A Fresh Start

[Jack Darby]

 "So I've been brought here against my will, because I'm of some interest to you? Great...." 

Once Omni had finished the introduction, and Veritas 'awoke' in the Nexus a frown was on his face. Was this some kind of prank? No, the accident in his lab had nearly killed him. But he was here now. For better or for worse he could not attempt escape from the Omniverse. Checking himself over, Veritas realized that all of his weapons were missing. If this was some kind of prank, he ddn't know what to think of it. But upon examining his surroundings, an elegantly beautiful fountain was noticed by him. What was the game of this "Omni" ? It was confusing enough to be brought here and stripped of all his abilities,  for the most part. To be completely honest, even his knowledge of machines and weaponry was drawing up blanks, presently. Just what had the individual done to him, exactly? 

"So to recap, strange environment. I'm to serve as entertainment for some deity who thinks too highly of himself, and apparently has enough power to remove all of my abilities, even my mechanical expertise." 

Relearning inventing was going to be a royal pain, especially as he didn't have time to do so. Being in a new place was one thing, but he was helpless or so he believed presently. Giving himself another once over, he noticed an arm-band on himself. Could it be? Could it be the device he made to store equipment? If so, what did it contain? Eyeing it critically he said. "Summon Omni-Blaster."  The device spoke. "Invalid Command."  Another attempt was made by him. "Summon Force Field Belt."  The device once more denied him with the same statement as before. Frustrated,  Veritas decided to put that mystery on pause. Later when he had somewhere to call home ehe could perhaps work on arming himself, and discovering the mysteries of this place. 

While he was not a good guy, and would never play the role of the hero Veritas knew that when he was strong enough, he was definitely going after Omni. After all, being brought here against his will? That would have been tolerable, had Omni also not ripped out his bionics. Getting the tools together to enhance himself fresh was going to require a lot of work. Not only would he have to re-learn how to invent, but he'd have to learn about biology and a whole host of other subjects. 

Still near the Fountain, Veritas looked around. 

[Celestia]

Celestia's walk didn't take her very far before she spotted something that caught her interest.  Not to say that the fountain or gates weren't worth investigating, but the fountain's purpose had been explained, at least as much as she would be able to investigate in her current limited state, and the gates were very far away.  She'd see them soon enough, the way this realm was layed out it seemed everyone would have to get to a gate eventually.

No, what attracted her attention was another creature, itself standing not far from the fountain.  That it was some sort of biped was immediately obvious.  It was wearing some sort of clothing, atypical for Celestia's species but likely not for this creatures.  Regarding him from a distance for a moment, Celestia wondered if she was familiar with the species or not.  The creature didn't come across as particularly strange, but with her memory as it was she couldn't tell if that was because she'd encountered them before, or if she was just used to dealing with creatures that were alien to her.

Celestia decided not to worry about it.  This was the first living creature she had encountered since her 'death', at least as far as ones that weren't inscrutable were concerned, and she wasn't going to pass up the chance to discuss her new predicament.  Even if, after a second glance, the creature didn't look like he'd know much more than she herself did.

The creature seemed to struggling with some sort of device on his arm, and getting frustrated by the lack of results.  Or at least, that's what Celestia gathered from the snippets of speech she heard from him.

Celestia approached.  “Greetings!”  She called out, as she stepped closer, “are you a new arrival as well?”

[Jack Darby]

As if being brought here was not bad enough, but Omni had said there were going to be others he had 'blessed' with his power. This was not a blessing, but more of a curse. Being brought to the Omniverse meant losing part of who you were, the abilities that defined you and all the skills you once possessed. When he was approached by what he could only describe as a winged Unicorn, or a Pegacorn Veritas eventually settled on calling her species an Alicorn as he didn't know much about mythology. 

"Stupid thing work already!" said Veritas. 

The device chimed. "Invalid Command, shutting down for 60 minutes." 

Examining the pony or horse or Alicorn thing, Veritas looked it over. There was some sort of symbol on it's flank, and it didn't appear to possess any weaponry other than the horn it had. Yet what was the purpose of the horn? Veritas didn't honestly know. Yet he did hate mysteries with a passion and the creature was one of the biggest mysteries he'd encountered. 

"Hello, yes I'm a new arrival. Like you, I've been dragged here against my will by Omni. He seems to have done....something and all of my gadgets are non-functional. I can't even bring up a map of this place, or contact anyone from back home. I know we're in the Omniverse but other than that I am hopelessly confused. You can call me Veritas. " 

Villainy could wait until he had more intelligence about this place. You didn't win a war by entering a battle with an unloaded gun after all. And make no mistake, Omni and him were at war now. Since Omni had saw fit to rip out his bionics and remove his intelligence, Veritas had a lot of skills he'd have to relearn before he could be ready for crime anyway. 

"So who are you?" 

[Celestia]

Celestia's educated guess was correct, the creature confirmed it.  This was another new arrival, although he was far less calm about his current situation than Celestia was.  Or perhaps he was simply less patient than Celestia was, so eager to resolve his current situation and get back to what he was doing prior to his arrival that that he worked himself into frustration.  Celestia couldn't say.  She couldn't be sure if she'd even seen his species before, she wouldn't be familiar with him in particular.

The creature introduced himself as Veritas, and mentioned that he was unable to access his usual devices (whatever those were), a map, or means to contact the 'outside'.  Celestia was hardly surprised.  She looked around the region they arrived.  “I doubt a map would do us much good here, the only features seem to be this,” she pointed to the fountain.  “And the 'gates'.  And if I had to guess, we're well beyond any of our usual forms of communication...”  Much of this she was inferring from Omni's speech and the circumstances of her arrival, and to her seemed obvious.  She couldn't tell if Veritas truly hadn't realized the extent of what had happened to the both of them, or if deep down he knew but was still working through the change of circumstances.  Either way, she felt a gentle reminder wouldn't be amiss.

“But sadly,” Celestia continued, “beyond that I don't really know any more about this place than you do.  In all my years I've never even heard of such place...” She turned back to him, and smiled.  “My name is Celestia.  I used to lead a country, though it appears I've found myself on an 'unexpected vacation'.”

Celestia considered for a moment.  "If you don't mind me asking, what species are you?"

[Jack Darby]

"I am a human. We're a species who are normally bipedal. I've never seen a creature like you. What manner of species are you?" asked Veritas, completely unfamiliar with the existence of any sort of magic. To be honest, he didn't know magic existed and didn't know she was capable of it. Communications were down due to Omni, Celestia had confirmed that much. 

So she was a ruler of some place, but was taking a 'vacation' which was likely the result of her being killed. Still to show respect, he'd bow before her. "Are you a Princess, a Queen, an Empress?" He asked, in a little bit of shock as to what was currently going on, as talking pony was outside what he was used to dealing with. It was an entire dimension away from what he was used to in fact. "Humans are a species who lack the ability to do any sort of magic, but make up for it with technological innovations. I am not a true human, but I was made in a lab. I was supposed to be bionic, but am no longer thanks to Omni. I'll have to find a way to surgically implant such technology right after I learn how to build it anew." 

[Celestia]

Celestia took a moment to wonder what 'normally bipedal' meant before chalking it up to just an unusual turn of phrase.  Veritas had given an answer, the species was known as humans.  It didn't ring any bells, and he didn't offer much more information.  Then again, it would be next to impossible to sum up the entirety of a species in a few sentences, so she supposed she couldn't blame him.  She would just have to learn from this particular member of the species.

Veritas in turn asked if Celestia a Princess, Queen or Empress.  It made her pause.  Yesterday, she would have said she was, and gone on to explain which.  She thought back to Equestria, that she had left behind, and that she was hoping to get back to.  “As I said, I used to be.  A little of all three, in a sense, though Princess was my official title.  My nation does not appear to have followed me here however, so claiming such a title would accomplish nothing.”

Veritas gave her a little more explanation of himself and his species.  Humans were generally not able to use magic, although Celestia reminded herself that in this strange place who knew what powers Omni would have given them access to.  Veritas himself was interesting one in particular.  Apparently he wasn't a true human, but a created being of sorts.  And he claimed to be missing parts, which he said he would re-insert at some point in a process that sounded like it would be quite painful.  It wouldn't be her decision to make, of course, but she couldn't help make an observation.  “Are you sure such things are necessary, in this place?  I'm to understand we've been given a very versatile tool with our arrival.  I imagine you could recover your old abilities, with no surgery whatsoever, if one can just figure out how to use it.”

[Jack Darby]

"That's the problem. If I were to insert the machinery back into my body by means of this Omnilium, some prime could figure out how to undo it.. A fact that annoys me to no end, second only to the fact that Omni stripped me of my abilities in the first place Celestia..." said Veritas, his body tensing for a moment before he forced himself to relax. Veritas then sighed as he examined her. "So now that I've told you about myself, you have my curiosity focused on you. What manner of species are you, and why do you remind me somewhat of a Unicorn? Granted the wings, and stature remind me more of a Pegasus, but the body type reminds me of a regular horse on my earth... horses there are beasts of burden and mindless creatures that are normally ridden for the enjoyment of others."  Veritas paused again. 


"I still prefer science over magic... and this Omnilium I believe is some sort of magic. Still you say it can restore my old abilities painlessly?"  Veritas eyed Celestia and after several moments of staring, looked at her in a brand new light. She was more powerful than him and possessed a few magical abilities that made him look pathetic. Magic? He didn't believe it could exist. "Wow. You have powers over light and heat... powers I didn't think could be possible..." admitted Veritas.  "You are an impressive specimen, Celestia. I would be honored to travel with you and learn more about your species. We could trade information about our respective races while we travel. Your abilities all seem to revolve around something called "magic" which I would love to learn the inner workings of so I could replicate it through science!" 

[Celestia]

Celestia understood Veritas' concerns, do a degree.  It was a little paranoid of him to assume someone could use Omnilium manipulation to affect him like that, when he had so little knowledge of whether or not such a thing could actually be done.  Granted, Celestia knew as well as anyone that such paranoia can save a person's life in the right circumstances.  But it was one thing to take reasonable precautions against a possible threat, it was another entirely to undergo surgery – and surgery Veritas might have to perform on himself given the circumstances – on the off chance he meets someone with an ability that might not even be possible.

Celestia didn't think that argument would convince Veritas however, and even if she didn't agree she understood why he might think that way.  There flaw in his reasoning was entirely different.  “But, would not someone extracting something through more conventional means accomplish the same effect, but be much more painful?”

It was something for Veritas to think about, otherwise Celestia decided to leave the topic alone.  Veritas' next comments reminded her that she hadn't answered his questions about her own species.  “The term we use is alicorn, and we are very rare, even in my home plane.  We are beings of great power, able to access the magic of all three of the main pony tribes, and then some magic that remained exclusive to us.”  She considered for a moment.  “...I am not sure if that matters here however.  I am not able to do everything I could prior to my arrival.  Some abilities have remained, but much will have to be recovered.”

Veritas preferred science over magic, he said.  Celestia smiled.  “Those are one and the same really, just with a different means of employing them.  And yes, I believe it could, although I cannot say for certain.  I will need to do more research, to learn the limits of omnilium and the full range of things it can do.”

Veritas stared at Celestia for a time.  It was odd, for him to suddenly stop talking as he did, and it wasn't until he finished what he was doing that Celestia would find out just what that was.  He was impressed by Celestia's abilities.  “Heh.”  Celestia smiled.  “You should have seen me in my prime.  Still, no reason I can't get back to my previous level of ability, with enough time.”

Veritas suggested they travel together, and share information about their respective species.  Celestia smiled, and nodded her head.  “That would be most agreeable.  It will be nice to have some company for the walk.”  She gestured to the empty space surrounding them, before she began to walk.  “Though for my part, I would like to hear more about the place you come from.  What is your world like?”

[Jack Darby]

There was apparently a lot that "Omnilium" was capable of, and Veritas like Celestia intended on learning all that it could do. So traveling with her was the logical thing to do. Still from what he had gleaned about her she was one of those heroic types and that meant he'd have to put any villainous plans on hold for the time being. Yet in the long run doing so was more than worth it actually. Not only was he going to learn about a new species namely that of an "Alicorn" but there was a chance he'd learn more about the various "Verses" in the Omniverse. There was something about the gates that peaked his curiosity and made him want to explore them. Going alone to any of the gates could be dangerous, and that was one of the reasons he had suggested to Celestia that she be his travel buddy. 

Apparently Celestia believed that "Science" and "Magic" were simply two ways of expressing the same thing. This was worth looking into in the future, but not right now. "Unfortunately I am not sure what I am capable of, Celestia. It seems I am unable to summon my plasma katana, or my other weaponry which is what I rely on in a fight."  The device chimed. "Valid Command, but lock out still in effect for another 59 minutes and 59 seconds, starting now."  

As Celestia began to walk, Veritas walked alongside her. As they journeyed together, Veritas asked her. "Are you sure you want to know about my home plane, and homeworld Celestia? The story isn't exactly...pleasant to say the least. I would not want to cause any offense by telling you a story you were not completely willing to hear." 

[Celestia]

Veritas explained his current limitations, with the device helpfully chiming in its own current lack of function.  Celestia looked between Veritas and the device for a moment before thinking aloud.  “I suppose I interrupted you before you  before you really had a chance to experiment.”  She had caught him just as he was recovering from his own arrival, while Celestia herself was able to spend a few minutes practising with the new material before she had set out.

Still, no time like the present.  “If you remember Omni's speech, omnilium should grant one 'anything they desire', if one simply has the time and focus to command it.  I am unsure how your device works, but I believe that if you truly need it you can use omnilium to create weaponry.  I tested it myself.  Nothing complex, but conjuring objects is a simple, if somewhat time consuming task.”

Celestia shot Veritas a brief look.  “That is, of course, if you feel the need to be armed right away.  We are not in any danger just yet, there is no one nearby to be threat to us at the moment.”  Far off in the distance, Celestia could make out figures moving about, by the look of things generally to and from the various gates.  From this distance, the looked like little more than indistinct blobs.  Further, there were almost no terrain features at all which one might hide behind to sneak up on unsuspecting arrivals.  "Then again, it is better to have and not need, than to need and not have.  I leave the choice up to you."

They began to walk toward a randomly chosen gate.  With neither knowing anything about the gates they saw before them, Celestia had picked one at random and heard no objections.  Veritas gave Celestia a disclaimer of sorts.  His story was not pleasant, and he didn't want to cause offence in the telling.  Celestia laughed.  “Hah!  If I could not endure some negative news or an unfortunate story, neither I nor my nation would have survived nearly so long.  Not to worry, I have a thick enough hide.”  She looked over at Veritas as she continued forward, patiently waiting for him to begin.

[Jack Darby]

"Well on the off chance he wasn't lying...."  

Veritas said this and summoned the orb of Omnilium, but it had grown slightly bigger than before. Had he grown stronger? Probably. When Celestia smiled and said she could handle his story, Veritas began. While they talked and walked hee was try

"One of a thousand. I was one of a thousand that were made to serve as 'heroes' but we were to be sold as living weapons to the highest bidders and that meant what you think it does. We were made to be slaves, puppets to our creators. I took exception to that and may have blown up the entire facility during my escape. It still haunts me that I had to do such, Celestia. But I'm slowly getting over it." 

Continuing to try and concentrate, Veritas spent about 12 minutes on trying to make the Plasma Katana as they walked, but was unable to do so. For one could not make things with Omnilium while moving. "What did I do wrong?" asked Veritas. 

He'd pause. "The story only goes down hill from there Celestia. Perhaps I could rig up some sort of communicator so we could stay in contact." 

[Celestia]

Celestia was watching Veritas' attempt to use omnilium as they walked.  With no terrain or fauna to worry about, she didn't have to worry about keeping an eye on the path ahead, and could keep watch of Veritas' attempts without worry.

Celestia nodded at Veritas' story.  It gave a number of particular hints to his world, particularly that they had a capacity to mass produce fully conscious creatures, and they had a willingness to put sell them through a market.  She was sure there were a number of perspectives on that system, and would love to have an opportunity to hear more of them, even if she knew she would have to speak to some very unpleasant people to get all of them.  Sadly, she'd most likely never get the chance.

No matter though, the story was sure to give insight into Veritas himself.  Created to be a slave, violently breaking out, and then regretting the damage...it didn't take a great imagination to see how that could affect a person.  “You have my sympathies,” Celestia said after a moment.  “I too know how violence can affect a person, whether they are the victim or one who feels forced to commit it.  It's why I came to prefer diplomacy over any other means of resolving conflicts, despite how complicated it can get.”  She considered for a moment, before adding, “You can talk to me about it any time, if you feel comfortable about it and think it would help.”

Celestia frowned at Veritas' lack of results.  It had worked just fine for her.  Then again, when she tried she was alone and not moving, while here they were with Veritas travelling and telling a story while making the attempt.  Magic generally needed focus, more than anything else, maybe that was the issue?  Celestia stopped moving.  “Let's pause for a moment,” she said, “and try again, but don't worry about speaking with me this time.  I am content to observe.”

Veritas suggested constructing some sort of device which would allow them to keep in contact.  Celestia nodded.  “That sounds like a wonderful idea, although I would like to see a little more of this place before we worry about it too much.”  She fell silent then, waiting for Veritas to either try again, or decide to hold off.

[Jack Darby]

Once they had halted their travels and paused for a brief moment Veritas concentrated. What was needed to build a communications device of some sort? Parts. Tools were also needed in order to assemble the device. Rainbow colored streams of light shot out of him and formed into a box of high tech tools the likes of which Celestia had never seen. The streams of light also became parts that he could use. Slowly he'd begin to build a combo device that was going to allow him to access the Dataverse and also a Communicator. 

However he was unaware of the existence of the dataverse at present. Upon completing the device, he thought about what Celestia had said. "Thank you for hearing me out Celestia. That is more than most people in my world were willing to do. Some of them punished me quite severely for expressing free will, the ones who had made me. Now you know the truth of why I destroyed them.."  Tears started to come to his eyes as he thought of how he had destroyed all the experimeents like him in that facility. "I will trust you with more of the story, but not right away." 

[Celestia]

It took several minutes to Veritas to complete his device, Celestia's sense of time was not so well developed that she could tell precisely how many.  It didn't prove to be an issue, she didn't mind the wait.  It was a fascinating experience in its own right, seeing how Veritas approached the challenge of wrangling omnilium into useful items.  Veritas' approach was a little more colourful than Celestia's was (which involved a great deal of quiet concentration until the desired object coalesced before her), with the human focusing the energy into beams of light rather than a more subtle manipulation, but it was clearly no less effective.

Veritas explained what happened leading up to his escape, before thanking Celestia for her understanding and willingness to listen.  He started to get worked up, before getting a hold of himself and saying he'd tell more of his story later.  Celestia just nodded, there was no need to rush things, and what's more there were plenty of less personal things about which she could learn.

With the device finished, there was no further reason to wait around, so the pair moved on.  They walked quietly for a time, before Celestia began asking about the device Veritas.  In part it was a way to pass the time, and distract from the more melancholy aspects of Veritas' past, but it was also something she was genuinely curious about.  When they had walked a ways, and after Celestia had asked enough questions, she asked to borrow the device Veritas had made for a bit.

Celestia had a theory.  After magically prodding the device a bit, she realized she could identify energies it was channelling.  She wouldn't be able to interpret them herself, but with a little effort she might be able to construct a similar device of her own.  She asked to stop, and spent a few minutes of her own shaping omnilium, until a fist-sized gem appeared, connected to a length of string which she shortly wrapped around her neck.  If her theory was correct, when active the gem should be able to communicate with Veritas' device, through means she would have to study at some point.  For the moment though, they moved on.

It would be some time more before they approached their apparent destination, Celestia was sure it was over an hour, but the place they were traversing lacked both celestial bodies and clocks she couldn't say anything more specific than that.  They arrived just short of what appeared to be an archway created out of two palm trees.  Though the opening, Celestia saw a small section of what looked like a city of some sort, and sounds of the ocean could be faintly heard even from their distance.

Celestia considered it for a moment.  This was the first of many gates they had encountered, and so if this one proved untenable they could always go to another.  However, she was also eager to leave the white emptiness behind, and that for the moment won over any doubts.  “Seems inviting enough,” she said eventually.

[Jack Darby]

"It certainly looks that way. I hope we don't run into any trouble. No offense to your own abilities but power wise right now, I cannot even fight if i had to save my own life. What I mean is that if we were to enter a battle as I am now, it most likely will end with me being an obituary unfortunately. My abilities are gone and while we still have a bit before I can use either my sword or my rifle, I'd be more than useless. I'd be nothing more than a liability to you Celestia." 

Veritas viewed himself presently as little more than a liability. It was true though. Without his science he didn't have much that he could do against a serious opponent. Battling anyone with more power than him which if Omni was to be believed was anyone who had been here for any leength of time was suicide. They'd have to avoid battles until he grew stronger if he was to travel with Celestia. 

"Still if you would have someone who can barely fight right now travel with you, I would be honored to be your companion on this journey. So what do you say? Do you want me to travel with you, or not?" 

[Celestia]

Celestia stopped looking at the archway for a moment, and turned to regard Veritas.  She'd seen this sort of behaviour before, though not so much as a leader of the nation than as a teacher.  Many a time she'd found a capable student, who had no notion of their real place or value in the world, and from that lack of knowledge assumed they were worthless.

Celestia paused, considering how best to respond.  She might try to be gentle, to present herself as a figure who will listen without judgment provide a source of support and positive messages for the unfortunate individual.  She also found that technique to beget a very slow rate of progress.  Many suffering individuals did not take such platitudes to heart.  So, she tried another approach.  “You sell yourself short,” she said.  “If you were truly the liability you think yourself, would you have been brought to this plane at all?”  She smiled.  “I can think of at least two people who find your presence here worthwhile.”

“And worry not, I have no plans to fight anytime soon.  I find it...”  Celestia scrunched up her face briefly.  “a poor, and impermanent means of resolving differences.  I much prefer to solve problems with words, and that is something I have gotten adept at.”  Not that she would rely on them exclusively, and after a moment she added, “And should that fail, I am sure I can keep us both safe long enough to escape.”

Celestia let Veritas mull these words over for a bit, before she started walking forward again.  “No time like the present, yes?  Let's see what wonders this place has to offer!”  She strode toward the structure of the gate itself.

[Jack Darby]

She actually believed that he was not a liability. Unlike the scientists who made him she hadn't hit, blasted or done anything else that could be construed as cruel to him. This meant he could trust her. Taking a deep breath he'd walk over to the gate and stand beside her. "Indeed. Let's go explore this new place to see what it could hold. Perhaps there could be a scrapyard I could raid for parts. Normally I'd have at least some drones built to be my proverbial muscle, given my main power is my brain right now." Not only that, but Veritas knew what he needed. Equipment such as more guns and a variety of melee weapons were definitely going to come in handy. After all it was better to have weapons and not need them than need them and not have them.  "Your words have reassured me, Celestia. I would be honored to consider you a friend."  With that they were both through the gate and in the Vasty Deep.