=Father of the Night 6=

>Control your breathing. Close your eyes. Block out all the sounds. That was what Master Ib'Xian would say to you every you trained with him.
>You were putting his training to good use today as you hung upside down.
>Below you Diamond Dogs ran to and fro performing various operations to keep the mine running, all while giving the figures in the center of the room a wide berth.
>In the past weeks the Diggers and Razorclaws had been suspiciously quiet and self contained.
>That worried you.
>After leaving home and sneaking into the mine, you found the target you were after.
>The Dogfather and his daughter Alexandria.
>You strain your ears to listen in on their conversation.
>"Ya ant been around for any of the things I wanted ya here for! And all'a the guards say they see you leavin' at all hours a' the day and night!" he roars.
>The daughter spins around to face him with fire in her eyes. "I'm a big girl now, daddy! I can make my own choices!"
>"Make yer own mistakes is more like it! Yer throwin' yer life away!"
>"My life to throw away!" she shouts.
"Interesting..."
>You lower yourself down your rope to get a better listen.
>The Dogfather grabs his daughter by the arm. "You little run! I give you everything and dis is how you treat me!"	
>Alexandria yanks her arm out of her father's grip.
">You're nothing. Just an old dog with no new tricks."
>Alexandria turns her back on her father and walks down the tunnel leading out, the Dogs still in the room standing in awed silence.
"Curious..." you whisper.
>Where was she going?
>You'd have to find out...
>You shimmy your way up your line and start the process of escaping the cave.

>The next night you go on another stake out, this time to the top of the nearby mountain.
>Infiltrating the Razorclaw's camp was significantly harder than the Diggers for one reason.
>Rifles.
>The Griffins had always been the most advanced race on the planet. No magic and a kingdom to rival Equestria's in power had made them run full tilt down the path to industrialization. One of their inventions was a rifle that put any bows or crossbows in Equestria to shame.
>You had to infiltrate under the cover of a cloudy night right up the side of the mountain.
>Your grapple was getting a workout tonight...
>Once you evaded their sentries, you crawled along underneath their temporary structures and slowly made you wait to the Thane's tent.
>The 'Claws were more paranoid than the Diggers, they had patrons out at all times watching both the skies and the edge of the camp for any intruders, forcing you to stick to the shadows you knew best.
>You hid out back of the Thane's tent, identified by the ceremonial brass hanging from the entrance and the guards posted out front and listened to the two voices inside.

>"You've been neglecting your duties." a stern voice says.
>That'd be Thane Weisshaupt.
>"My duties are beneath me, you and I both that."
>And that'd be his son Brokk.
>The shattering of something wooden makes its way to you.
>"There are two ways we make our bits, arms trade and artifacts, you spending time with that bitch of yours cuts our profits in half."
>He said "bitch".
>The connection was obvious.
>Something brakes. 
>"That bitch has more good ideas in her tail than you have in your entire body. Her and I are going to make a new gang...a better gang."
> You hear someone leave the tent and say "A gang better than any you've ever seen."
>A better gang...
>That could be problematic.
>You have to investigate. 

>You tail Brokk as he flies down the mountain and along the countryside, in time reaching a small grove in the direction of the Diamond Dog mine.
>He lands and you peer through the trees, spotting a female Diamond Dog waiting near the water's edge.
>A meeting then.
>You creep through the bushes as the two of them meet and talk.
>"How'd your old man take it?" Alexandria asks.
>"About as well as you'd think." Brokk answers.
>Alexandria sighs. "Adults..."
>"Got that right..."
>Brokk sits down next to Alexandria and there is a tearing of paper.
>"You ever wonder where these keep coming from?" Alexandria says.
>"Heh, I don't complain."
>You position yourself in a bush directly behind the two of them and lay prone.
>Brokk elbows Alexandria after he swigs some of his wine. "Hey, thought of some more ideas."
>The mobster's daughter takes the wine and sips it. "Oh?"
>"Yep. I thought about where we were gonna be based out of."
>Alexandria rolls her eyes. "Oh here we go."
>Brokk jumps to his feet. "I say we build a giant flying fortress! We can roam all over Equestria taking what we want! Even the dragons won't be a match for us!"
>Alexandria chuckles. "Got any ideas where you'll get the money to MAKE that, Loverboy?"
>Brokk grabs the wine bottle and downs more of it.
>"That's where you come in, babe."
>Alexandria elbows Brokk. "Ass."
>The two of them talk back and forth for a few minutes about plans for their new gang.
>At their feet you spot the shards of paper they must have torn.
>You snap your hoof out and snatch up the paper before they notice.
>The paper has various claw marks and other markings on it, but you couldn't be sure.
>Hmm...
>You needed help here...

>Ponyville was some distance away and the night was not young enough which forced you to run full tilt so you could still capture these two.
>Your lungs burned and your joints ached but still you ran faster and faster.
>Nothing would stop you from bringing them in.
>But you couldn't do it alone, you would need backup.
>And the only person who could provide that backup was Shining Armor.
>You climb the town hall building towards the loft at the top where the Guard Captain was staying and slip your way inside after getting the window unlocked.
>He was in bed at this hour, his midsection rising and falling in steady rhythm under the blankets.
"Shining Armor."
>His eyes snap open and he leaps out of bed with the practiced movements of a lifetime guard.
>"Who's there!?" he shouts.
>You step out of the shadows and make your presence known. [spoiler][/spoiler] "I need you help."
>His stance softens a bit. "You...what are you doing here?"
>You toss the package paper on the ground in front of him. 
"I got that from a secret meeting between the son and daughter of the leaders of the Razorclaw's and the Diggers respectively. They are planning to secede from their father's gangs and form their own, one they claim will be "better" than the current one."

>His eyes widen and drift to the paper.
"The implications of that do not evade you."
>Shining Armor shakes his head. "How can I trust you? You've assaulted dozens of my guards since you began operating here and probably would have done the same to me if I were less inclined to work with you."
>You hang your head, he had you there.
>Assaulting guards was not what you had intended to do when you started off, they were just in your way.
>But that...still wasn't right.
"Look, you can think of me however you please. But the danger posed by these two is real and present, one we cannot ignore."
>Shining Armor looks down at the discarded paper and levitates it up. "I know this paper...it's from the post office here in town. You said you found it at the scene?"
"I did, but that can be handled later."
>No need to get distracted.
>Shining Armor eyes you intently. "What do you want."
>You glance out the window to the tents the Royal Canterlot Guards were staying at.
"I want your help arresting them."

>Twenty minutes after Shining Armor roused his guards from their slumber they were geared up and running back down south to the grove.
>The guards had shown some apprehension to running to battle with the one who had wounded so many of their comrades, but a few words from Captain Armor had set them straight.
>"If his information is correct then we don't have time for animosity. I trust him here and that's all you need to know." he had said.
>And now the bakers dozen of you were waiting outside the grove.
>You close your eyes and concentrate, straining to pick up the faint voices and laughter from inside it.
"I hear them, they're still here."
>Captain Armor nods his head. "Alright, let's spread out and get ready to move in."
"Keep your men out until I can get in."
>Armor looks down at you. "You're sure you'll be alright, kid?"
>You nod.
"I was fine against your guards."
>Armor's ears fall flat. "Alright! The kid is gonna go in there and see what he can do, we'll stay out here until he gets back. Clear?" he asks.
>The guards recite a staccato of "Yes sir"'s and clear your path.
>As you walk into the woods surrounding the grove, you hear them talk.
>"We letting a kid do us in now?"
>"Aint that the kid who put B-quad in the hospital."
>You tune them out.
>The trees near the edge of the grove are easy enough to climb, and their canopy's are thick with large branches.
>You make your way along the branches as Brokk and Alexandria talk.
>"I'm telling ya babe, the two of us are gonna go down in history."
>Alexandria chuckles but remains silent.
>Hmm...This called for intimidation.

-Brokk PoV-
>Tonight was great.
>You were with your girl in the best place around, happily drunk and planning for the future.
>A future full of taking what you wanted, terrorizing those stupid ponies, and blowing anyone who wanted to stop you out of the sky.
>You had the vision, she had the plans to make it happen, you were the perfect pair.
"You know..."
>You scootch a bit closer to her.
"We have all this time..."
>Alexandria chuckles. "Getting more ideas, Brokk-Head?"
>Heh...you had warmed up to that pet name.
"Mmmmmaaaaaaybe~"
>"Hehe, well then perhaps I can take your wing a-"
>Alex is stopped from doing whatever great thing she had planned by a series of loud CRACK's and the grove exploding into smoke.
>You and Alex push yourself to your feet and wave your arms about and cough.
>The smoke clears in time and reveals a figure standing to the side of you both, It's ears reaching up  high above It's head and It's cape settling around It's form.
>He stared at you with icy blue eyes from a place where you could have sworn there was a stump a moment ago.
>"Alexandria of the Diggers, Brokk of the Razorclaws, I'm here to take you in." it growled in a voice that sounded like what Alexandria described her gangs digging devices as.
>Wh-what the hell?

>You find your legs shaking as you and Alexandria stumble to your feet.
"Who the hell are you!?" you shout.
>It's eye-slits narrow.
>"I am The Night."
>Alexandria and you exchange a nervous look.
>"You can either come peacefully or violently. Your call." It says.
>You narrow your eyes and charge It.
"Like that's an option!" you shout.
>You leap into the air and dive at It only to be stopped as two tiny little legs rear out from It's cape and strike you in the chest.
>Hard.
>Harder than you've ever felt.
>You land on the ground in shock in a heap from having all the air driven from your lungs as Alexandria barks at the intruder and charges It herself.
>It flips out a small metal device that shoots a hook with a line tired to it out at her. It wraps around her legs and, with a hard tug of the line, she stumbles into the same pile you were in.
>The figure jumps down from something, suddenly becoming much shorter, and begins wrapping you in the cord from the device.
>The thundering of hooves comes through the trees as at least a dozen Royal Guards spring out from them and level spears at you and Alexandria.
>The figure turns and looks down at you, he couldn't have been more than a kid...
>"The violent way it is then." he says.

-Bruce PoV-
>You escorted Brokk and Alexandria back to town with the royal guard, the guards whispering about the takedown the entire time.
>The sun rises slowly over the horizon as you enter into the town and walk to the jail.
>Brokk and Alexandria are rather livid themselves.
>"YOU'RE DEAD, KID! YOU'RE BUCKIN' DEAD!" he shouts.
>"Wait until my father hears about this..." she seethes.
>You walk past them and open the door to the penitentiary.
"I'm sure."
>The guards escort the still screaming convicts inside as their Captain approaches you. 
>He eyes the jail and then eyes you. "We...helped each other tonight."
>You move your cape back over your shoulders.
"That we did."
>His eyes remain stern. "You're still not going to stop, are you?"
>You shake your head. [spoiler][/spoiler] "There is still work to do, the package they had is still unaccounted for."
>Shining Armor nods slightly. "Listen. I don't agree with what you do. Neither on a professional or a moral level."
>Great...
>"But...you do good work. You found these two and got them into custody, something that would have taken us considerably longer."
>He stands at his full and more imposing height. "If you're not going to stop...I want you to run things this big by me, understand? I want to be kept in the loop."

>Is he suggesting...a partnership?
"I'll...consider it."
>Shining Armor sighs. "That's all I'll take at this hour. Goodnight...Batmane." hesays as he trots off.
>You take his lead and go back to your own home.
>Curiously, you see your keeper Anonymous walking out the door as you do.
"Keeper." you say.
>Anonymous whirls around and faces you. "Bruce? Are you...just getting home?"
>You nod.
"I worked with the royal guard to arrest the son and daughter of the leaders of the Razorclaw's and Diggers. They are in custody now."
>You push past Anonymous and walk inside the house.
"I have been out all night and am rather tired, I believe I shall rest a bit."
>You shut the door behind you and head to the bed.
>If you weren't so exhausted, you'd have heard a faint "Oh shit." on the other side of the door.