AiE Chapter 11: Scars [Part 1]

Anonymous and Princess Luna are currently trapped in a unknown space, as Luna just told Anonymous they were on the moon he looked at the princess for a minute before resuming his attempts at digging out of the cave.

>Princess Luna(L): "Did you not hear a word I have said hairless monkey? We are trapped on the moon!! There is no escape!!"

"I heard you loud and clear Princess Luna; but, the odds of us being on the moon are pretty low; you may have intended on sending me there, but there is no guarantee that's what happened."

>L: "You will not be able to dig out with your current strength."

Anonymous stopped digging for a second to catch his breath; after a few seconds he finally responded to the princess alicorn.

"Look, I know it's going to be a long and boring process without you constantly reminding me; also, just what's your problem Princess Luna? I don't have anything against you, so why do you hate me so much? How many times do I have to say I'm sorry before you forgive me? Did I really wrong you to the point where we're trying to kill each other? And why are you in such a pitiful state right now? You look like a child trapped in their worst nightmare. I want answers Princess Luna; I wanna know just what's wrong with you."

>L: "I am under no obligation to tell you anything hairless monkey; besides, nopony here has prodded you for information on what your past was like; so do not think you can do the same to me."

"I just want to know why you hate me so much."

Princess Luna remained silent for a minute before speaking again; her voice sounded almost saddened by the remark Anonymous made.

>L: "I never said I hated you..."

Anonymous paused for a minute before looking at Princess Luna in disbelief; the dark blue alicorn simply sat in the corner with her head down, shaking slightly with her eyes closed.

"What did you just say?"

>L: "I said I...do not hate you hairless monkey..."

"Well you could've fooled the hell out of me Princess Luna; since all I've ever done since meeting you is argue and fight about different things."

>L: "Make no mistake hairless monkey; you are not my favorite pony to be around, however I do not hate you; we simply dislike each other."

"I wanna know WHY you dislike me so much Princess Luna; I was hoping we could get along, and make this whole ordeal easier for each other."

>L: "Get along with each other? Do not mistake me for my sister hairless monkey, while I do love and respect all ponies of Equestria; that love does not extend to unknown anomalies from other worlds that may, or may not be a danger."

Anonymous had stopped digging and plopped on the ground where he was standing; he then sighed deeply before turning to Princess Luna.

"Okay fine, since we barely know each other; let's use this opportunity to get to know the other better; so Princess Luna, what do you want to know about me?"

>L: "Your pitiful attempt at getting along are not amusing in the slightest hairless monkey, but if you insist then I do have one question."

"Okay, and that is?"

>L: "I...want to know what my sister saw about you that disturbed her so much..."

Anonymous sat still for a minute before leaning all the way back against the pile of rocks behind him; staring at the rock walls as he talked.

"Ah...you must mean my time in sector s12; boy do I have some fine ass memories about that place."

>"I doubt my sister would be disturbed about a place the hairless monkey has enjoyed so much." Princess Luna had said; failing to pick up on the sarcasm in Anonymous's voice.

"I assure you Princess Luna; the time I spent there was absolute hell, and the memories that disturbed Celestia so much was probably of my time there."

Anonymous got up from the spot he was sitting in and slowly walked over to Princess Luna; when he finally reached the alicorn he kneeled beside her and waited for a respond.

>L: "Just what do you intend on doing hairless monkey?"

"I want you to see for yourself what your sister saw; so go ahead and use that memory searching magic that she did."

Princess Luna looked at Anonymous for a minute with unsure eyes; it appeared that she was having second thoughts until her horn started to glow.

>L: "Because of my current state...I won't be able to look very long."

"I doubt you could stomach much of it anyway."

Princess Luna then tapped the top of Anonymous's forehead with her horn; there was a flash of light before the princess and Anonymous both fell silent, as they both started going through Anonymous's memories.

-----

 

>You felt a sudden rush inside your head before finding yourself inside of a giant blank canvas; this place reminded you of the white space you went for magic, except your body appeared normally and fully clothed insted of a large mass of red energy.

"Where am I?" You think to yourself, but the thought echoed everywhere around you in a much louder volume.

"What in the?"

>This time what you had said came from your mouth in your normal speaking voice.

>Luna(L): "This place is your subconscious hairless monkey."

>Suddenly Princess Luna appeared inside the large space; she appeared slightly transparent as she floated alongside you.

"Well...I thought that you didn't need me conscious to make the spell work."

>L: "Under normal circumstances I would not; however, due to a slight problem earlier I seem to have exhausted a fair amount of magic on a banishment spell."

"Dumbass..." you mutter under your breath.

>You think back to how this all started in the first place, and how Princess Luna tried to send you to the moon in a fit of anger. Suddenly the blank canvas around you produced a large screen showing the scene from earlier; you saw Princess Luna shouting back and forth with you before firing a spell which reminded you of something...they reminded you of fireworks.

>Another large screen suddenly appeared revealing a small child staring out the window of an orphanage looking at the sky fill with magnificent lights.

>Suddenly a multitude of large screens filled the large white canvas: Some where simply still images of random items; some where moving but lacked sound in odd parts of the mental video; others were complete with sound and moving images that were almost like reliving the scene that played out. These images and videos that were being played were starting to ring through your head; it was like something was siphoning out each memory directly through your skull, and it didn't feel good at all.

>You suddenly collapse to the ground while clutching your head in a effort to reduce the pain.

"Ah! What's happening!?"

>Luna(L): "Foolish hairless monkey! Clear your mind and focus!"

>You take a deep breath and follow Princess Luna's instructions; clearing your mind of all thoughts, and sure enough all the images and discomfort left. You would have to remember to keep a calm head while in here; it seemed like any memories that you remembered would physically manifest themselves into screens of some sort, and playing too many memories at once would cause you pain.

>All these rules with spells and magic manage to do is confuse you most of the time, so you make a little note to yourself to learn some more about it when this is all over.

>You glance up at Princess Luna; who looked at you with a slighty concerned but overall annoyed look as you floated upright again.

>L: "Anytime the hairless monkey would like to start would be most appreciated."

"Before I show you any of this crap I want you to promise two things to me please."

>This took the blue mare by surprise as she looked at you with questioning eyes.

>L: "And what exactly would I have to keep my word with?"

>You held your fist up to her; raising one finger up each time you stated something.

"One: Please keep what I'm about to show you to yourself; don't tell ANYONE, ANYPONY, or anything else.

Two: If you want me to show you what my past was like you have to do the same, and also tell me why you've been freaking out since we've been trapped in this cave."

>Princess Luna looked dejected for a minute; she was struggling to find the right words to say as she looked down away from your gaze.

>L: "I cannot tell you why...it is just to-"

"Too what? Painful? Like what I'm showing you doesn't hurt or is painful for me? I'm LITERALLY dragging up old and painful memories that have scarred me in hopes that you will treat me like an equal."

>L: "I...I know, and *sigh* I promise to not tell anypony what the hairless monkey has to show me."

"AND?"

>L: "..."

"You have to give me something in return Princess Luna; that's how this works."

>L: "...I also promise to show the hairless monkey some memories as well as an explanation for my behavior."

>You exhale deeply as you prepare yourself for what you were getting ready to show Princess Luna; keeping you mind clear and calm would be best for now.

"Guess I should start with explaining what sector s-12 is."

>As you clear your mind a large government facility came into view on a large screen in front of you and the princess. It was completely surrounded by large electric fences and fully armed and armored guards; Princess Luna stared at the serious looking facility with confusion.

>L: "What exactly am I looking at?"

"This place is known as sector s-12 or "Juggernaut" as some people would nickname it; though the meaning is the same for everyone who was imprisoned there."

>The screen then showed the ground underneath the building becoming transparent enough to see the building built underneath."

"As you can see the building is alot bigger than it seems, because only one twelfth of it was built above ground. The rest of it was built under ground so it wouldn't arouse too much suspicion."

>L: "Why would the hairless monkey's "government" want to keep this place hidden if it was a place for helping your kind.

>You laugh, but there was no joy in your voice; it sounded like you were mocking Princess Luna, but what she had asked seemed funny and extremely ignorant to you at the same time.

"The reason why this place was kept secret from the general public and from even most of the military itself was for the same reason I was sent there."

>L: "And what exactly would that be?"

"You saw me use it earlier didn't you? That ability that turns my skin red and gives me strength and speed when I need it.

>L: "I believe the hairless monkey gained a considerable amount of strength and speed after concentrating, but it did not feel like the hairless monkey was using magic."

"Yeah..."rev" was the nickname given to my ability by some old companions of mine...but anyway; the reason why sector s-12 was a secret base was for its abundance of "gifted humans" such as myself. They contained us there in hopes to understand how we came into being, and if there is a way to control or reproduce our abilities that would be beneficial to our government."

>The screen in front of you and Princess Luna changed; what could be seen were glass chambers and holding cells, and all the children from your memories that you saw on your way to your cell; everyone of them were chained to the walls or floor in some way or fashion, and just about all of them were either injured badly, starved, or dead.

>There was one little girl crying in a cell that caught your eye; as the small you inside your memories turned to the crying girl you new what would come next; Princess Luna however, didn't.

>The small girl was given a warning to follow the guard or be shot down. Being only seven the small girl didn't want to follow orders, so at that point the guard promptly demonstrated to your smaller self what happens when you don't follow orders.

>The guard withdrew a small pistol from his waist and pressed it firmly against the back of the girls head l, and gave her one final warning as she beated against the glass of her cell with tears glistening in the light of the facility.

>Unfortunately you had to let your horror freeze your head in place so you could see girls head explode and cover the front her cell in blood.

>The screen snapped shut as you collapsed to the ground breathing heavily while holding your head; despite the many years spent after experiencing the whole thing it still bothered you this bad.

>L: "...why?...why would they murder the young one like that?"

>You see Princess Luna wear a mixed expression of pure disgust, and sorrow as she trembled slightly.

"She wasn't a little girl or "young one" as you put it princess; she was an invaluable."

>L: "Invaluable?"

"You see that was a memory I had from the first floor where all of the invaluables were located; while they were special in some way, shape, or form; their abilities were less than useful to the government, so they were treated pretty badly."

>L: "But...did they not have families or friends that awaited their return?"

"Well of course; we all lived pretty normal lives before coming to sector s-12, but you act like we had any kind of say in it. In fact most of our families were lied to at some point, and made to believe we either dissapeared or were killed in some freak accident."

>L: "But that is not right! How could they do such a thing!?"

"Honestly I don't have an answer for that, because I don't even know myself; I guess the best answer would be because they can."

>You took a deep breath and looked at Princess Luna; who looked very grimly into the distance as the two of you floated.

"Trying to figure it out will only leave you more confused; there is no reason possible you can come up with that could justify why they built juggernaut or how they treated us."

>You decided you had a long enough breather, and decided it was time to move along.

"Ready for round two Princess Luna? Or have you seen enough?"

>Princess Luna was fidgeting with her hooves a little before taking a deep breath; a small fire returned to her eyes as she braced herself.

>L: "I want to see everything my sister saw; any less would be an insult both to my sister; who witnessed these memories firsthand, and to Anonymous; who lived through them."

"What did you just call me?"

>L: "What are you talking about hairless monkey?"

"No you just...you said my na--"

>L: "Please continue when ready hairless monkey."

>You could've sworn Princess Luna had said your name just now, but that would've been...nice of her. Anyways she was right; it was about time to move on to the next memory Celestia had seen.

"Okay Princess Luna the next memory Celestia saw was one of me, Chainsaw, Flashback, and Ivy."

>L: "Who exactly are these "Chainsaw's" and "Ivy's" and such?"

"They weren't objects or anything like that; they were kids I met while being held on the twelfth floor. We sort of formed a team and would fight strategically based on our abilities; that system kept us alive time after time as we duked it out with experiments."

>L: "Experiments?"

"Yeah, here take a look."

>Suddenly a large screen stretched into existence beside you and Princess Luna, the screen showed bears and lions deformed by machinery attatched to their heads and bodies; animals and plants that had their genes spliced with each other to produce the opponents you had fought time and time again with Ivy, Chainsaw, and Flashback.

"These were "experiments" or research tools used to test and push our abilities to the limit in hopes that the observers may fully understand how we work."

>L: "Were these experiments safe?"

"Yeah, for the observers behind indestructible one way windows; for us there was only one rule."

>Princess Luna noticed your silence and looked at you.

>L: "What was the rule?"

"Simple...if you kill it you get to walk out; if not you're beaten near death by the experiment and then dragged to the operating table."

>L: "Where your life would be saved, right?"

"Heh, you would be "saved" alright; after a few modifications first."

>L: "Modifications?"

>A separate screen appeared in front you and Princess Luna; showing a boy sitting in a cell with metal plates showing in patches on top of the boy's head. Different parts of the boy's arm were replaced with crudely crafted machinery, and the boy sat there motionless as wires could be seen poking out from his shirt.

>Princess Luna was horrified at the site; she trembled and looked like she was on the verge of vomiting.

>L: "W-what is that?"

"A human who was modified after failing an experiment."

>The boy had lacerations stretching across his skull that bled slightly from the poor and careless stitching the doctors at sector s-12 did. You would never forget how he could just sit there for days without ever moving from the same spot; without eating anything or even breathing, and the fear you felt when you realized how much of your humanity could be taken from you with the right equipment.

>Princess Luna just stood there with a twisted expression of turmoil; it looked like more than anything she wanted to jump through the screen and try to comfort the boy, but she knew this was a memory of yours, and that the boy was already dead.

"Anyways let's move on to the next memory Celestia saw."

>On that note you concentrated slightly and produced another screen; you noticed that it was getting easier to produce these screens than when you first started.

>The next screen showed Ivy, Chainsaw, and Flashback; all of them appeared to be fighting something in their cell; there was sound in this memory so Princess Luna was startled by the intense screaming that suddenly echoed throughout the space.

>L: "What is happening!?"

>You had to yell over the screaming in order to explain the memory properly to Princess Luna.

"You see when I was in sector s-12 with everyone my ability proved to be a valuable asset to my team! So they would regularly try to help me control my abilities! Although when my mind would snap under extreme anger or overuse of rev it would produce what you are seeing now!"

>Suddenly the screaming stopped and the memory was deathly quiet.

>L: "What exactly AM I seeing now?"

"Let me explain with a theory given to me: You see we humans are believed to use only a small percentage of our muscles, because our minds set a block to protect our bodies from the damage and strain from using our muscles at one hundred percent. Adrenaline is a hormone we produce under stress believed to increase heart rate, respiratory rate, and increase the function of muscles and internal organs. Normally the effect of adrenaline can be felt when scared or excited, but in some cases there were humans who could perform feats of strength and speed well beyond their capabilities due to what is called an "adrenaline rush". My ability "rev" is a deformity that took place when I was born that causes me to produce mass amounts of adrenaline, or a super adrenaline rush; almost one hundred times the amount a normal human can produce, so that allows me to use my muscles and organs well beyond their set limits."

>L: "So how is that relevant to what I am witnessing now?"

"No ability or gift comes without their price, and what you're seeing before you was my price."

>You and Princess Luna both looked at your smaller self; who just went into a breakdown, and after screaming his head off he went silent as his skin turned blood red and was emitting waves of heat as he stood surrounded by Chainsaw, Ivy, and Flashback.

>Since the memory had sound you and Princess Luna were able to hear what everyone was saying.

>>Chainsaw(Cs): "0624 you have to get a grip! Don't let this shit control you!"

>>Ivy(I): "C'mon 0624, we all know you don't want to do this. Remember we're a team."

>>Flashback(Fs): "...duck down Chainsaw he just ripped your head off."

>Chainsaw immediately ducked forward just as your smaller self dissapeared from where he stood and reappeared behind Chainsaw with his fist buried in the reinforced steel.

>>Cs: "That was a close one; thanks Flashback."

>>I: "Quick, we have to find a way to cool him down!"

>The small you ripped a bloodied hand from the steel without so much of a wimped of pain; then proceeded to advance towards the group of three children slowly.

>>Cs: "Can you guess how much he revved up Ivy?"

>>I: "From the size of that hole in the wall I would say about fifty? Fifty five percent?"

>>Cs: "Okay we can work with that...I'll go in and distract him, and Ivy when you see an opening jump in and cool him off okay?"

>>I: "Got it"

>>Cs: "Flashback if you see any deaths warn us okay?"

>>Fs: "...Alright, go for it."

>Chainsaw circled up closely to your adolescent form; slowly edging towards his blind spot, and after a few moments began to fight with your younger form.

>L: "Why is the hairless monkey fighting his companions?"

"Like I said earlier Princess Luna; when I would use my ability too much, or when I broke down from anger and stress it would sometimes trigger the state you see before you...a breakdown."

>L: "A breakdown?"

"It's another nickname gave to my ability; you see when I enter a breakdown it usually starts with a loud scream; followed by my skin turning an inhuman shade of red, and then I would cease talking altogether."

>L: "But that still does not answer my question about why the hairless monkey is harming his companions."

"You see...geez, I guess the best way to put it would be that I only could feel anger during this time, and it usually caused me to lash out at anybody near me...with intent to kill or destroy completely."

>Princess Luna looked like she was about to say something but you stopped her before she could start talking.

"REMEMBER these are memories, and I have long since gained a considerable amount of control over this since then. In fact I haven't had a breakdown in over nine years."

>You think back for a second; reminding yourself of how close you were to a breakdown right before you died and came to Equestria.

"I...never meant to hurt any of them: it's just that when I would breakdown I would lose all reason, and they would tell me how evil everyone was--"

>L: "They? Forgive me but I am failing to understand who "they" are."

"They are...they...wait..."

>You were forgetting something; you knew there was something you used to hear all the time, but you couldn't remember exactly what you meant when you said 'they'.

"I'm having trouble remembering..."

>Princess Luna looked at you with a straight face; deciding whether you were being honest or not.

>L: "I suppose you could say I understand."

>That was kind of surpring to hear; of all things to say why did she sympathize with you? Did she go through something similar?

>A loud noise from the memory snagged you and Princess Luna's attention back to the memory that was still playing. Your child self and Chainsaw had been fighting and there were dents in the reinforced steel walls from where you had missed him. Chainsaw was currently lying on the ground with your hand around his neck; you were crushing his windpipe as Chainsaw tried to reason with your smaller self.

>>C: "Dont do -hack- this 0624!! We're a t-team!"

>Your adolescent self was about to crush his neck when he felt two arms wrap him; turning his head he saw Ivy gently hugging him with a small smile.

>>I: "It's okay 0624; just take a nice long rest okay?"

>And with that Ivy froze you solid; making your body freeze up like a statue as small frost vapors floated from your childlike frozen form.

>That's when the screen went black and faded away.

"Okay, I think that's all the disturbing stuff Celestia got a glimpse at."

>You turn to look at Princess Luna; who looked drained emotionally and mentally; you were about to say something when you were suddenly sent flying out of your subconscious and back into the cave where you and Princess Luna were.

-----

 

Anonymous sat up and shook the haziness off as he looked around and saw he was back in the cave with Princess Luna. He felt surprisingly tired as he tried to get up from the spot he and Princess Luna were sitting in.

"What the? I feel just as tired as when I stopped digging."

Anonymous quickly realized that he must have still been using energy to create those memories he showed Princess Luna.

"Goddamn magic and it's stupid demand for my energy..."

As Anonymous sat back down he looked over at Princess Luna; who had instantly fell asleep after the memory spell had worn off; she was the utter image of exhaustion as she snored loudly throughout the cave.

Anonymous couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Heh, not very ladylike Princess Luna."

Just then Princess Luna began falling forward from where her back had been propped up against and collapsed across Anonymous's lap; still snoring loudly as ever.

"Wait get...off me!"

Anonymous tried moving Princess Luna back against the wall, but she kept falling forward back across his lap until he gave up and rested against the wall with a large sigh.

"Damnit, too tired to deal with this crap..."

Anonymous closed his eyes and decided that Princess Luna had the right idea about resting for now, so as he drifted off to the sound of Princess Luna's snoring he couldn't help but feel cozy under the warmth of the mare resting across his lap.

What Anonymous did not hear as he drifted off was the relieved sigh of Princess Luna as she mumbled in her sleep.

>Luna(L): "...stupid...Anonymous..."