us and the Atlesian Carrier Righteous Fury is currently 2 knots away.

"How far are we from the landing zone?" Ruby asked.

"Enough that we're ready to engage. The coast is not far off." Iris stated.

"Let's move out!" Alex ordered.

The group charged out, along with the other 5,000 crew members who survived the Zombie attack earlier that week.

"Evan's crew, head to the flight deck, that goes for the Wonderbolts and Scratchbolts. Everyone else is on me, move out!" Sirius ordered.

"Move! Move! Move!" Vanoss urged his crew, the Scratchbolts not far behind.

----

Alex ran onto the Landing Craft along with his squad. That is, save Vanoss, Delirious, and Wildcat, who would be dropping in once they arrived at the target.

Alex had read that while the island itself was all but uninhabited, hardly anyone went there except for huntsmen on missions. Also, roughly 20 years ago, there was a huge mining operation that was stopped by the Grimm, leaving behind a perfect hideout for Taurus and the White Fang.

Teams RWBY and JNPR ran onto the ships on their left and right, respectively, waving as they boarded the craft. The ships dropped into the salty water below and they headed towards Vytal's coast, which was in sight and practically smoking.

Alex now was wearing the Armor Vinyl had created for him, keeping Blitzklinge strapped to his hip while carrying the Valian B-482 Light Machine Gun, which was pretty much the SAW from Halo 5.

"Sir, what are orders once we're on the field?" Blast wondered.

"Iris, what's it look like out there?" Alex asked.

"Task Force Crimson patrols and Syndicate cars have been sighted on field." Iris replied.

"Anyone nearby?"

"The Fury will have reinforcements ready in about 15 minutes. Vale's paratroopers are dropping in as we speak."

"As soon as we get out there, the whole beach is going to end up looking like Bloody Omaha. Find cover as soon as you can and return fire until Atlas gets their priorities out of whack. Watch out for Vale's men, they're already landing. Move out!" Alex ordered.

"Alex, what's the plan with Evan and the others?" Rainbow wondered.

"Vale is going to deal with the AA guns at the beachhead." Iris informed.

"Iris just said Vale's working on it." Alex replied.

"Thank Celestia.." Rainbow sighed in relief.

"Driver! Move as fast as you can! That gun can spot us anytime now!" Haunt pressured.

"Blast! I need you firing the rockets as soon as you get off this thing! Ember, help Blast with he mortar once we've landed! Rainbow and Skirmish, I need you two to keep the convoy in the air, don't let up! Haunt, you're with me!" Alex ordered as they drew closer to the beach.

'You there, Alex?' Ruby asked from her communicator.

"Yeah, giving orders. You got a plan?" Alex asked.

Yep! If you have a chance, run over with us! We'll do what we can!' she ordered.

"Sure thing!" Alex responded.

"Damn! That nearly hit us!" Blast recoiled as a shell struck the water, causing a massive splash that covered Alex's fire team with a disgusting mixture of saltwater and gunpowder.

"10 seconds!" The driver yelled as they approached the beach.

"Haunt, follow me as soon as we get out of this thing, you got me?" Alex asked.

"Yes, sir!" Haunt put on his Royal Guard helmet and pulled out a SCAR.

"Rainbow, Skirmish; I suggest you head out now." Alex ordered.

"On it!" Rainbow assured as both her and Skirmish donned their modified Scratchbolt armor and flew out of the ship.

"Stinger's up!" Blast called.

"GO GO GO!!!" The driver ordered as the door toppled down.

Alex was immediately struck with machine gun fire. He recoiled as he protected most of his men from the onslaught of lead. Once Blast had fired the rocket and blew up the MG nest, The four remaining soldiers diverted, Blast and Ember charging for a rock formation to the right while Wlex and Haunt ran left.

"Return fire!" Alex ordered as he hip-fired the SAW, killing as many Crimson soldiers as he was able before the armor could wear out.

Spotting Team RWBY nearby, Alex and Haunt slid past a destroyed Landing Craft and rolled with the Huntresses.

"Where's JNPR?" Alex asked, concerned.

"Just saw them at that ridge, they're fine!" Blake assured.

"Thank god. Red, what's the plan?" Haunt asked.

"One of the Paratrooper Squads is having trouble, we're helping them out!" Ruby smiled, grasping Crescent Rose and inserting a Green Cross Clip, which apparently utilized the ray gun bolts in tandem with a standard round.

"Do we have a clear shot?" Alex asked.

"Hm, do we?" Weiss slyly replied.

"It isn't the time for this kind of crap! Do we or don't we?!" Alex groaned.

"Okay! No, we don't! Sheesh!" Weiss waved her hands in defense.

"So much for that. Yang! Help me clear a path!" Alex ordered.

"Got your back!" The blonde huntress nodded.

"Haunt and Blake, keep them covered! Weiss and I will handle the artillery nests!" Ruby commanded.

Alex rolled out of their hiding place and held his finger on the trigger, firing streams of ammunition across the field and into the enemy infantry.

"Watch it!" Yang warned, Alex spotted a rocket headed his way and leaped high into the air, avoiding the explosion altogether.

Yang launched shots from Ember Celica and blew the rest of the patrol into ashes as Alex floated down, taking whomever managed to survive.

"You see the Paratroopers?" Alex asked her.

"Nope." She shook her head.

"Iris?" Alex asked.

"Valian 31st Paratrooper Squadron is located at a small crevice about a click north of here." Iris informed.

"They're a click that way!" Alex pointed as he ran, with Yang not far behind.

"Hey, what's it like having her in your head all the time?" She asked.

"Helpful to say the least." Alex simply replied as he punched a Syndicate hit-man in the face.

"How far away is a click again?" Yang asked.

Alex sighed in disappointment.

"Hey! It's an Earth term!" She defended.

"It means 'kilometer'." Alex replied.

"Thank you." She scoffed.

'Checkpoint one is down! Moving onto Checkpoint two!' someone said on the radio.

"Iris is picking up comm chatter, we're almost there!" Alex huffed, simply activating the jump-jets.

"Way ahead of you!" Yang smiled, firing both gauntlets and soaring far past him.

"Are they dealing with enemies?" Alex asked Iris.

"They're currently engaged with Crimson forces just east of their position." Iris replied.

"Fire six rockets at the Crimson Battalion." Alex ordered, soaring above the paratroopers now.

Six rockets flew instantly out of Alex's suit, slamming into the ground nearby and blowing them into ash.

To make sure they were done for, Alex fired beams of electric energy and swiped them through the landscape, reducing it to blackened plant life and burnt human.

"Someone ask for a huntress?" Yang asked as Alex finally landed on the ground.

"Sergeant Indigo reporting, miss!" One of the paratroopers saluted.

"At ease, Sergeant." Alex waved a hand.

"Hello, Admiral." He nodded respectfully.

"Sergeant." Alex replied mirroring his earnesty.

"We were about to meet with The 42nd but we got cut off by White Fang." The sergeant sighed.

"They're here?" Yang asked in disbelief.

"Oh, they're everywhere, now. I saw one of them wearing this mask execute one of the more unfortunate ones in the squads." Indigo reported.

"Taurus." Alex spat.

"Where did you last see him?" Yang asked.

"A half-click east of here. He said something about 'ARES'..." He recalled.

"Thank you, soldier. You're with us now." Yang slapped Indigo on the shoulder.

"Blake, I got a hit on Taurus. He's a half-click west of my position." Alex informed her through the radio. He knew somewhat of their personal history, she'd be interested to hear this.

'Thanks, I'll deal with it once Haunt and I finish off the rest of these patrols.' she answered.

"What's the plan, Admiral?" One of the other soldiers asked.

'Walker...I don't mean to alarm you, but..' Russell began nervously.

"Spit it out."

'Another Trans-Dimensional slip occurred about 5 clicks west of here. Hundreds of unidentified transport inbound, Twi just confirmed.' Russell sighed.

"Shit. We got a huge wave of transport vehicles inbound, they were unable to identify whether they're friends or foes!" Alex warned.

"How does someone not know if someone's with us or against us?!" Yang threw her hands in the air.

'It's... Oh, god...' Russell gasped.

"Soldier! Do you copy?!" Alex yelled into the communicator.

'We got Adenien Ryders. They're engaging the Red Star!' Mako yelled in Russell's communicator.

"'Adenien Ryders?" Alex asked.

"Super Soldier Cyborgs from the Adenien Dimension. They're especially known to antagonize the Inquisitors, they must not have heard..." Iris replied.

'Alexander Gabriel Walker, offspring of Jason Alexander Walker. We know you're here, and we know why.' a semi-mechanical voice called.

"Who are you?" Alex asked sternly.

'That's not important now, what is important is that you meet us at Achilles Ridge just northeast of your current location. There is something we must discuss along with the leaders or your faction.' the Ryder replied.

"Alex, who..?" Yang asked.

"Don't tell me, I have no freaking clue what's going on either." Alex shrugged.

'Alexander, listen to me. All will be explained at Achilles Ridge. Meet us there, if you wish to understand what you have to do.' He urged.

Alex stood, deep in thought.

"Alex..?" Yang asked again.

'There is no time. Decide now.' The Ryder pressed on.

"Are you just going to do what some creep on the radio thinks is right?" Yang scoffed.

"...I'll help you, if you help me." Alex replied.

'State your price, boy.'

"You help my men chase these guys off and track where they're headed, we'll do whatever you want." Alex compromised.

"What?!" Yang gasped.

"Face it, we don't have another option, Yang." Alex reasoned.

'Wise decision, Catalyst. We will see you there.' He cut off connection.

"Are you insane?!" Yang asked.

"No- wait, Yes! Just a little!" He answered.

"You could be walking into a trap!" Yang scolded.

"...Or I could be hitting a gold mine. I'm well aware of what's going on. Think about it, this guy knows who my father is, he knows my full name, Iris says they're against the Inquisitors." Alex defended.

"You're going to trust the A.I? Even though you know that half of it tried to kill us!"

"What do you expect me to do?"

'A-Alex! They're helping us now, their medics are healing the wounded!' Russell stammered.

'Admiral, mission successful, Convoy en-route to suspected Red Star hideaway.' Skirmish announced.

"Tell them to land a half-click east of Achilles Ridge. There's something we need taken care of," Alex ordered.

'Roger that, giving them the order.' Skirmish replied.

"Ruby, Twi, Vanoss, I need you guys to meet us at Achilles Ridge once the attack is over." Alex commanded.

'Atlas just landed, they're sweeping for Red Star stragglers. I hope you know what you're doing, Alex.' Kat announced.

"Come on, we can't exactly stay in one place, now can we?" Alex turned to Yang and the two paratroopers that remained.

"I'd say so." Someone said from above.

"Who the hell?" Alex asked, grabbing his SAW again.

"Where is that coming from?" One of the Paratroopers wondered.

"Iris, I need the perimeter scanned." Alex ordered.

"On it." She replied.

"Reliance on your crutches is not the best way to go about a fight." The voice echoed.

"Scan 86% complete..." Iris anticipated.

'Spotted Adam! I'll deal with him!' Blake announced.

"Scan 100% complete." Iris announced.

A small red light blinked in his HUD, which turned into the silhouette of a man, and mere milliseconds later, said man was punching him across the face.

Alex fall to the ground, only to hear the clash of metal, the bursts of gunfire, and the shuffling of feet.

"Watch out!" Someone yelled.

Someone grasped Alex by the head and slammed it into the ground.

"You know who I am?" He spat.

Alex pushed himself up, slamming a fist into the man's visage.

Without realizing, he had punched Adam Taurus in the face.

He was fighting the Inquisitor. This could be his chance!

He readied into a proper fighting position, fists closed and buzzing with electric power.

Taurus himself looked back at him, the mask he was wearing was horridly cracked on his right side as he scowled back at him.

Looking behind Alex, Omicron's gaze darted as he leapt away from the potential battlefield.

"He got away?!" Yang growled.

"Get back here you coward!!" Alex ran after him.

Blake stopped him in his tracks, one arm blocking his path.

"If anyone's going to fight him, it's me. And besides," She said, "we'll get another chance."

Act III, Chapter 6: Achilles Ridge

The temporary camp that the Ryders came up with in the short time they waited appeared to be just that.

Most of the shacks had wheels attached to them, and heavy machine guns were strapped onto each one, some even with rocket launchers.

Achilles Ridge looked more like the Midwest than anything else, sweeping valleys with the occasional Beowolf that they had to put down. In essence, the place looked like a rusty diesel-punk version of the Kahn Militia base in the California-Nevada border.

"I really f**kin' hope you have a reason for stopping a $50 Billion operation." Mako groaned.

"So do I, Mako." Alex groaned.

"Well, at least it isn't just us." The 20-something year old C.I.A agent waved a hand around.

"True. True."

"So, I have to ask. Why did you think this was a good idea?" Mako turned to face him.

"Let's face it, who's half-cocked idea was it to appoint a traumatized 15-year old kid as the Admiral of a multi-dimensional fleet?" He retorted.

"Touché." She shrugged.

"Touché, indeed."

"Alex, We'll be seeing you and the others now." One of the Ryders told him as he walked past.

The Ryders were cybernetic super-soldiers, usually they had a mechanical arm or leg, but some were wearing layered armor similar in design to the Samurai. Their helmets looked similar to some of the Goliath or Scarab models, at the outermost layer were thick, black capes or scarfs that drifted in the wind on occasion.

The Ryder led him into the largest mobile-base, where Ruby, Vanoss, and Twilight were seated, in front of them another Adenien. He sat down next to Vanoss and Twilight.

"Welcome, Alexander. Let's begin by introducing ourselves, shall we?" The Ryder greeted with a colder demeanor than even Ozpin's. His voice reminded him very faintly of the bus driver's from Tranzit. God, that map sucked.

"Hello, My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, former student of Princess Celestia and the Princess of friendship." Twilight was the first to introduce herself.

"What's up, My name's Evan Fong, but you can just call me Vanoss." The owl-masked Canadian cleared his throat before moving along.

"I'm... Er..." Ruby stammered.

"Not to worry, miss. Just say your name and, if you'd like, occupation." He waved a mechanical hand.

"O-Okay, My name is Ruby Rose, and I'm a Huntress-in-Training at Beacon Academy in Vale." She nervously stammered.

Alex himself knew social awkwardness painfully well.

"My name's Alex Walker, Admiral of the Equestrian-Remnantian Coalition and Ex-Private of the Kahn Milita." Alex stated evenly.

"Wonderful to meet you all, my name is Kaiver Locust, Commander of the Adenian Ryders." He replied.

"Nice meeting you, Commander Locust. Now can you tell us why I shouldn't be rethinking my decision about stopping here?" Alex asked, in mock politeness. He himself wanted answers.

"Ahem. I invited you all here so I could answer some burning questions. What are the Inquisitors? What is their plan? And why is he, a traumatized 15 year old kid, standing before me now, leading the boldest band of heroes since the Great Battle of Year 13842436816?"

"Wha-?" Twilight and Vanoss instantly gaped.

"In terms of your human years, it's 2005 Anno Domini." Locust elaborated.

"Uh..." Vanoss scratched his owl mask.

"2005," Alex sighed, "he's talking about 2005 A.D."

"What happened?" Ruby asked.

"The Inheritors were conglomeration of Warriors from other universes, in 1899 they formed the Inquisitors, designed to hunt down traces of an older enemy, but this plan backfired." Locust explained.

"Older enemy?" Twilight asked.

"I'll explain the Chronicai later, The Inquisitors turned on their masters in 1962 and purged them, slaying many, forcing some to exile, and only the strongest survived."

"That's terrible!" Ruby gasped.

"The Inheritors desperately searched for a solution, they turned to the Oracle. The Oracle prophesied that four great heroes would lead an army and force the inquisitors to their end. One from Earth, another from Equestria, Remnant, and Adenien itself. In 1999, they recruited four of the best warriors from each in an attempt to stop them. This finally went into action in 2005. However, two of them were slain in the line of battle, the last two were forced into hiding, waiting until they were extinguished many years later.

"The remaining inheritors realized, these were not the prophesied ones, but their ancestors. Twilight Sparkle, Niece of Flickering Light of Equestria. Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer Rose of Remnant. Evan Fong, great nephew four-times-removed of Cyrus Fong of Earth. And, lastly-"

"Hold the phone, Locust! Are you saying I'm an Adenienite?!"

"I'm afraid so, Alexander Walker, son of Jason Walker of Adenien." Locust confirmed.

"How-" Alex wondered.

"-Are you able to produce an Aura? Everything that possesses a soul has Aura, but the ritual did little else but awaken your potential. It is a mixture of an activated Aura, as well as similar ability shared by some Adenianite bloodlines, the ability to manipulate electric fields. It is how we can use our prosthetics." Locust explained.

"If that's remotely true, then why-?"

"-Do you possess abilities similar to Aura. You have only scratched the surface, as they have. And plus, you are special."

"How?" Alex asked, growing more and more infuriated by the minute.

"Your father's bloodline, The Emphas Clan trained extensively in use of Electro-Wavelength Manipulation, your mother's was the Sirant Clan, who were adept at similar abilities utilizing their very soul. Those abilities are present in your blood. Princess Celestia knew this right away. It is why she has given you the Prometheus Charge." Locust explained.

"The Prometheus Charge?! But archaeologists have been searching for that for centuries!" Twilight gasped.

"You know of this device, hm? Kindly explain, Equestrian." Locust waved to her.

"The Prometheus Charge was said to be able to boost a pony's abilities to their absolute limit. Unicorns could lift entire continents! Pegasi could clear skies in less than a second!" Twilight babbled.

"If I were to use it, would I be able to run laps across the world?" Ruby asked.

"Not necessarily, Ms. Rose. Instead, what would most likely happen is that you become the physical manifestation of your soul, which is what allows you to run so fast, I assume." Locust explained.

"Go on." Alex demanded.

"The Inquisitors are trying to gather such items, make themselves the immortal rulers of the universe, and 'immanentize the eschaton', or bring about the end. However, they will be unable to do so without first killing you all. This is where the prophecy comes in. When Alexander killed Winchester, the Inquisitors realized who they would be up against. They have tried to kill you all, while form their own army to counter your own; The Scarlet Army of the Inquisitors." Locust disclosed.

"The Red Star." Vanoss concluded.

"Correct, Earthling. According to prophecy, the deciding battle will transpire at Kalos Prime, Capital of the Inquisitors' domain, in a cataclysmic battle known as 'Götterdämmerung', 'Armageddon', 'Kerivan', 'Ragnarök'."

"Wasn't it Kazi'ivan, though?" Ruby asked.

"You severely mistranslated, huntress. You said 'cookie' in ancient Valian." Locust corrected.

"Aw..." Ruby pouted.

Vanoss couldn't help but start laughing a bit.

"But, the true name of this battle, the real term the Inquisitors used to describe this conflict, is called the 'Blood Red Night'.

"That would almost sound badass if it didn't include the idea of us dying horrible deaths." Vanoss shuddered.

"The basic idea is that, thousands of universes will come together, hundreds with you, and hundreds with the Inquisitors-"

"What?! With that much power in one place.." Twilight stammered.

"Yes, I'm afraid a great deal of men will fight to their last breath. We will all lose heroes that night. The streets will run red with the stolen lives of great heroes. Thousands of kilometers around Kalos Prime will be nothing but dust and ash." Locust described.

"Wouldn't it destroy the planet?" Alex asked.

"Their planet is massive, and as old as time itself. It will remain in one piece at the very minimum." Locust described.

"Why would anyone work with the Inquisitors?" Twilight asked.

"Some out of the pure evil in their souls, some because they're afraid, many because it's what they've been preparing for for the past 50 years." Locust justified.

"W-Will we survive?" Ruby asked.

"One of you will survive at the absolute worst. But the outcome of the battle is uncertain." Locust sighed heavily.

"That means... Kat...Mako.." Alex gaped.

"And...Yang.." Ruby gasped

"My friends..." Twilight was starting to tear up a bit.

"Now you understand the full burden of war. Friends and kinsmen are mercilessly slain. Innocence lost." Locust mournfully shuddered.

"How do I have to do to end it?" Alex finally asked.

"You?!" Vanoss asked, awestruck.

"To end the Blood Red Night, you must face the Alpha Inquisitor in battle, and kill him. I advise doing this quickly, for time will be of the essence." Locust explained.

"I'll kill the bastard myself." Alex seethed.

"Are you insane?!" Twilight yelled.

"You can't fight him alone!" Ruby grasped his shoulders.

"If it's to keep you all safe, then I'll be damned if I'm not able to protect you all." Alex asserted.

"I don't know, you can't even handle Sigma without nearly dying!" Vanoss retorted.

"I have to at least try if it's to save everyone I care about!" Alex yelled.

"How dangerous is the Alpha?" Twilight asked.

"The most destructive in the known multiverse. He has been known to kill thousands of people at the wave of a hand." Locust answered.

"No! I won't let you!" Ruby grasped him tighter.

"Do you think I want to die?! Do you all honestly think that I'm such a lost cause that I would throw everything I have left in vain?!" Alex asked, bewildered.

"It's not that I think I do... It's... I don't want to lose you.." Ruby trembled.

"We're all scared shitless here! But I don't just charge into a hockey game without thinking! I strategize, I plan, I at least get help when I need it!" Vanoss yelled.

"I know you know we're all in this together. At least acknowledge that." Twilight scolded, tears in her eyes.

"What do you expect me to do?! If I go down, I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I take you all with me!" Alex spat, rage over his true heritage, and the almost-certain fate that befell them all.

His friends looked at him as though he had grown a second head on top of the first.

"I know you're all scared as shitless as I am. I know for a fact that I'm not the best fighter, or have the best aim, and I'm hardly huntsman material. All I've got is the ship and It's crew. Everything else was handed to me out of pity. I've lost count of how many times you all scrambled to save my ass. It's high time that, for once in my life, I save myself." Alex asserted.

"Alex.." Ruby gasped.

"Let's face it, what else could be ripped away from me before this bullshit ends? I lost my parents, my home, I'm in an entirely different f**king dimension, and just five minutes ago I found out my life was a f**king lie! There's only so much shit I can take, and I don't know what I really want for myself anymore!! So, yeah. Next time I see Omicron, or Sigma, or any one of those sadistic assholes, I'm going to freaking KILL THEIR ASSES!!!" Alex huffed, finally plopping down into his seat, the onset of a headache pounding in his skull.

"This is hard for all of us to take in! For all I know, Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity and the rest could die in a matter of weeks, maybe even months if we go through with this!" Twilight yelled back.

"Excuse me, Miss Priss, but I just found out I'm a f**king space alien with lightning powers, instead of a wimpy little kid with lightning powers! On top of that, all of my friends, not just you, or Rainbow, or Cloudchaser and Flitter or Ruby, but all of them are almost certain to die at some point, so excuse me for having a MENTAL BREAKDOWN!!" Alex angrily spat back.

"Ruby, help me out here! Tell him he's being unreasonable!" Twilight urged the red-cloaked huntress.

Ruby turned to face Twilight.

"He's right." She sighed.

"What?!" Twilight growled.

"But you're right about one thing, it's hard for all of us to handle. But he's getting hit the hardest. You aren't trying to reason with another stuck-up magical bad guy. You're dehumanizing someone who already lost everything and might lose everything again. The last thing he needs is another person telling him he's being insane." Ruby explained.

"And, besides, we do constantly save his ass from Inquisitors, embarrassment, dying, you know the rest, but I think it is a bad idea to fight the bad guy alone." Vanoss added.

Twilight looked back at the two, and then at Alex.

"I don't blame you for wanting to get revenge, but it's still a bad idea to fight him alone. We're helping you, whether you like it or not." Twilight asserted.

"Okay... Locust, what's our next move?" Alex hardened his tone.

"We have installed tracking devices onto various Red Star vehicles. We believe they are going to activate a super-weapon identified as 'ARES'." Locust explained.

"You already know something's up when a super-weapon is named after a boss from 'God of War'." Vanoss shrugged.

"What does it do?" Ruby asked.

"It is a kinetic Dust bombardment satellite." Locust elaborated.

"That explains all of the dust robberies in Vale you were telling me about." Alex replied.

"What does that mean?" Vanoss asked.

"ARES is designed to literally drop giant Dust crystals on Remnant's surface, the speed the crystal will get from falling that fast, combined with the explosive power of a dust crystal of that size will have comparable power to a nuclear weapon." Twilight explained.

"Uh... Still not following." Vanoss nervously stated.

"You remember ODIN from Call of Duty: Ghosts? It's basically that, but instead of metal rods, it's explosive crystals." Alex simplified.

"Oh, shit."

"Who's going to intercept the satellite?" Ruby asked.

"We've arranged our best high-altitude strike team to deal with the problem, but we will have volunteers assault the craft as well." Locust clarified.

"Alright then. Thank you, Commander." Alex nodded before leaving the room.

"Get some sleep, you three. We have much to do tomorrow." Locust waved them away.

The remaining three stood up and left through the still opened door behind them.

"May the Divine keep your souls.." He muttered.

Author's Notes:

In hindsight, I should probably have gone into a bit more detail with the new faction.

I'll try to have the next chapter up by Thursday, because screw schedules, because I'll end up procrastinating.

-The Destoyer

Act III, Chapter 7: IN SPAAAAACE!!

As the other members of Team Unity and some of the higher-level Ryders gathered at the center of the camp early that day, Russell wasn't sure what to expect.

Looking at Alex's direction, the Admiral looked disgruntled, almost angry about something. The C.I.A Agent Mako went up to him and said something Russell couldn't identify. Alex replied in a smaller tone, almost inaudible.

"Attention members of the Equestrian Remnantian Coalition and my fellow Ryders!" Locust demanded. He had learned the Commander's name from Twilight Sparkle, now sitting close by her friends in a select corner.

"Our first order of business, My intelligence operatives discovered a large orbital kinetic strike weapon above the planet identified as ARES. The payloads consist of large pods containing vast amounts of Dust, if left unchecked, that one satellite can decimate the Kingdoms of Remnant and annihilate millions in the blast alone. If we are to save them, we ask that volunteers please raise their hands to participate in the assault to destroy the satellite and, per Ms. Schnee's request, return the payloads to their rightful owners." Locust explained.

"Why return the payloads?" Master Chief Fong asked.

"According to Princess Twilight's calculations, if this specialist team simply blasts the satellite into the atmosphere, it will simply plummet, creating an explosion more massive than a single payload would create." Locust's second in command, Auklet, elaborated.

"What if we temporarily take control of the satellite, use it to our advantage, and then do whatever that guy just said?" Wildcat asked.

"It would be too dangerous. The weapon itself is too destructive to even consider use that close to a kingdom." Blake explained.

"What else?" Yang asked.

"Our next order of business is location of Adam Taurus and Cinder Fall, we discovered their whereabouts, in an underground city similar to the one underneath their 'Mountain Glenn' called the 'Subterrains'. It is a hub for Inquisitor activity for Vale and Atlas. This is where most of our ground forces will be focused. The task is simple. Discover a way to prevent ARES being used remotely, and capture either Taurus or Fall. If anyone attempts to kill the Inquisitor before we can question them, there will be severe consequences." Auklet debriefed.

"They know we're coming, so this is probably the most dangerous out of the two." Alex called out.

"Can I say something? If they know we're coming, we're f**ked! We can't handle those assholes or their army! What do we have besides a few thousand people, about 10 or 12 of which are actually able to fight back?!" Mini asked.

"I have asked some friends in Adenien for a favor, soldier. You will be augmented with an Exo-Suit in addition to your Atlesian Paladins, should they fail." One of the Ryder's intelligence operators, Ceril, answered.

"Okay, now this actually is Titanfall." Moo Snuckel blinked.

"I got this, I'm like Alex now." Vanoss smugly announced, unsheathing a sword that looked like it had been ripped straight out of some weird Cthulhu anime game.

"What in fresh hell is that?!" Alex gaped.

"It's an Apothicon Sword I got from Black Ops 3 Zombies." He replied.

"That looks awesome!" Ruby stared.

"Yeah, I've seen enough of... this sort of thing... to know where this is going." Sirius face-palmed.

"Poor, poor man." Mako cringed.

"Squid swords aside, we need volunteers for the space mission. Raise your hand if you want to do this." Alex shook his head and asked.

"I'll go." Cloudchaser steadily raised a hoof.

"Yeah, that sound epic!" Flitter immediately waved a hoof.

"Anything to get away from whatever Evan's holding." Weiss raised both hands as she steadily walked away from the owl.

"You're just jealous of how awesome this squid sword is." He defended.

"Eh, screw it. Space." Haunt shrugged.

"I'm going with Weiss, it's not like I can leave her alone up there." Ruby volunteered.

"I'll do it." Russell raised his own hand. It sounded cool enough, he just hoped it wouldn't turn out like that Call of Duty game.

"Boop!" Nora poked Ren's face before waving.

"I will assist the young ones." Auklet nodded.

"May the Divine watch over you, brother." Locust held two fingers in the air as a sign of respect.

"Likewise, Commander." Auklet returned the gesture.

Alex finally stood up, walking towards Commander Locust.

"The rest of you are coming with me to the Subterrains. We need as many people as humanly possible working on this." Alex ordered. Many of the 6,000 people working on the operation cheered him on as those who had risen their hands were rushed over by Auklet.

"I thank you, soldiers, for volunteering for this mission." Auklet nodded.

"We won't let ya down, Auk. Lead the way." Haunt shrugged.

"I set up some temporary launch zones I had the drones build in our sleep. The rockets should blow us into the atmosphere. From there, use the afterburners on the suits I'm handing out to maneuver your way around the satellite. I have a large containment silo that we can fill with the payloads once we're done collecting the Dust, it should be able to survive the fall. Get your suits and move onto the ships. May the Divine watch over us." Auklet instructed, handing out a suitcase for the humans who volunteered, and some for the ponies as well.

----

The suit was slightly uncomfortable, and cumbersome at best, but at least maneuverable. Grabbing the lever-action rifle that the Ryders supplied him with, he stood up, intending to head towards the ship.

"Leaving so soon?" Someone had called.

Looking behind him, he saw Ms. Nikos. The two had been close friends since their encounter, he smiled back, nodding.

"If I can't bring this thing down, who can?" Russell replied bluntly.

"Relax, Russell. You have two of the best huntresses I've met fighting by your side. I have full confidence the squadron will complete the mission."

"That makes two of us." He nodded.

"Here," Pyrrha handed him another mag, "Just in case."

"Thank you. I gotta go." Russell nodded, putting the mag in his back pocket.

Russell made the trip to the rockets as fast as he could. Ignoring the fact that this thing looked like a 5th grade science project and probably unable to get off the ground, he climbed the steep ladder into the ship.

"Alright, It'll take about 20 minutes to get there! Walker and his crew will arrive at the Subterrains at around the same time! Let's show these Red Star bastards how to party!" Haunting yelled out amongst the charging teams.

Russell climbed into his seat and strapped in tightly, he even put on the helmet.

"Let's go! We gotta move! Ruby, get on!" Cloudchaser pulled the girl inside and strapped her in.

"That's the last one! Let's get this tin can in the air!" Russell called out.

His words were immediately answered by a large weight pressing against his chest.

"What, no countdown?!" He gasped.

"Woo!" Flitter yelled excitedly.

"ARES, here we come!!" Haunt screamed as the ship continued to fly straight upwards.

----

Wow, Remnant from this height was beautiful.

It looked a lot similar to planets such as Equis and even Earth. A large blue marble with green and brown land mass indiscriminately strewn across the surface.

"Wow, you can see Vytal from up here!" Ruby gaped as they leaped out from their rocket and into the zero-gravity of space, guns by their sides.

"And there's the satellite." Haunt saw a large black-and-orange communications satellite modified with a large revolving chamber at the base.

"That's ARES?" Cloudchaser gasped. ARES was roughly as tall as a building, and surrounded by little black and orange specks. Probably enemies.

'Icarus 0-1, have you made it to the satellite?!' Alex asked from the radio.

"Affirmative, Admiral. We're currently nearing the target. What's your ETA for the Subterrains?" Auklet asked.

'We've started the assault already!!' he yelled.

"Just as I figured, Red Star Hell-jumpers are guarding the damn thing." Haunt scoffed.

'Do what you can! I'll handle the mess down here!' he screamed as gunfire blasted in the air at his location.

"Ruby? Can you take out the guards? I doubt they can hear the gunfire all that well." Auklet ordered.

"Sure thing!" She smiled through her helmet.

Converting the deadly scythe into it's rectangular sniper-form, she aimed two well-placed shots into the helmets of their enemies, blood spraying out of the glass visors and floating in clumps.

"Got 'em." She mildly celebrated.

"Watch yourselves, I doubt they're the only ones." Cloudchaser shook her head.

"I'm heading above the sat. I'll try to find a way to remove the payloads from up there." Russell said, sending power to the boots and flying above the orange-and-black satellite.

He stopped himself just in time, two Hell-jumpers.

"Iris, can you patch me into their comms?" Russell asked.

"On it!" She chirped.

'I just don't see why we have to stand guard.' one of them said.

'Yeah. I mean, who the hell's going to stop this thing?'

"Your looking at him." Russell said as he fired a shot at one of the Hell-jumpers, a piece of glass from the visor fragmented and shattered, and a piece cut tight through the other's suit before he suffered a similar fate.

"Icarus, I found a way to get the payloads!" Called Weiss.

Russell flew to where the ice queen was currently opening the large satellite's canister, large rods containing multi-colored crystal nested inside.

"Holy hell." Haunt gasped.

"So that's dust." Flitter blinked.

"Load it onto the crate!" Auklet ordered.

The rest got to work pulling out the large projectiles and loading them onto the crate.

"Keep in mind, this thing can survive a fall from space and still not explode, but don't screw this up while the crate is still open!" Weiss ordered.

"Okay, then. Sheesh!" Russell threw up his hands as he loaded another dust rod inside the crate.

'Open fire!'

Crap! Hell-jumpers!

"Watch yourselves!" Auklet ordered as he returned fire, shooting their enemies as accurately as possible.

Russell also helped clear out the Hell-jumpers, and the others had almost finished loading the crate when suddenly the satellite exploded before them.

Someone shot through ARES while a rod was still inside.

"Damn it!" Cloudchaser strained, grabbing a hold of Flitter before she could fall too far. Auklet was not as lucky. He fell away and started to burn along with the dead satellite ARES, horror fresh in Russell's mind.

"Do we have the rest of the rods encased?" Weiss asked.

"I think so... When's our ride coming up?" Haunt asked.

"Watch out!" Weiss warned as more Hell-jumpers attacked. Haunt was immediately ripped a part by gunfire, unable to scream as they tore through the suit, and his bloodied corpse slammed onto the still-opened crate of payloads. Dropping them onto the planet below.

"No!" Flitter gasped as the rods fell out.

"God dammit!" Russell reached out.

They all shot back at their enemies, Russell blew the brains out of one of them before shooting another in the chest, killing him as he drifted about the cosmos.

'Icarus 0-1, what's your situation?!' Vanoss yelled.

"Vanoss?!" Ruby asked.

'We lost contact with Alex and Blake a little while ago! Anything important happen?!' He asked.

"We lost Auklet and Haunt. The crate was blown down to the planet's surface while we were loading. Mission compromised." Weiss disappointedly replied.

'Shit. That's not your only problem. They have another one of those things up there, you see it?' Vanoss asked.

"Oh, hell." Cloudchaser gasped. Sure enough, there were another one of those things about a half-kilometer away.

"We're on it. Ruby, Kill the Hell-jumpers." Russell ordered.

"Is that really how you address a superior officer?" Weiss scolded.

"Got it." Ruby nodded, ignoring Weiss' obvious annoyance.

Four shots were fired, and the satellite was probably open.

They flew over there in about 6 seconds, this satellite was noticeably different. Similar design, but they would have to find another way to stop this thing.

'If I remember what Alex said, this thing can't be taken down manually, but if you can blow it into Remnant's atmosphere, it should burn and detonate the payloads before they hit the ground. But you'll either be blown into space with no air, or get stuck on the satellite and burn up with it.' Vanoss instructed.

"Got it. Moving to the top." Russell said.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Weiss asked.

"Following orders." He bluntly replied.

"You know what'll happen to you, right?" Flitter gasped.

"I heard what Evan said. I don't have that long a lifespan anyway." Russell spat.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

Damn, he didn't expect to be asked why.

"Why do you have to go? And don't say it's because Alex'll probably court-martial you." Cloudchaser said.

"I've got the Adenien Retrovirus. This thing'll deteriorate my insides until nothing's left. I only got about a month or so, and there's no cure anyways." Russell sighed.

"What?" Flitter blinked.

Russell visor-palmed.

"It means the virus will eat me from the inside out."

"Ew." Flitter shuddered.

"That's why I'll handle the sat. You guys get back to Remnant." Russell ordered.

"No! We aren't going to leave so you can die in a fire or lack of oxygen!" Ruby said back.

"I've got no choice! I'll die anyways!" He yelled back.

"Wait, where are Cloudchaser and Flitter?" Weiss asked.

"Ready? One! Two! Three!" The two pushed the satellite from the top end towards the surface.

"No! You idiots!" Russell flew up to stop them.

"We'll take care of this! Go with Ruby and Weiss!" Flitter said.

"Like hell you are!" Russell yelled back.

Russell grasped Flitter in an attempt to throw her off the satellite.

"Cloudy! Push!" She yelled as she continued to struggle.

"No, god dammit! You'll get yourselves killed!" Russell tensed.

Flitter accidentally pushed the magnetic boot option at his belt, causing Russell to cling to the surface.

"Dammit! Stop!" He pulled at his legs, trying to move them to no avail.

He saw Ruby and Weiss watching from the rocket they were to take home. Ruby was visibly crying and Weiss was trying to pull her in.

"They made their choice! We can't stop them!" Weiss sighed depressively.

"They're coming back! They have to!" She waved both arms towards them as Weiss sealed the door.

"Push! Get this thing in orbit!!" Flitter continued to tug at his grasp.

Finally, Russell felt gravity pull them down as some various pressure systems and fail-safes ignited, blowing sections of the satellite apart. Both Pegasi were caught by the solar-paneled wings on the satellite and plummeted alongside him, orange flame circling around them.

'Ruby? Weiss? You there?!' Russell heard Alex yell through the radio.

'We're here, Alex.. But Cloudchaser, Flitter, and Russell chose to take out the second satellite.' Weiss sighed bitterly.

'Russell?! Come in!! Damn it! No response, Sergeant Majors Leone, Cloudchaser, and Flitter have been Killed in Action.'

Suddenly, Russell heard a bunch of loud bursts. The payloads!

Russell could only watch as his vision was completely engulfed by red and blue, even white before his vision ultimately faded to black. And his breathing ceased. Forever.

Author's Notes:

Destoyer be like 'Introduce a new character only 6 chapters before... Aaand he's dead.'

Rage in 3...2...1

Act III, Chapter 8: The Battle of The Subterrains

Alex fast-roped into the Subterrains, which were now bursting with gunfire.

He saw himself back in Area 51, falling with the helicopter then fast-roping inside, only to be met by splinters of lead. Before any of this. Before RWBY, Before Vanoss and his crew, before even before the ponies.

His mind snapped back into reality the second his boots hit the ground. Dual-wielding Adenien Sub-machine Guns that ripped his enemies into fleshy pieces as soon as they met them. Next in line were Blake and Yang, who slammed into the ground relatively unharmed and returned fire. The rest of his battalion went in around the same time they had. The White Fang soldiers scrambled in panic, as though they weren't expecting an attack of that magnitude.

"Fix bayonets and move up!" Locust ordered.

"Iliad Operators, Blow a hole large enough for the Paladins! We don't got all day!" Alex commanded.

'Roger that, Bunker Busters inbound, ETA; 2 minutes.' An operator on the Illiad replied.

"Yang! Nora! I need you two to handle heavy armor! Nothing in or out of these tunnels! Pyrrha, I need you close by, make sure they don't get swarmed!" He ordered.

"Got it, Alex!" Yang smiled at him.

As he continued his onslaught, Nora poked his shoulder.

"You sure you aren't interested?" She asked, turning to the golden-haired huntress.

"Not the best time for these questions." Alex grumbled.

"Watch your back! We don't need you getting shot before capturing one of these assholes!" Kat shouted.

"Snipers! 11 and 1 o'clock! High!" Mako called out.

"Icarus 0-1, have you made it to the satellite yet?!" Alex asked through the radio.

'Affirmative, Admiral. We're currently nearing the target. What's your ETA on the Subterrains?'

"We've already started the assault!!" He yelled back.

'Just as I figured. Hell-jumpers are guarding the damn thing.'

"Do what you can! I'll handle the mess down here!" Alex replied before changing the channel on the radio.

'Admiral. We've identified Omicron and Sigma at the central building.' Ren said.

"Confirm visual!" Alex commanded.

A video feed opened at the top-right corner of his HUD, a flash of black and red spearing through some of the Ryders and a few dead Atlesians with shards of glass in their faces.

"That's them." Blake suddenly, and rather quietly, stated.

"Let's move out!" Alex nodded. The two were followed by the rest of Alex's Fire-team and the Princess.

"What the?! They got Spider Droids down here!" Blast gaped. He was right. A massive Atlesian Spider-Droid, about as tall as a small building with twice the firepower of a tank suddenly shot various missiles from two launchers at it's sides.

"Get down!" Twilight commanded as the others avoided the missile barrage.

"Ponyfeathers! They have White Fang markings!" Rainbow spat.

"I have a plan!" Ember said, whispering her idea to the rest of the team through their protected channels.

'Have Blast Radius aim rockets at the Droid's leg joints and immobilize it. We can take out the machine's weapons after that, and Alex could safely short the Droid's circuits.'

Blast pulled out two Grenade Launchers, firing both at the Spider Droid's front most leg.

"Twilight, if you can, Rip the thing's leg off! It's hanging by a thread!" Alex ordered.

"Right!" She used her magic to surround the thing's lower front leg, as well as it's missile launchers, and pulled all three parts cleanly off the robot, removing the missiles and sending them towards the monstrous machine.

The large explosion cracked the ceiling of the large cave, that crack extended to the bottom wall. Suddenly, something large bashed itself against the crack, and Alex figured it was likely either a very large Deathstalker or a massive amount of Beowolves.

"I don't like the sound of that!" Rainbow shuddered.

"Take care of 'em! I'll deal with the HVTs." Alex ordered.

"I need to take care of Adam!" Blake indignantly scowled.

"Oh, right. Come on!" He ordered, charging off towards Ren's checkpoint with the black-haired Faunus not far behind.

Alex then heard a very loud 'Boom', and suddenly, the whole ceiling of the Subterrains caved in, sending large hunks of rock downwards and pouring sunlight into the otherwise dark caves.

'Admiral, we're sending Fong and the other Paladins, have you apprehended the Inquisitors yet?'

"If I did, we'd all be on our way back." Alex bluntly and sarcastically replied.

'Er... Understood, sir..'

Alex was immediately met by a boot to the chest.

He fell flat on his back, rolling to one side to get back up, only to see Sigma, Omicron, and another, much taller figure.

He couldn't see exact details because it was so dark, but he knew that this person was wearing a black uniform.

"Alex! Are you.." Blake's voice trailed off upon the realization of what had happened.

"Hello again. How long has it been since we last saw each other? 6 months? 7?" Omicron asked mockingly.

"Adam."

"Oh, I see you've brought us a... friend." He said that last word full of scorn and disrespect.

"Up yours!" Alex coughed.

"Now now, Omicron. Allow me to introduce myself. You have heard of the Alpha Inquisitor, haven't you, Walker?" The dark figure standing in the center asked, walking into the light.

There, Alex could see more details on the man. He was wearing black armor, but it was also adorned with brushed steel and a billowing black cape. The helmet covered his entire head, and left no opportunity for identification aside from the small slit that revealed piercing blue eyes, bloodshot and scarred horribly.

"You... You're the one who wants me dead the most, I take it." Alex cleared his throat.

"Don't make any assumptions, kid." Sigma scorned.

"Cute. It seems Sigma and the Catalyst have a little bad blood. She killed a friend of yours? A close friend of yours?" Alpha scoffed.

"You son of a bitch." Alex narrowed his eyes.

Alex lashed out at the Alpha, only for his wrist to get grasped by the cold gauntlet Alpha was wearing. He was pulled upwards, punched hard in the groin, and was thrown about 40 feet back. He skidded on the rough stone below, badly scratching his armor.

"Are you okay?" Blake asked him.

"Aack.. He punched me in the dick.. Why? Why did he punch me in the dick?" Alex's legs shook uncontrollably in agonizing pain.

"Something wrong, Alexander?" Alpha chucked to himself as he pulled out a heavy sword that looked like a cross between a Zanbatō and a Zweihander, both edges of the blade looked wickedly sharp. Even the tips of the cross-guards were sharpened.

"Blake! Get Adam! I'll deal with these two!" Alex yelled.

She nodded before striking Omicron, locking blades with the murderous White Fang swordsman.

"Unwise to say the least," Alpha shook his head pitifully, "Consider this an evaluation of your power. Sigma! Kill him!"

"With pleasure." Sigma summoned both of her blades, erupting in flames before revealing the deadly blades.

"Okay, this shit again." Alex scoffed, unsheathing Blitzklinge.

Alex charged at Sigma, locking blades with his old enemy before kicking her in the side. Using the distraction, he punched Sigma in the throat before attacking with his blade again.

His blade was blocked by Sigma's as she leapt above him, flipping and slashing him in the back.

Relatively unaffected, he allowed the Blitzklinge to shift into it's revolver form, shooting a few rounds at the Inquisitor. She blocked them effortlessly and grasped his left leg, sharply yanking it up, causing Alex to fall flat on his chest.

He swept a leg under the Inquisitor and tripped her, grasping the back of her head before charging and bashing it once on the cave wall.

She elbowed him hard in the groin, causing him to buckle in pain, giving her an opportunity to weaken his armor. She set a glyph right in front of her hand, firing a beam of flame that singed his backside and forced him into the wall, leaving a burning hole in the armor.

He fired once more. This time, the distraction was more effective, dazed as he grasped both of her ankles and pulled her to the ground, before swinging her like a rag doll into the cave wall again.

Enraged, she summoned glass shards, and aimed precisely for his weak spot, each sliver of glass burning in Alex's flesh, he writhed in pain. Infuriated by his agony, he lashed out, punching and kicking at lightning speed. He backed her into a wall, each punch with enough force to shatter a person's skull. She dodged, and his fist made cracked indents into the cave wall.

He shifted the blade back into it's sword form, locking her blades with his own. He set the blade to spin at the Inquisitor, she was losing strength.

She blocked it for about two seconds before breaking off, while she was distracted, Alex grasped her throat, slamming her head onto the cold stone floor.

She staggered up, bleeding profusely, using the last bit of energy to summon one more glass shard. This one burrowed itself into his back before she made it melt inside his body. He writhed as a small cloud of steam billowed from his burnt back. Kicking Sigma in the head in a bout of rage, he knocked her out cold. As she went out, so did the glass.

Alex panted, his wounds still stinging painfully. Alpha chuckled.

"Not bad. Not bad at all." He mocked.

"Save it. If I can take her down with some minor injuries. You'll drop like a f-"

Alex could barely finish his taunt before being thrown into a wall and choked.

"Alex!!" Twilight ran at the scene, horn glowing brightly.

"Finally, the Princess of Friendship arrives to save the child she called a hit on!" He scoffed.

"Alpha!" She scowled.

"As much as I'd love to stay. I have a friend here who is simply dying to meet you! Gamma!" Alpha called out.

Rufio Vincent landed on the ground from a dark recess.

"Finish her. I'm done here." Alpha leaped away, using some jet technology to climb to the top of the hole, he looked down.

"We'll meet again, Alexander!!" He called before escaping.

"Coward.." He coughed, reaching for Sigma.

"She's mine!" Vincent yelled as Alex barely grasped a small chip on Sigma's belt. He tossed her into the recess he came from.

Twilight shot a bolt of violet magic energy at Rufio. Allowing Alex time to stagger back up again.

"We meet at last. Princess Twilight." Rufio laughed.

She lashed out in a flurry of magic attacks. Rufio protected himself with a yellow bubble shield and turned it into a spike, hurling it at her with blinding speed.

"Woah!" She gasped. She fired a few more bolts, even a few rudimentary ice spells to incapacitate him.

"Die!" He yelled.

"Not while my friends are still by my side!" She retorted, firing more complex spells at him.

Rufio was eventually trapped in a cage of Twilight's magic, she fired a bolt of energy designed to knock him out.

He deflected the bolt, instead hitting the recess, and in turn, Sigma.

As Blake and Adam, Twilight and Rufio kept fighting, Alex staggered to his radio.

"Ruby! Weiss! You there?!" He asked, the rods could potentially hit any second now. It could only be a matter of time.

'We're here, Alex.. But Cloudchaser, Flitter, and Russell chose to take out the second satellite.' Weiss sighed in reply, as though she could have done something.

Cloudchaser..? And Flitter? They were dead?!

"Russell?! Come in!! Damn it! No response, Sergeant Majors Leone, Cloudchaser, and Flitter have been Killed in Action." Alex sighed. What about Auklet and Haunting? They had to be okay too, right?

Alex suddenly heard a very loud boom. Looking up in the sky, he saw a large object burning up in Remnant's atmosphere. That satellite, no doubt.

He walked, staring at it before saluting to those who died saving millions of innocent lives.

"Alex! Get Sigma!" Twilight ordered.

She had Rufio being shocked with a magic spell, he twitched uncontrollably and screamed in total pain.

"Alex! Go! Now!" Blake slashed Adam's back as he tried to fight back.

He charged for the woman, before only being able to see red and black. Several inches of armor had been sliced off his chestplate, had Omicron sliced a few millimeters closer, Alex would've been half of what he was already.

"What?! How did I miss?!" Omicron asked, almost baffled.

As Alex ran for Sigma again, he was tripped by the hostile swordsman.

"Why...won't...you...DIE?!!" He slashed his crimson-tinted blade on Alex's chest and back, blood spilling out onto the cave floor.

Alex grasped Adam's neck, sending a powerful electric current through his hand, frying Blake's former master as he struggled to get away.

"He's mine!" Blake yelled at him, kicking Adam/Omicron hard in the face.