Stasis

Chapter 21: Reunions and Sexual Techniques Not Approved By The Department of Health

By: Stillmatic

"Hey, Ricky."

Rick turned his head to the other child, "What?"

Smirking, the kid nudged him, "Gimme your lunch money."

Rick laughed, "You wish… Hey, waddya wanna do today, Ches?"

Chester shrugged, "There's not much to do."

"My dad says that Brooklyn isn't boring all the time though! How come we get bored then?"

"Maybe your dad's job makes it not boring."

"Yeah… Hey, do you think our dads work and hang out together like us?"

"That would be cool! Wait… what do our dads even do?"

Rick thought it over for a moment, "I think I remember hearing them talk once."

Chester had his interest piqued, "What did they say?"

Rick tried hard to remember, "I- I think… they were talking about spy stuff!"

Chester looked skeptical, but intrigued nonetheless, "Spy stuff? Nah, not my dad."

"No, really! They were talking about all kinds of things!"

Chester crossed his arms, "Like what?"

"Umm… they said they were going to go to someplace called K-kornea?"

Chester grinned, "I think you mean Korea, Ricky. I don't think they'd go there."

"Why?"

"My mom always talks about how dangerous it is."

"So?"

"Why would our dads go there if it's dangerous?"

Rick smirked smugly, "Maybe my dad is just cooler than yours and went there to go fight Russians."

Chester gave him a confused look, "Russians are from Russia, Ricky."

"Oh. My dad is still cooler."

"Nah."

"Yeah."

"Nope."

"Yep."

"No."

"Yes."

Chester pressed his hands against his ears, "NANANA CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

Rick shoved him, "What's wrong? You don't like me telling the truth?"

"Nuh-uh, you're just trying to get me mad."

Rick smiled, "Now why would I do something like that?"

"Because you do that all the time?"

"Nope. Anyway, did you think of anything we can do?"

Chester leaped off of the stoop, "NAH." Landing, he turned back to Rick, "You wanna go see what all the other kids are doing?"

Rick's smile faded slightly, "Them? I'm not that bored."

"Aww, come on Ricky! I don't know why you hate 'em! They're nice!"

Rick crossed his arms, "I just don't! They're weird and do weird things."

Chester sat at the bottom step of the stoop, "Well… wanna go to Perrelli's? Get some candy?"

Rick's face lit up, "Yeah! Hold on, I need to get some money!"

Rick ran inside of his house and returned a few moments later with a ten dollar bill, "Score!"

Chester looked awe-struck, "Ten dollars? How'd you get that?"

Rick raised his head smugly, "My mom."

Chester began laughing, "Momma's boy! Momma's boy!"

Rick shoved him again, "Hey! Stop! You're just jealous."

Chester turned serious for a moment, "Kinda. Your mom is way cooler than mine."

Rick gave him a warm smile, "Yeah. Come on, let's get some stuff!"

Rick began walking towards the corner market before turning back to see Chester wasn't following and instead looking off in the distance.

Walking back, he asked the question Chester would hope he'd ask, "Hey, Ches? What's up?"

Chester turned his head to Rick, "Uhh, Rick..?"

"What?"

Chester began looking uneasy, "Do you think… we're going always going to be friends?"

Rick gave him a sympathetic look before bursting into laughter, much to Chester's dismay.

"I'm serious!"

Rick stopped laughing, "Come on, Ches, of course we are! We're going to be the best friends to ever exist! Besides, we get to be best friends for the rest of our lives."

Chester began walking with Rick, "Yeah… I guess you're right."

Rick nudged him, "Why wouldn't you think we'd be friends forever?"

"It's just that… I always hear my parents talking about how they don't see some of their best friends anymore… I don't want that to happen to us."

A bit confused, Rick responded, "My parents say the same thing about their friends… Why? What happens to them?"

"I asked my mom one time, and she said something but I knew what she really meant."

"What?"

"That they weren't alive anymore."

Rick looked mortified, "What? No, that's not going to happen to us! We'll always be together, no matter what. I promise."

Chester smiled, "Really? Do you think we can, no matter what happens?"

Rick put his arm around his best friend, "Yeah, now let's get some stuff from Perrelli's."

Chester returned the gesture, "Sure, sure. Thanks, by the way."

"For what?"

"Nuthin'."

Rick's upper torso shot up as he began hyperventilating. He leaned forward and held his head up with a hand to his forehead. The smell of his own sweat was prevalent in the air, forcing him to realize that his entire body was nearly covered in it. The disgusting feeling coupled with a creeping sense of the fact he wasn't alone made him focused enough to take in his surroundings. He was lying on a medical cot right outside the shuttle and it appeared to be night from what he couldn't see outside. Finally, everything came back to him.

'Wait… how am I not in the reconstruction chamber?' Rick then noticed another oddity, 'I-I have both eyes! What the hell?'

"Finally awake, huh Princess?"

Rick's eyes shifted to the doorway of the shuttle to see a few familiar faces. Stepping out were three of his favorite living and sentient beings, Princess Luna, Nightmare Moon, and finally, Aden.

Standing at only a few inches shorter than Rick, Aden didn't looked a day older than the last time Rick saw him. He was definitely dressed different from when they last met. No more was he dressed in a simple engineer jumpsuit, but now an odd skin-tight suit that didn't extend to the full length of his arms or legs. Rick recognized it as the same kind of suit that was worn under space suits. It wasn't in any way revealing to certain "aspects" to his body, but the material kept heat in and stretched to incredible proportions provided something actually managed to stretch it to those lengths. His blonde hair was no longer shoulder-length, but short and choppy. One thing Rick immediately noticed, however, was that the slight chubbiness caused by Aden's inactivity from field operations was replaced with a much more toned and muscular body, but either way, it was still less noticeable than Rick's much more trained body. All in all, the only thing that Rick truly recognized was Aden's face.

Luna gave Aden an odd look, to which he responded, "I was talking to Rick. It was an insult."

Princess Luna didn't seem to get it at first, "Oh, but why would you do that? I thought you two were friends?"

Rick and Aden gave each other a look before bursting into laughter. Both Moon and Luna didn't get the joke, or for all they knew, if there even was one. The two humans eventually calmed enough to finally stare off.

Rick got off of the cot, but kept his eyes on Aden, "You know, I have a bone to pick with you."

The three stepped down from shuttle with Aden standing between the two ponies, "Oh, and what for, Rick?"

Rick chuckled as he walked over to Aden. Wagging a finger with a smile, he stepped in front of Aden and socked him in the mouth before he knew what was approaching. Surprised, Aden fell onto his back and rubbed his now aching jaw.

Rick grinned at him, "That's for setting me up with vegetarian meals only, asshole."

Both Moon and Luna were even more confused if not down-right shocked that Rick would punch his best friend in the face. Luna stared sympathetically at Aden, who was sitting up now, while Moon gazed at Rick. Rick caught the look and immediately understood what it was and what was to come from what he had just done. The primary feeling he saw in Moon's stare was lust. A wider grin grew across his face while Moon's remained suspiciously blank and focused solely on him. Rick stepped closer to her and without a second thought, did something he never expected of himself, or any human for that matter.

Right as Rick's lips were about to converge on Moon's, Aden grabbed Rick's heel and threw him to the floor while he was distracted. Quickly making the best out of Rick's surprise, he punched Rick in the stomach and stepped back to admire his work with a grin.

Aden clicked his tongue, "And that's for disappearing for a decade without at least saying 'bye'."

Rick groaned in pain as he slowly uncurled himself from his position and stood up. The scowl slowly melted into a warm smile as both he and Aden stared off once again. Luna and Moon watched, waiting for some kind of explosion of violence to occur. Instead, a series of hand movements were shared between the two humans that lasted for at least half a minute, followed by a handshake that led into what they called a "hood-hug". Suffice to say, it was somewhat heart- warming to the two ponies watching them.

Rick, still in the hood-hug with Aden, patted him on the back before releasing, "I've been waiting a hell of a long time for this."

Aden returned the pat with one to Rick's shoulder, "You've been waiting? I haven't seen you in over ten years… No homo, Rick, but I've missed you."

Rick grinned, "'Ight, 'ight, no need for any of that shit." He noticed Aden staring at him expectantly, forcing Rick to sigh, "Fine, fine… I may have missed you just a little. But not much, so don't get any ideas."

While both ponies were still confused at how the events transpired, it was Luna who spoke her observations without realizing it, "Humans have such odd ways of greeting each other…"

Both Rick and Aden glanced over at her and started laughing, but Rick stopped once he realized that not only were both Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon together, but they weren't even fighting!

Aden lightly slapped him on the back, "Don't worry, they aren't going to be starting any trouble. I already took care of that."

Rick noticed the slightly scornful looks Aden received from the ponies, "What did you do?"

Aden shrugged, "Well, Moon came by after Luna led me here and I shut off the stasis shield you somehow managed to create despite you not knowing how that kind of technology works. We walked in, Moon saw Luna, Luna saw Moon, and they were about to face off when I stepped in and asked how many times you've died." Aden smiled, "Three times, supposedly. Anyway, I managed to calm them down long enough to see if you were still being reconstructed," his smile faded, "which you were, and it was beyond disgusting. They were worried about you, so I used that to get them to stop fighting. We got you out of the chamber after the ding, pieced you back together properly, and they used some of their magic to speed up the healing."

Rick took in the entirety of what Aden said then disregarded it and asked the question that was really on his mind, "What about my eye? How did you fix it?"

Aden smile returned, "Well, an anonymous friend gave the original to me. I hope you didn't try to use the foam on it to replace it, because that only works when the original body part dies too. From what Trixie told me, your eye was messed up bad. Getting it cut out and patching it up with biofoam? You won't reconstruct with a good eye unless it's your original. That's why I placed it back your head. Oh, and it wasn't easy fixing the job you did on yourself, you know. Also, if you notice any side effects, like maybe a blue tint in your vision, tell me."

Rick was thinking over what he had just heard and noticed something, "Who gave it to you?"

Aden shrugged, "An anonymous donation; the person had a gas mask on, could barely understand what the hell he was saying. He had this jar filled with an eye and some stasis fluid, and it had this little note on the top labeled, 'Rick's left eye', so I just took it assuming something happened to you. But seriously, three times? How is it you somehow start a dying streak on this planet, but not back on Earth?"

Rick grimaced, "Don't bring it up. My luck has been sporadic as fuck as of late." He glanced as Luna and Moon for a moment, then back at Aden, "But a few really good things have happened in my favor."

Aden eyed him suspiciously, "Yeah… I've heard about some of the 'good luck' you've been getting."

Rick began to get defensive, "Really, now? I hope you aren't going to go and start criticizing me without hearing me out."

Aden gave him a fake smile and spoke through it, "Of course not."

"Good. Now… What now? You're going to help me, right?"

Aden sighed, "With what?"

Rick gritted his teeth, "With killing Hadrian."

Aden looked surprised, "That's what I've been trying to do for a bit."

"Yeah, where were you this whole time? It was over a month ago you said you were going to come and help me."

"I've arrived on this planet the day I sent that teleportation message thing to you."

Rick, annoyed, bit the corner of his lip, "Why didn't you use the teleporter to actually come and help me?"

"We didn't have enough power to get it done."

"We?"

"May have forgot to mention this, but we have an ally with us being detained up in space."

"Who?"

"Dexter."

"Dexter… You mean the Director?"

"Yeah."

"Why are you calling him Dexter? He retired or something?"

Aden chuckled, "Nope. We've gotten to be pretty decent friends since this whole thing started. First name basis and all that stuff."

Rick frowned, "I never got to call him by his first name. Then again, he never called me Rick either. So why is he being detained?"

"Well, the base on the Moon has been set up, and all of the civilians are still in stasis for now. Hadrian was there along with some of his bodyguards and tried taking the whole thing over. I barely managed to escape, but Dexter was captured after pretty much locking down most of the base. I assume they're going to switch to the satellite now."

"Satellite? You brought one with you?"

Aden nodded, "Yeah, the ship we used, which took years to make in space using a space elevator, was meant to become the base and settle into the ground after we landed. We deployed a satellite to monitor for any incoming signals or 'interference'."

Rick scratched his nonexistent beard, "Hmm, sounds solid. And by interference, I'm assuming you mean-"

"The Commune? Maybe. Things have died down between them and the CFN."

Rick raised a brow, "Is it because Earth's a battleground with highly mutated individuals cutting down the human population?"

Aden's eyes widened for a moment, "How the fu-"

Rick cut him off and pointed to the two ponies, "Hey man, there are ladies present. And yeah, I know all about that resurgence of those god-forsaken bastards."

"How? You've been gone for over ten years, so how could you know about any of that?"

"The Princesses took me to my Chicago safehouse."

Adrian frowned, "You saw Chicago? That was one of the hardest hit cities."

"It was… really sad to see that city like that. It deserves better than to be abandoned and overrun."

Aden crossed his arms, "So, where've you been for the past ten years? Sitting here? You don't look any older than when I last saw you."

Rick chuckled. "I could say the same about you."

Aden smirked, "I have my reason as to why I still look like I'm in my late twenties."

"Late twenties? Don't give yourself that much credit, Aden."

"Anyway, what's the deal?"

Rick sighed, "I've been in stasis since I left on that mission."

Aden's eyes narrowed, "Bullshit. No one could survive that."

Rick held his arms out, "But here I am, aren't I?"

"Let's just go and see what's been recorded on the cameras, shall we?"

Somewhat annoyed at the lack of trust, Rick obliged, "Fine, fine."

Both Aden and Rick walked back into the shuttle, leaving the two ponies behind as the humans examined the recording of Rick's mission. As Rick sped past his speech and random blathering, he approached the part where he was getting into the stasis chamber. After he got in, there appeared to be a fast moving object zooming about the shuttle, leaving a box-like object behind that shot out a bluish substance, covering every surface and darkening until there was nothing left to be seen. Both Rick and Aden stared at the monitor in not only curiosity, but in nervousness as they realized that something had tampered with Rick's mission once he was incapacitated.

"Rick… Just what exactly was happening there?"

Rick shook his head, "I'm not sure… let's rewind and slow it down."

Rick rewound the video to right after entering the stasis chamber. Slowing it down significantly, it displayed a small flash followed by a man stepping into the shuttle via what appeared to be a cloud of energy. The way he was dressed was odd… not like any military, scientific or agency type attire. Dressed in civilian clothing consisting of sneakers, jean, a plain, blue T-shirt and an unknown wrist attachment, the man began moving around the shuttle and grabbing bits and pieces of different equipment. Rick sped the video up and watched as the man put together the box-like object with ease, set it down, and activated it. The bluish substance spread out from the box and crawled up every wall until everything was completely covered in it. The man turned to the camera, approached it closely, and gave a broad smile. Aden and Rick felt the same heart-sinking awkwardness as they stared at Rick smiling at them through the monitor. The Rick in the video entered the energy again as it disappeared, leaving behind a completely dark environment.

Aden stared at Rick, "Is this some kind of joke?"

Rick kept his eyes on the monitor, "What the hell is happening…"

"That was you. How was that you?"

Rick shook his head, "Couldn't have been me, I can't do that."

"Displacing… But you made one of those stasis boxes right there," Aden pointed out of the shuttle and towards the Atrium, "and it works perfectly fine. How the hell did you know how to build it?"

"Remember when I wrote in that journal about stasis and its practicality?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Consider this: What if the body and mind are conscious during stasis exposure?"

"It isn't, though. We did the research."

"Yeah, but what if they are just barely there, just showing the slightest signs of being present?"

"What are you getting at?"

"What if I learned how to make one of those from myself?"

Aden's brow furrowed, "Say what?"

Rick nodded his head as he looked back at the monitor, "Yeah, yeah… What if I managed to get a Displacer later on, used it to go back and put the shuttle in stasis for ten years, and by doing it in front of myself, taught myself how to make one?"

"Rick, that sounds like a load of bullshit."

"Maybe I subconsciously learned how to make one because I already made one in front myself but didn't realize it?"

Aden began glaring at him, "Do you honestly believe that?"

Rick smirked, "Do you have another explanation?"

Aden walked out of the shuttle, "No, not yet at least. But still, ten years in stasis? Something isn't right here, Rick. You should be dead."

Rick's smirk stuck, "I'm just that strong, you know? Anyway, what about you? You haven't aged an iota."

Aden frowned, "Yeah, about that…"

Rick took a wild guess, "You're infected?"

Aden's jaw slackened slightly in surprise, "Wha- Whoa, whoa, whoa. How the hell did you know that? You can't even tell by looking at me."

Rick stepped back and narrowed his eyes, "So it's true. You're one of them."

Aden stepped forward the step Rick took back, "Tell me how you knew?"

"You don't look a day older than when I last remember you. You completely changed the way you look and dress, and you aren't as chunky as before. Also, I noticed that your left index finger twitches a lot, which it never used to. I assume that's the nerves' reactions to the war that's going on inside of your body right now. Plus, you look slightly taller and more muscular than before. Before you go saying that you've been to the gym more, I'd like to point out that some infected humans grew in size from mutation. All in all, every little out of place thing points to the fact that you're infected with that virus."

Aden was left dumbfounded at Rick's observational skills, "It isn't the same mutagen virus as the one we saw on Shephard's Island. It's… different."

Rick's left brow raised, "Different? How?"

Aden pulled out a small pen knife from his pocket and flipped it open, "Watch."

Taking the knife, he cut a large gash down his arm, wincing in pain. He wiped the blood on a handkerchief and set the knife back as he held out his arm for Rick to see. Getting closer, Rick watched as the broken muscle and skin stitched itself back together, leaving only a faint scar. Left speechless, Rick absentmindedly poked the area, to which Aden gave a sharp gasp and pulled his arm away.

"Chill dude, it's still sensitive after that."

Rick got back up and pointed to Aden's arm, "So, what exactly did you get? That stuff you were exposed to back on the Island?"

"Right. That was the predecessor to your current dilemma."

"So you've been infected with the proto-virus? Have they given the virus a name yet? At all?"

"There's no official name other than "the Infection". Honestly, that's a stupid as shit idea, because that doesn't make anyone feel better."

"Something… that fits. Mutagenic infective virus? No… wait," inspiration suddenly hit Rick, "I got it, The Mutagenesis? Not in a way that causes mutation, but the dawning of a new species separate from humanity. A really messed up species, but a new species nonetheless."

Aden placed his hand on the back of neck, "Mutagenesis? It fits, but… it's a bit of morale-buster, don't you think? Humans aren't looking to change or be replaced."

"I don't hear any other suggestions."

Aden crossed his arms, "Well! I'll see about spreading that around from another planet, then!"

Rick's mind came across another thought, "Wait, how did you guys get here anyway?"

Aden idly sat down on a stone, "I can't say, really. We did exactly what you did and went onto the dark side of the Moon. Next thing we know, we're on the bright side with the Earth looking at us. I don't know how the hell it happened, but we ended up there. And when we actually picked up your signal, well, we thought it was something like a miracle."

"Miracles don't happen, random occurrences do."

"Riiight, anyway, I used this experimental teleportation device we had with us. We were supposed to test it in zero-gravity and see if it would actually work, which it did. To a point."

"Is that why you looked like a ghost?"

"I didn't fully go through, so only my image and voice was being projected to you. It collapsed after that and we couldn't get it working again. So Dexter and I tried to find a way down to Earth to get to you, but Hadrian stepped in. I think he's lost it, Rick. He keeps switching personalities or something."

"He's bipolar or a schizo?"

"I don't know what he is. He calls himself Hadrian one moment and Drake the next. Something isn't right here."

" Really now? Drake..? Why does that sound familiar?"

Aden glanced at Rick, "You knew a Drake?"

"Yeah, that's what's odd… That was the name of Jethro's son…"

Aden got back up and stretched, "Well, another time for that then. There are some things we need to talk about," he snuck a glance at Luna and Moon who were somehow managing to talk civilly to each other near the fire pit, "now, preferably."

Rick cracked his neck, "Like what?"

Aden stared Rick dead in the eyes, "I've heard about the things you're able to do. That isn't normal, not for anyone."

Rick backed up a step due to the uncomforting closeness, "And?"

"What do you mean 'and?' You're fucking shooting flames out of your ass and lighting out of your dick! Don't you think there's something wrong with that?"

Rick smirked, "Sounds like someone is jealous."

Aden scowled, "Rick, I'm serious. We need to get you checked out. Come on, let's do a scan."

Rick sighed and followed Aden back into the shuttle without further complaint

Nightmare Moon smiled and looked into the fire warmly in reminiscence, "He's quite the character… Interesting and… different…"

Princess Luna, still untrusting of Moon, replied with a tinge of jealousy, "Yes, he is."

Moon turned her smile to Luna, "I'm assuming you feel something for him?"

Luna was a bit of confused at Moon's calmness and overall demeanor. She didn't understand how her evil counterpart was so relaxed, especially when so close to Luna herself. It was as if she didn't care about anything they had gone through and all the time they spent fighting on the Moon. What exactly was it that made her change her view of her so quickly? Was it what they shared between each other? Was it-

Luna shook her head to dispel the thoughts, "Yes… I do."

Moon smirked, "Really, now? Have you had any types of relations yet?"

Luna frowned, "No. I know you have though."

Staring back into the fire again, Moon hummed before answering, "I have. It was… quite an experience… after experience… after experience…"

Luna shuddered lightly at moons grin as her own frown deepened, "I don't think he would want to anyway. He says he doesn't mind my body, but I can feel something holding him back."

"I ran into that problem also, and I didn't want to force him to have relations with a different species."

"And you changed yourself to accommodate him, didn't you?"

"Yes. I don't regret it either."

Luna began to think over certain aspects of Rick before asking an unanswered question, "Do you think he would ever consider turning into a stallion?"

Nightmare Moon's smile fell, "Not at all."

"Really?"

"He's far too proud to change himself like that. I wouldn't want to impose the idea of change to him."

"But what about us changing?"

"As in..?"

"For as long as the relationship lasts."

Moon thought it over for a brief moment, "It would be interesting, but I'm not sure if giving up magic and flight would be right for me. I don't mind a temporary situation of course, but I'm not sure how long I could survive in a different body other than this one. But… I suppose if he was truly uncomfortable with the idea of having sex with a mare, I would consider it."

Luna blinked, "Really? I-"

Making a small commotion, Rick stepped out of the shuttle with Aden patting his back along the way.

Rick shook his head, "I-I just can't believe it… Lung cancer, yeah, I can understand that… but all that? And only four months left until it finally gets me? Damn… my nervous system is shot, by brain is close to just shutting down, and I'm getting close to dying from stasis exposure…"

Aden turned him around, "Listen, we can fix all of that with the proper treatment and surgery. We have the technology to make this work; we just need the right resources."

Rick pressed a hand to his temple, "And the infection… How long has it been there?"

Aden shrugged as sympathetically as possible, "Probably since that priest incident. Listen, maybe there's a cure."

Rick chuckled glumly, "We can't cure it, and the infection is the only thing keeping me alive at this point, right?"

Aden didn't respond for a moment, "… Yeah, you're lucky it's moving the stasis around without it stopping. You'd have been dead a long time ago if that was the case. That's probably why you've survived ten years in stasis."

"So how does this all tie together with any of my abilities?"

"Remember how Jenine was able to focus psionic energy?"

"Yeah, what you're saying is it's that?"

"Most likely. If she could do it, you must be able to."

"But how was she able to do it if she wasn't infected? I needed to be infected and slowly losing my sanity for it to force my brain to produce that kind of energy."

"That's where I'm stumped. What we know now at least is that you're use of that power is going to kill you unless you stop and we cure you. Nerve dead, brain dead, that's the end here. The infection is most likely present in your brain, that's why you're abilities are so strong but hurt you so bad."

"How are we going to find a cure? It's a virus that forces cells to produce a mutagen, how do you stop that?"

"Maybe something here in this world can provide us with the answer."

Rick scratched the side of his head idly, "You know, I recall hearing about a dragon who knows quite a bit about everything."

Aden gave him a skeptical look, "Dragon? What are we, in fairy-tale land?"

"It's our only lead, do you want to follow it or not? And your infection… it doesn't seem right."

"The gas that got me wasn't really a gas."

"What was it?"

"Billions of nanomachines carrying the original serum. That's why I heal so fast and can change like that."

"Wait… If I remember right, Victor-"

"That sad lunatic?"

"Yeah, him. If I remember right, he was eaten alive by that gas."

Aden considered it for a moment, "You're right… I know what you're getting at."

"The nanomachines carrying the original virus must override the later strains and kill it off."

"And when an entire body is literally infected and coursing with mutagen-"

"The nanomachines eat that body alive."

Aden's expression turned to amazement, "Brilliant! I think we've figured out how to kill off the infected."

"We make gas bombs and drop them at the infected. It'll leave nothing left."

"How didn't we think of this before?"

Rick clicked his tongue, "Probably because all the gas that existed was destroyed in the explosions of the science complex and the nuclear strike."

Aden sighed, "Damn. And we were so close to solving it."

"Something tells me that that stuff wasn't produced originally on Shephard's Island."

"What makes you think that?"

"Just a hunch. We need to find a cure first. Maybe we can reverse some of the effects on us."

"Hopefully. But curing you is going to take some preparation and surgery to get rid of your stasis while we cure you. I think the stasis is actually stimulating your immune system."

"What makes you say that?"

"Think about it. The scan said you're body's immune system was stupid powerful and that's what's keeping the virus at bay. When you get hurt, your immune system probably takes a hit too."

"And because it gets hurt with me, the virus is able to degenerate my mind more because of less resistance, right?"

"I think we got this figured out."

"I just don't understand, how did it end up this bad?"

Aden put a hand on Rick's shoulder, "Who knows? I'm surprised you've managed to make yourself into a circle of self-negating death. You're going to need some immune-boosters and those antibiotics to prevent more damage to your body. And don't worry; I'm not far off from you really."

"What are you talking about?"

Aden clicked his tongue, "I'm experiencing neural degradation too. Even Harris is getting it."

Rick's head quickly turned back to Aden, "Harris is infected?"

"Yeah… he's something else. The only reason he doesn't turn insane like all of those other half-infected is because of his congenital analgesia."

Rick smirked, "I always knew he had nerves of steel or, none at all actually. But how exactly does insensitivity to pain prevent his insanity?"

Sighing before going into the explanation, Aden began, "From what we've been seeing, the infection plays with the emotions and chemicals in the brains of whoever gets infected. When it comes to the fully infected, they're docile until they see humans, but that doesn't mean they won't attack each other."

"Why is it that they dislike humans so much?"

"We managed to actually capture one of the smarter ones once. We stuck him in front of a blackboard and he actually began to write."

Rick shook his head once before looking back at Aden, "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, he wrote English words too. He kept repeating words like 'Pain' and 'Hate'. He even wrote out 'Ungrateful bastards' and 'Cherish each other'."

Rick crossed his arms, "Okay, now that's bullshit."

Aden was getting more into the explanation now, "No, seriously, they're smarter than we thought. It looks like they're humans who can only experience certain emotions from their brains being hammered by the virus. When they aren't around humans, their brain calms down, but when they actually see one… they go into a fit of rage and adrenaline starts spiking in their blood. We did some tests, and whenever a human was presented in front of an infected individual, the pain receptors in the brain would go into some kind of frenzy."

"Goddamn… This doesn't look good."

"That's not all. We think that their memories are playing into this too."

"So they're consciously aware that they're infected and killing people?"

"Exactly. When they see a human, I'm assuming anger and jealousy become the prime emotions. That throws them into a frenzy because the emotional pain they feel is multiplied to the point where it goes way farther than physical pain."

"And by instinct, they try to kill what's causing them the greatest amount of pain."

"Right; humans."

Rick rubbed his cheek, "It's all making sense now."

"Also, half-infected go under a different name now."

"Finally. Saying 'half-infected' was getting annoying. What is it now?"

"Pseudomen."

"I'm assuming a combination of 'pseudo' and 'human'?"

"Bingo. They're susceptible to the insanity too."

"Don't have to remind me… So why aren't you insane?" Rick asked, giving his friend a look.

"Remember? I have the older strain."

"And it doesn't attack the brain?"

"Not that much. The nerves are starting to get weaker, but not by much."

Rick and Aden stood there for a few moments in silence as the conversation fully sank in. After about half a minute, Aden looked at Rick with a slight frown.

"Rick. What have you been doing here?"

"Hmm? Be specific."

"What kind of relationships have you been having with the locals?"

Rick heard the very subtle emphasis on "relationships", and forced a smile, "Well, the locals in Ponyville most likely hate me. That place Cantersmut or whatever it's called hasn't fully seen me yet."

Aden's frown grew, "That's not what I'm talking about."

Rick's smile widened, "Well, maybe you should be even more specific on what you're talking about."

Aden sighed in disgust, "Listen, they told me about what you've been doing. What you've done together, how they see you, how you see them, and what's been said between each of you." Aden exhaled, "Seriously though, Rick? You're fucking dating horses?"

Rick's smile turned into gritted teeth, "Do you have a problem with that?"

Aden got closer, "Yeah, I do in fact have a problem with my friend having sex with a bunch of horses!"

Rick matched him and poked Aden's forehead, pushing him back, "Well, you can just get used to it, asshole!"

Aden threw his hands up into the air and let them fall to his sides dramatically, "What the fuck, Rick? Seriously, what the fuck? You're proud of yourself or something? You're proud of the fact that you want to be in a relationship with something that isn't even your species? How the fuck does that make sense? Huh? It doesn't!"

Rick shoved Aden, "Of course what I feel for them doesn't make sense! When does that kind of emotion ever make sense? Never!"

Aden returned the shove, "Yeah? And what emotion is that? 'Love'?"

Rick was about to push Aden again until he heard that word, to which he dropped his hands and looked back at the ponies staring at them, "Huh…" He turned back to Aden, "Yeah. I guess it's that."

Aden's face twisted into a mix of anger, disgust and annoyance, "No. That only exists between humans. Your brain must be fucked up to think that you love a goddamn horse…"

A scowl formed on Rick's face, "Why don't you just fuck off?"

Aden grunted, turned away, and muttered under his breath, "I didn't think you would lower your standards so much from Selene…"

With that comment, Rick quickly turned his head to Aden as his face contorted to one full of rage. Rick tackled Aden as he was turned around and slammed him face-first into the ground. With one quick motion, Rick held Aden down and pulled his arm behind his back, ready to break it off any moment.

Rick put his face close to the side of Aden's and snarled his words, "What was that?"

Aden was equally angered from Rick's sudden attack, "You heard me! The fuck is wrong with you? You resort to having sex with horses because Selene died? Move on, Ri-"

Rick proceeded to slam Aden's face into the stone floor repeatedly as some blood began pooling on the floor.

Aden gritted his teeth, "ENOUGH OF THIS SHIT!"

Rick's eyes widened for a moment as Aden's body grew in size. The suit he was wearing stretched with him as his muscles began to bulge and his physique grew. Rick was tossed off easily as Aden stood up. Rick instinctually took a stance as Aden took a few steps forward.

"You crossed the line, Rick!"

Rick's scowl deepened, "AND YOU DIDN'T? DON'T YOU DARE FUCKING TALK ABOUT SELENE!"

Aden tried smacking Rick away with his large fist, but Rick's quick-thinking coupled with his surging fury prevented him from being hit, "ASSHOLE! I LOST JUST AS MUCH AS YOU THAT DAY!"

Rick dodged another swing, "LIAR! I LOST MY WHOLE TEAM! MY SISTER! MY LOVER!"

Aden cocked his fist back for another punch, "SO DID I!"

Rick suddenly stopped, catching Aden's attention. Aden looked back at his raised fist and considered whether to keep it up or not, eventually deciding that it wasn't necessary anymore. They stared off for a moment before Rick broke the silence.

"What?"

Aden slowly shrunk in size as he cleared his throat, "You heard me. I lost a person I loved that day too."

Rick wasn't sure what Aden was talking about, but something told him that he really did, "Who?"

Aden sighed, letting his breath drag out, "Jenine."

Rick froze up, "No."

"Yeah… couldn't you tell? It was obvious…"

Rick sat down on a blockish stone, "Bu-but… no. That doesn't make sense. You guys only knew each other for a few days."

Aden sat on another stone across from him as the tension slowly dissipated, "Belgrade."

Rick immediately understood, "What? Don't tell me-"

Aden cut him off, "She was the medic for our squad."

Running a hand down his face, Rick let out a few sad laughs, "Wow… What happened?"

Aden began staring off absently as he retold the tale, "We were near the train station… I ended up getting right in the chest with a Resonator."

Rick winced at the memory of the same thing happening to him once. A high-powered automatic shotgun with the ability to deal out more damage than most can deal with before getting killed; the Resonator was a South-African weapon to be reckoned with. Luckily, Rick was able to survive the original shot being fired at him due to his support and heavily armored vest, but Aden most likely wasn't supplied the same way.

"How the hell did you survive that?"

Aden rubbed his upper chest delicately, "I was knocked to the ground and some of the pellets pierced my vest. Jenine shot the same guy in the head as he was about to finish me off. She managed to patch me up well enough for me to continue, with the help of drugs of course… But she saved my life. I'll never forget what she did for me, and after we were given leave, I asked her out."

Rick quickly calculated the time between then and Shephard's Island, "But that's three years."

"Yeah."

"You were going out for three years before Shephard's Island?" Rick crossed his arms, "Why wasn't I told about this?"

Aden shrugged, "I didn't even know about you until I met you."

Rick's arms fell as a frown came upon his face, "Jenine never mentioned me?"

"No. Then again, she never mentioned much about herself at all. But seriously Rick, how? How can you even feel that way about them? You're human, they're not…"

Rick grinned and put a hand on Aden's shoulder, "Listen, Aden, I know you aren't as fly as me, or don't have as much swag as me, but here's the thing: Fuck maintaining, because I gotta keep ballin'. Ya' get me?"

"…What?"

Rick's grin faded, "Try to understand this: I'm slowly starting to not care about this shit anymore."

"Can you be a bit more specific on what you're going on about right now? Are we talking about selling drugs or is-"

"I haven't sold since my dad died, why would I start again now and in a different world? Anyway, isn't obvious?"

"Not really."

Clearing his throat, Rick continued, "To quote Tyrone from some song I can't remember, 'My dick ran so deep, so deep it put her ass to sleep.' How about now?"

Aden didn't exactly react well, "That's… not a pleasant thought… Not at all. How that even works is beyond me."

Rick sighed, "I get her pussy wetter than a pool party? Does that make sense?"

"I'm pretty sure Tyrone said that too."

Rick chuckled, "Yeah, he did. What were we talking about again?"

"How you can stomach the idea of being in a relationship with something that isn't human."

"Oh, right. I'd appreciate you not criticizing me about this."

Aden crossed his arms again, "I'm not criticizing you, it just doesn't make sense. It's completely unnatural for a human to have feelings like that for another creature. What exactly made you feel that for them?"

"Not natural? Feels real fuckin' natural to me. Moon is gorgeous and bad as fuck. Luna is just the cutest shit I've ever seen. They really are something special. Of course, I don't feel that way about any other of these ponies."

"Good to know, but you didn't answer my last question."

Rick shifted on the stone, "They… remind me of Selene. They're just too different from the rest of those ponies to be considered something you don't take a liking to. They have these human qualities that really make me wonder."

"Wonder about what exactly?"

"How far love can go."

Aden's eyes widened slightly, "Love? Seriously, Rick? You actually love them? I-I don't understand how you can even compare them to Selene. She was human! Not-not some horse!"

Rick exhaled loudly, "Well, gee Aden, maybe my ability to rationalize is getting eaten away by a virus that should have killed me years ago and I'm as unstable as a crackhead that hasn't had his fix in a week?"

Aden simply chuckled, "Fine, fine. Do what you want. But if you end up with some kind of disease, don't come running to me."

"Too late for that, huh?"

They both laughed a little at that until Rick spoke out loud, "I know you heard that, you can come out now."

Aden raised a brow, but soon realized what he was talking about. From behind a large and toppled stone came out Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna. They're sheepish and surprised faces were pretty amusing and even he had to admit it was sort of cute. He was about to ask Rick how he noticed them despite how they hadn't made a sound or weren't even able to be seen from their position, right before Luna beat him to it.

She looked down and spoke with a smile, "I should have remembered you could do that, especially when you were able to detect Celly and Twilight."

Moon smirked with a mix of curiosity and deviousness, "Yes, how exactly are you able to do that? Is that something all humans can do?"

Rick stood up and stretched, "Nope. It's a developed skill that you pick up."

Aden scoffed while standing back up, "Oh, you're going on about this thing again. Tell me, how do you think it works again? A little bird telling you?"

Rick frowned, "I've mentioned this before. It's like a sixth sense and it took me years before I actually noticed it."

"A sixth sense, are you being serious? Well… it has been documented tha-"

Rick quickly cut in, "Anyway, it's just something that gives me an indication of certain things around me. I remember how I originally found out about it." Rick began to stare off reminiscently, "I was in Taiwan, and my intel told me a Chinese Eliminator was following me. Couldn't see him, so I assumed he had the same kind of cloaking device I've used here."

Luna waved a hoof quickly, "Excuse me, but how exactly do you see something that's invisible? You can't fight it if you can't see it."

Rick clicked his tongue, "That, that is where you're wrong. You see, a cloaking device, no matter who makes it or how, will give off an extremely faint hum. I've been in enough situations to learn how to actually hear that hum. So anyway, I walk over to the minibar in my hotel room, and I know this guy is here, but I'm not showing it. I grab a bottle of what I think was Scrumpy and leaned over the balcony."

Moon cut in, "Wouldn't that leave you in quite a bad position to defend yourself in?"

"Nope. He comes behind me, and right as he's about to probably reach around and slit my throat, I spin into a smack and break the bottle right in his fuckin' face! Oh man, the screams that guy made… Dumbass should've realized I heard him."

Aden sighed, "And then you threw him off the balcony, yeah, yeah, we've heard it before."

"Painted the streets red," Rick replied with a vacant stare. "Anyway, explain how the infection was started?"

Aden clasped his hands together, "Right. Nanomachines plus governments equals governments using nanomachines in their soldiers. And as it-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. I'm pretty sure the U.N. explicitly stated that non-medical and non-civilian nanomachines were never supposed to be used in wars?"

"No self-respecting government official listens to the U.N. anymore," Aden said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. Huh."

"Little did everyone know that that was the plan the entire time to actually spread the mutagenic virus. With half the world's soldiers using nanomachines, it was inevitable that every country would get hit when the nanomachines released the virus into the soldiers en masse and completely tore apart whatever was around them. That was a pretty clever way to start the beginning of the end of the world."

"So someone used nanomachines that were put into soldiers to spread the infection around? That's the most disgusting fucking thing you could do. They aren't meant to be used like that, not to be pawns just to spread something like this infection."

Aden shrugged, "What can we do now? Not much."

Sighing, Rick got back up as he began walking out of the room, "Yup, yup, yup. Gotta take a shower man, bad man dreams get you sweatin'."

Aden's head bobbed upwards slightly after considering what Rick just said, "Wait, you're telling me this old place has showers? Or even functional plumbing for that matter?"

Moon gave him an annoyed look, "Of course, do you think we're barbarians?"

"No, actually that title is reserved for Rick," Aden responded with a smile.

The frown became a smile as Moon turned to follow Rick, leaving Aden with Luna. The air around them soon turned awkward without some kind of buffer like Moon or Rick nearby.

Clearing his throat, Aden tried making conversation with the Princess Moon Goddess, "So… how long have you known Rick?"

"Doo-doo-doo-doh-doh-dee-dah-doh-making that fuckin' cash flow."

Rick was walking alongside Moon as he swiveled around upon reaching a door that led into a private washroom. Considering it now, he hadn't actually looked in any of the rooms other than the washroom, a broom closet, and the Atrium itself. Shrugging off the notion that something helpful might reside in any of the rooms, he shifted his eyes toward Nightmare Moon and smiled.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask something, but it hasn't come up for some reason."

Moon pressed a hoof into Rick's chest and pushed him into the washroom, closing the door, "Oh, and whatever question would that be?"

Rick's face went from somewhat cheerful to guiltily solemn, "I wanted to know, do you forgive me for hurting you? For breaking your horn and wings on the Moon?"

The look of shock on her face led him to believe that it might not have been a good idea to bring it up, "Of-of course I do! W-what would ever make you think otherwise?"

Internally, Rick smirked momentarily. Nightmare Moon was always calm, collected, strong, and intelligent. Seeing her surprised and stuttering her words was proof enough that he broke through that layer and eased into a more personal, and more vulnerable Mare of the Moon. The tenderness and faltering strength was always something Rick found adorable and when she did, he couldn't resist feeling himself fighting back some kind of nervous joy.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets, "Well… I'm assuming it probably hurt… a lot. Trixie told me that a unicorn's horn is highly sensitive to physical sensations."

Moon raised her head high and placed a hoof at her chest, "It wasn't painful in the le-" The disbelieving look on Rick's face forced her to stutter, "W-well, perhaps it was a small bit painf-" Rick crossed his arms, making her sigh and lower her head, "Fine, I shall admit it… It was painful. Extremely painful, in fact."

Rick placed a hand on her cheek, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It isn't wise to bring up painful memories when much better ones can be made…"

"Yeah, but don't you think we should talk about it? So it doesn't need to come up later? I don't think we should hide anything between us, even if it does hurt to say it. I don't want our memories to relate back to pain; because it doesn't need to if we just talk about it with each other. Would you mind another question?"

Moon's face slowly went back to its normal shade, "Ask away, Dear."

Rick looked at the shape on her head, "If I touched your horn, what would happen?"

Those little signs that the conversation took a whole different direction, such as Moon freezing up, her face turning beet red, and becoming nearly expressionless, forced Rick to raise a brow and truly consider what a horn meant. The look he was getting from Moon gave him the idea it amounted to a reproductive organ on the outside, which when he considered what to compare that to with a human, left him a bit unnerved. It was either the equivalent of a penis or a clitoris. He hoped it was the latter, and the fact that Moon was female insisted that it most likely was.

"W-What? I apologize, I didn't quite hear you?"

Rick smirked and took the opportunity to mess with her, provided his intuition on what the horn amounted to in human standards was true.

He put his face close to her ear and whispered, "I said," he cupped his index finger and thumb on the tip of the horn, "if I touch your horn," he slowly began rubbing it between his fingers, "what would happen?"

Moon barely heard what Rick has said to her due to her sharp gasp and the thoughts invading her mind. She wasn't particularly used to a stallion, or a human for that matter, to take control of the situation like that. It was usually something reserved for her, and she would always take just a little bit of pleasure in seeing a unicorn's legs wobble and nearly give out like a newborn foal just from horn stimulation. But this was different, far different from any previous experiences. None had over touched her there, and a human had assumed control over her body without even realizing it or the results of that dominance.

With a few simple rubs and a twisting motion, the mighty Nightmare Moon was reduced to a shaky legged mare. She nearly cursed herself for being off guard to allow such a thing to happen, but the immediate reminder of who was doing it stopped her before she was able to continue that thought when it was passed through by the pleasure flowing down from her horn and quaking its way straight through the rest of her body. Moon felt a build-up from the erotic act run through her and knew her climax would be soon. She surprised herself by realizing that; Moon always felt like she was the one who could last the longest. Right as she was nearing the last few rubs that would throw her over the edge and "release" herself, it suddenly stopped. Moon was barely able to open her eyes in her bliss-addled daze to question why the lack of finishing her off.

"W-why di-did you s-stop?"

That all she able to make out before she took a sharp breath and felt the pain from her teeth digging into her bottom lip mix with a heightened sense of sex-fueled indulgence. Something wet, warm, and rough was now snaking its way around her horn. In her near delirious state, she wasn't able to connect together what it was before it began to twirl around towards the tip, forcing her legs to wobble uncontrollably as her build-up was reaching its limit. Her back legs gave out completely, forcing her onto her haunches with her tongue out and panting heavily. A slick, clear substance was leaking unceremoniously from between her legs and onto the tiled washroom floor, forcing her to blush harder at her own embarrassing reaction to the stimulation.

As her climax began to approach, her horn began to react by charging itself with magic, giving off a dark blue glow as the aura covered it brilliantly. She cringed in pleasure when she felt something tight puckered around the tip of her horn and that other object makes swirls around it rapidly. Moon's eyes shut tight like a vice as she shuddered from the climax, completely losing control of her body and releasing the pent-up magic out of her horn. After being drained of the pure and somewhat slimy magic, she collapsed to the floor panting heavily and in utter bliss.

A voice she could barely register complained about something, "Oh. Wow. This is gross."

Nightmare Moon was barely able to open her eyes enough to see Rick standing over her looking at himself in a nearby mirror, the front end of his body plastered with a dark blue, thick and gooey magic that didn't sit all that well with him. His abdomen all the way to his hair was covered in the stuff as it slid down his body sluggishly. If he didn't need that shower before, he'd definitely need it now.

"I-I'm sorry… I j-just couldn't help myself when you did that…"

Rick stopped gazing into the mirror and looked down at Moon. The way she was lying on the floor in her own juices (he, however, was standing and covered in them) out of breath, and so apologetic made him smile at her from his stance above her. Something about the scene made him feel better, and aroused at the idea he just made one of the most powerful creatures on the planet climax with the ferocity of an earthquake. Rick couldn't suppress a chuckle at that thought and crouched down by Moon.

'Damn, now she's just plain fucking cute, isn't she? From being the baddest to the wettest, what a way things tend to work out.'

Rick wiped a clump of sticky magical ooze off of his face, "Uhh, nice shot… I think." He cringed as he wiped some off of his tongue, "I take it you liked that?"

Moon attempted to nod, but her head slumped back down against the floor almost immediately.

He chuckled in response, "Well, don't tell anyone about what I just did, I don't want people getting the wrong idea about me and pointy things that aren't supposed to go into mouths. That would be one weird ass problem if that ever got out." Rick lifted her head by the chin, "Are you okay though? You seem a bit tired."

A hoof managed to make its way to his arm as their eyes connected, "It was far better than 'okay'." She looked away for a moment in embarrassment, "I-I've never felt that before… It was so… amazing."

That comment went straight to Rick's head as he smirked, "Well, I am that amazing, after all."

Moon slowly began to regain all of her senses, "Ooooh, that was quite the experience… Where did you learn to do something like that? It was divine!"

"I didn't?" Rick shrugged.

Moon looked back into Rick's eyes for a moment before turning away again, "I-I have a request... if you don't mind, that is…"

He raised a brow, "A request? Anything for m'lady." Rick began to stroke her mane, "So, what is it exactly you would like me to do, Miss Mare of the Moon?"

Her face seemed to get redder from the name, "P-please Dear, there's no reason to be so formal with th-"

Of course, Rick cut her off there, "Ah-ah-ah," He smiled and brought her face close to his, "a girl like you deserves to be treated with the utmost respect and that includes any services you may require of me. How can I serve you today?"

Still recovering from earlier, a weak smile formed on Nightmare Moon's face, "Well… I'd like you to service me in a special way…"

Rick smiled dumbly; completely aware of what he was getting himself into.

Awww shit! Nightmare Moon just moneyshotted Rick at point blank! Well, that ending was intensely weird and even weirder to write. Still, I think I executed it a bit well for something I said I'd never really do. Then again, it was completely one sided, at least, for this chapter it was. Hmm, what could that mean?

Well, there really isn't much to say about this chapter. Hope some things were explained, but knowing my writing, more questions probably surfaced than buried. I honestly can't help doing that for some reason or another. But no matter how much shit I put in, I'm going to try my best to tie it all together. There are definitely a lot of things that were referenced, pointed out, or mentioned that don't seem to make a big deal in the story yet, but I want to convey the idea that at every moment in the story, there are other things happening that aren't centered around Rick/Company. For example, as Rick's doing whatever the hell he's doing, Tobias is trying to make sure something close to him stays safe from his current employer. On Earth, a certain person is trying to prevent Long Island from being overrun by those mutants everyone loves so much. Hopefully everything will come full circle at the end.

Anyways, I'm debating on whether or not there should be some of this so-called "clop" next chapter. I'm not experienced in the least in the department of sensual writing, and I even recall stating that I wouldn't ever do it. But things change, right? I've already stuck that little part at the end of this chapter, but I can easily avoid the sex by going a more comedic route or just blotting it out or some shit. So what I'm saying is this: You the reader decide on what happens. My question is: Should there be a cloppening next chapter or no? Leave it in a review or go to the poll on my page so I can get an idea. The only real reason I'm holding myself from writing it is because I feel that some readers may find it degrades the value of the story. Then again, some might think it would make it better (looking at a specific beta-reader). But do a good deed today and give me some feedback there, ight?

So, as it turns out, this chapter took well over a month. Why? I got too distracted with bullshit to actually gather the motivation to write any more. But hopefully that won't be a problem anymore.

Another thing, if you've read Lucius Seneca's stories, In Medias Res, you'll see two chapters that include Rick and Twilight. Both me and him collabed together there, but it occurs a bit later in my story (few chapters, actually). Honestly, you guys got to read ALL of his stories, including Venia and Into the Abyss. Read, review, and bask in the glow of great writing. Also, we're currently tinkering away with the idea of collabing together on a story seperate from our own. What will become of it? Hopefully something that you all will enjoy, if we can get past the planning stages that is. Will it involve humans? But of course! Will they be transported there mysteriously via portals and other magic wizard bullshittery? Nope, something better than that. Here's hoping to us getting it off the ground.

Now I know these are your favorite part of these dreaded "Author's Notes", but I shall present to you "Review Responses", in TECHNICOLOR. Note, it is actually in the only color we are provided with, black. But seeing as though I've been inactive for who knows how long and I really want to end and upload this, I'm only going to bother with the first two pages of reviews. Sorry if you got cut, etc. etc..

nobodyreallyimportant - Acid trip? No, no, no, we only take microdots here. Which is... ACTUALLY LSD! Whoa! ACID TRIP!

Ponyman130 - Right, let me explain something real quick. The Reconstruction Chamber is not supposed to be some kind of wonder-cure-all. All it does is prevent a permanent death and bring the person who was killed back into the Chamber to be put back together. Thing is, the Chamber was never designed to be used as often as Rick's been dying. A month between deaths would be the minimum, but he's already screwed that part over. The result of that carelessness is his body won't reconstruct properly, giving him only a partially remade form. His skin wasn't bonded well with him and the reason his eye was fucked up was because a Chamber requires all original body parts to be present in order to be used to full effectiveness. He essentially got a "fake" eye substitute that didn't work so well. But he has his original now, so nothing to worry about there. Hopefully that answered a few questions.

RainbowDashWasHere - I don't know how I got this story past 200k words, but I somehow did it. It's a bit too excessive in my opinion though, but then again, this fic is very dialogue centered when it comes to information on what's happening. I feel as though I'm much better at writing dialogue than anything else, but I just hope it doesn't detract from the story. Also, I should probably speed things up a bit, it feels like it's dragging on.

Dylan Boggs - Interesting...

Shadowfire117 - Good news, STALKER 2 is still being worked on! It is a great relief and maybe we'll get a trailer or some shit soon.

DeadPony - I honestly don't have that much in relation to Rick or anything in this story for that matter. It's all fictional and hypothetical imagination that got put on E pills. Also, just to clarify, Rick (the character) and Rick R (the author name) were blatant references to one of my favorite rappers, Rick Ross. It really should have been obvious, but maybe it really wasn't. The story is not a fantasy-power-tripping-self-insert, it's just something that I pieced together by slapping interesting ideas against each other and seeing what stuck. I took things that I thought were interesting and made for good reading and put them there for enjoyment, not because I wish I was in the shoes of some made up character. I mean, you can see it however way you want, but it really isn't.

avatoa - I'm ridding the story of Tyrone the mantis because he was just a bad idea on my part. The powers aren't going to be removed, they're going to be nerfed with serious drawbacks on Rick's physical and mental health from the start. It's supposed to be something he uses when he's left with no other option because of how badly it could damage him.

BlasianAsian - Thanks for the good, because it feels good. With the big ass parts, that's just something I can't help doing most of the time. I overdo a chapter and it may get too large. I don't want to waste all of that writing however, so it usually stays that way. There's a reason Tobias isn't appearing, but it won't be explained properly (spoilers and shit) until later. About John (pony with a shotgun), he's what I consider a humanized pony. Not in the sense he's literally become one, but he's given up his poniness in favor of taking more human traits that allow him a better chance of surviving on Earth. Anyway, I realize there's a massive load of shit that needs renovation severely, but I thank you for point everything out, giving me the criticism and especially for the compliments. Wish I could get reviews like yours more often. Also, I doubt I'll ever pursue writing past these little stories, but who knows, maybe I can write medical horror thrillers when I'm a doctor and lose all of my patients who would think I'm crazy. Here's hoping?

Jayswing103 - I was originally planning on Rick committing suicide right as he was released by Nightmare Moon in that chapter, but I decided against it after I remembered how much I wrote him as hating it when he did it himself.

PISSED OFF MOTHAFUCKA WHO GOT A GAT - Ask and ye' shall receive. Now put away that gun, this is a safe place.

I think I've covered everything here, but I most likely didn't. Leave a review, vote in the poll, and enjoy life my friends. Also, this may be a shot in the dark and completely undeserved, but would anyone possibly consider making some kind of art for this fic? I know it probably doesn't deserve it, but who knows? Maybe someone actually likes the fic enough to draw something. Welp, hope you have a nice whatever the hell time it is. This had been Stillmatic, your deliveryman of mediocre writing, saying "Good Night, and Good Luck."

As always, Stay Trilla.