Chapter 8
Border Town, Equestria
Noon time
Joseph Aucleir
I sighed, peace coursing through my body as I walked throughout the beautiful countryside. The sun was snaking over the horizon, leaving beautiful red glares on the trees. I am guessing in human time that it was February, and the snow was only now beginning to melt. It was very peaceful, seeing the snow mixed with the greening grass, as well as barren trees.
Dawn was gone for the day, as well as most of the other Pegasi. They were doing something with the clouds and such today, preparing for Spring. So, being a not-Pegasus, I decided to simply take a walk in the country, admiring everything I came across. These walks also helped me clear my mind, allowing me to think straight.
I was still being haunted by the weird dream that happened yesterday. Or was it a vision? I guess it would make sense if it was a vision, since it struck out of no-where. Well, it would explain where the portal had come from. But still, some things didn't add up. Seeing the portal only reminded me that I had to get back to my own world. That was when I stopped and stared forward, the thought that just came to my mind making me both angry and curious.
Why did I need to go back? I mean, what if my parent's murderers were already dead? Maybe I should let the past go. Then I shook my head. No. I made a vow, and as soon as I had fulfilled that vow, then I would hopefully return here. But then again, there is one thing standing in the way of that. The Oberherr.
They would never let me go back without a fight. But why? Why? Why did they need me? I shook my head, looking back out across the landscape. I sighed again. "If only I knew." I turned back, heading towards the town again.
20 Yards away
Mallace looked on at Joseph, watching as he began to head back to the town. "Sir, why don't we strike now? No one is in sight, and we are pretty close to the border." Mallace turned to the man who had spoken, who happened to be an Oberherr Elite private. "He could easily fight us off now. And we can't shoot him, because he is needed alive. We continue as planned."
But the private shook his head. "Sir, we have 20 men here, he isn't going to win." Mallace shrugged. "I want him to be at the lowest point he can be at, where he will give no struggle whatsoever. And we can do that if we continue as planned." Mallace reached up, his hand turning on the mic to his headset.
"Fire Team 1, this is Head Command. We are going to proceed with phase one of Operation Down Grade in 3 hours time. Make sure that the assassin is in the building when you commence." The headset was static for only a second, when the Fire Team responded, and Mallace could almost feel the Oberherr Elite's grin as he spoke.
"Roger, Mallace. We will make this a very hot time for him."
Joseph Aucleir
I could feel that I was being watched. They were definitely human eyes as well. Why were they not attacking? If they had a perfect time to strike, it would most definitely be now. I scratched my chin. I might as well not let them know that I notice. Then a thought occurred to me. What if they weren't trying to kill me? What if they were simply observing me. My bones chilled as I also thought of how great of an excuse that would be to why the Oberherr had not tried anything for several months. They were probably spying on me. Damn, I thought they were just leaving me alone. That apparently wasn't the case. I could still feel there eyes bore into me as I continued to walk. I accidentally put a little skip into my step, trying to go a little faster. I hoped they wouldn't notice
26 yards away
"He knows we are here?" The private said. Mallace nodded, watching as the assassin went a little faster than before. "What should we do?" The private stated nervously. "He might give away our position to the Equestrians..." I thought out loud, before slowly turning to the private. "I am going out there to have a chat with him." The private kind of stood there, his eyes behind his gas mask kind of humored, like I was kidding. After a few seconds, his humor died a bit. "Are you serious?" I nodded, standing up. "Tell everyone to hold there fire."
Joseph Aucleir
I turned to see one of the men coming my way, which made me both surprised and cautious. He was the only one that emerged, and he knew that he was probably going to get into a fight. But no, he simply walked towards me. He was unarmed, and had no sidearm from what I could visibly see. He did have a hunting knife on him, though, which was attached to his left calf. I would also not put it behind me to think that he might be carrying a fire arm in his jacket.
The man wore a black trench coat, with a gas mask, goggles, and a black hood, concealing his face completely. I was still wary, occasionally glancing at the hills behind him. There were no snipers, or reserve men. Just him. I began pulling out a knife in my back pocket when he was a few yards away, which made him stop in his tracks.
He lifted his hands into the air, as though he were surrendering. "Do not strike at me, assassin. I only wish to talk." I refused to ease up, continuing to stare at the man. We stared at each other for a little while, determining who would make the first move. The man sighed, reaching into his jacket and drawing his pistol. My knuckles clung a little tighter to the knife. But, instead of firing the pistol like I had thought, he instead threw it to the side, out of his arms reach.
I raised an eyebrow as his hand moved to his face, and he slowly removed his gas mask. His face was well tanned, with light brown, maybe even blonde, eye brows, and a small light brown mustache growing on his upper lip. His hands were at his sides as he sighed again.
"I merely want to talk to you. I have no intention of taking you with me, or even killing you. Just to talk." I lower the knife a little, looking quizzically at him.
"What do you want?" The man bit his lower lip, coughing a bit into his hand. "I have come here to give you a warning, and a little help." I raised my eyebrow at him, my shoulders relaxing a bit.
"A warning, or a threat?" The man shook his head. "A warning, based on your comparison. And before you ask, this is off the record. The Oberherr have nothing to do with our transaction." I was relaxed a little more, but my caution was still at max. "First, I will give the warning. The Oberherr absence will not last for much longer. They want you alive. And they are willing to do anything to get you back alive."
Nothing really new there. "But I can offer you help. Help out of this situation. All you have to do is come back willingly with us." I pulled my knife out again, startling the man a bit. "And why in the name of God would I do a thing like that? I was able to take out 4 of your men single handedly, and I could just as easily fight off anything else you throw at me."
I tried reading the mans facial expressions, surprised with what he gave me. It was a look of pity. And a little bit of worry, by the looks of it. "Listen, I cannot tell you why they want you alive, for I honestly don't know myself. But I can offer you some other things. For example, I know you are looking for information on your deceased parents."
That struck home with me, making me flinch a bit. I looked at him, and he returned my look. "What else do you have to offer? I could also easily go and interrogate your men for information." The man actually snorted at this, almost like he was attempting not to laugh.
"Yes, because that worked very well before for you in the past." I cast him a glare, which he seemed to not notice. " But back on topic, I am sure you want to leave this world. Come with me willingly, and I could offer you safe passage out of this land when we are done." My eyes narrowed. This didn't seem right.
"Why are you attempting to help me? I know you have men behind the rocks, and you could easily over run me. So why haven't you yet?" He seemed a little surprised at me, which quickly changed to an emotionless glare. "I just wanted to offer you help. Because I know the Oberherr are not necessarily the most... hospitable. I was trying to make an offer." I shook my head, turning around as I did. "No. I am happy here. And I can find information about my parents..."
I cringed a bit as I said this, "…. from other sources." The man sighed, putting his goggles and gas mask back on, but stopped when he held something in his hand. His headset. He covered the mic with his hand as he looked me in the eyes.
"I envy you, assassin. I hope you can truly have happiness in this land." With that, he put the headset on, and waived his fist in the air. "Heil Oberherr!" He said, and began walking back towards the hills of where he came from. I stared after him, and began to walk away. I stopped when I saw his pistol lying on the ground, which I scooped up and put into my jacket.
As I walked, I began to contemplate all that he had said. Why was he trying to be nice to me? I turned again, to see that he was completely gone from my sight. Flurries began to fall from the skies, which was odd, since the pegasi were preparing for spring. I turned again and began to walk, shivering a little. I was still being watched. But what chilled my spine was that it was not a human watching. They were eyes from the sky.
Right above me.
5 Minutes ago
Dawn Blade
I silently watched as the 2 humans conversed with one another, talking. I gritted my teeth a bit, furious at what I was seeing. Was Joseph, one of my best friends, just an agent for the Oberherr this whole time? Were these 2 pieces of scum working together, plotting on the invasion of Equestria? Then, I jerked my head suddenly, a tear forming in my eye.
What in the name of Tartarus was I thinking? Joseph couldn't possibly be a double agent. It isn't possible. I imagined his face, smiling and laughing in the canyon, his black hair waving in the breeze. And then I looked down at the two men, who seemed to be in polite conversation. Was that same man, the man I had come to appreciate and call a friend over the past few months, the same man that was down there, talking to an Oberherr soldier?
Something caught my eye, and I looked down to see what it was. It was a glint of glass reflecting the sun. I looked to see something in the yellow, tall grass. It was aman, but he was wearing a suit made of the same grasses. The glass was on a gun, which matched the one that had killed the 2 human prisoners a few days after Joseph had arrived.
He was just sitting there, watching like me. Then, my attention was drawn away from the man as I saw something happening between the 2 men. One had his arm in the air, and screamed something that I couldn't hear, and with that, he turned and began walking towards a hill. Joseph turned around as well, only stopping to pick up something from the ground.
Silent tears were going down my eyes, the thought of Joseph possibly being the enemy being unbearable. My tears, as they fell, began turning into snow, most likely from the high altitude I was at. I watched as Joseph continued walking, when he suddenly stopped. I ducked behind my cloud, holding my breath as he suddenly looked to the sky.
After a minute or so, I looked down again to see that he had moved on, looking a little weary. What do I do? I slowly began to turn angry, angry enough to have the courage to do what I was about to do. I jumped from my cloud, landing silently behind Joseph.
"Hey!" I said with as much venom as I could that I wanted to sound mean, but I felt that being angry was the only way to stop myself from crying. Joseph froze in his tracks, turning slowly to me, a look of surprise and fear on his face. His face then paled as he realized who I was, making me even more angry. I fluttered a bit in the air and did something that I probably shouldn't have done, and I would regret doing for the rest of my life. Using my hind legs, I air kicked him in the chest. Hard.
Joseph Aucleir
It came as a surprise to me when I heard Dawn speak behind me. But then my surprise went to a whole new level when she began attacking me. It started with a kick, in which I fell over onto the melting snow. Before I could ask what was going on, she tried to kick my face, which I quickly rolled away from.
"Dawn! What has gotten into you?" And then I looked into her eyes. They were ablaze with fury, anger and... betrayal. She was seething as well. When she spoke next, it was a mixture of crying and yelling.
"You are a traitor! You are working with those evil people!" I stopped, rubbing my aching chest.
"What are you talking about? I am not league with the Oberherr!" She charged again, and I had no time to dodge before she rammed head first into my legs, making me fall to the ground.
I spit snow out of my mouth, trying to stand again as she snarled, "Of course you would deny it! I just saw you, PLOTTING with one of them! And don't try to 'explain' it to me! I know what I saw."
Tears were streaming down here face. "How could you do this to us? To ME? I thought we were friends. I am sure that was a lie to, no doubt. You are nothing but a spy!" With that she charged again, which I rolled away from, but yelled out as she still nicked my back, and I hit the ground. I looked and saw sweat dripping from her forehead, mixing with her tears.
"But I swear, Dawn! I am not working for them! If you would let me explain, then you would see..."
She did no such thing, she was to far gone in her anger. With a scream she prepared to charge again. "Dawn, I don't want to hurt you. Stand down!"
She laughed at this, a small, bitter laugh. "Oh really? Then go ahead! Don't strike at me! I will show no such mercy to the enemies of Equestria!" And with a war cry, she charged again, her wings propelling her off the ground, aiming for the head. I put my hands up, ready to defend myself. She was within range, and I struck out.
My fist landed with her face, hitting her square in the eye. She fell to the ground a few feet away from me. I instantly felt regret. What had I done? "Dawn, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to..." She laughed bitterly again, facing me again, her tears gone, replaced with pure hatred.
"Is that all you got, human? I didn't realize how weak you could hit." I closed my eyes, realizing that she was trying to taunt me. The horrid part was that it was working. A tear appeared in my eye as I lifted my hands again. "That was a warning shot." Dawn spit a little blood from her mouth, sneering at me. "Show me what you really have then, Joseph." She said my name with a little extra venom.
And with that, she charged again, and I prepared to defend myself.