//------------------------------// // A Minor Setback // Story: Psycho // by Bishibosh the Shaman //------------------------------// Psycho Chapter Twenty Eight "Claptrap!? What the hell are you doing here!?" Lilith shouted as the small robot charged the vault hunter ponies. "HYPERION IS HERE! RUN AHHHHH!" Claptrap screamed as he sped passed the vault hunters further into town, until stopped by a large hoof. "QUIT YOUR SCREAMING! I need to hear their blood..." The psycho pony howled at the small robot, who retreated into his box frame. "OH GOD PLEASE DON"T RIP OUT MY EYE!" Claptrap screamed again. "RIP THE WIRES!" Krieg stopped as he let out a small cough. "Pardon... Claptrap, you said Hyperion is here?" "YES! Wait... you can... talk?" Claptrap questioned. "Well, technically I could always talk... but yes. Hyperion Clappy, what about them?" "Oh yeah! I saw this pony who had their logo on his ass! Don't you see? Jack is still after ME!" The robot popped out of his shell and began rolling around the group in circles flailing his arms. "Jeeze... can't even go to a new planet without running in to this guy..." Mordecai groaned. "Oh! So how did you guys get here? And Why are you all ponies? And why are you in this city? And why is Hy- AGHGHGHGHGHGHG" The robot fell over as the blue storm of electricity volted through him. "Thank God... You have no idea how long I have been waiting to do that..." Gaige sighed in relief as she holstered her pistol. Getting eye's from the real ponies around. "Trust me, you will understand when he wakes up." "So... He isn't ... dead?" Fluttershy asked, shaking at the sudden display of violence from the young pegasus pony. "Nah, Maliwan shock pistol. A bit of rewiring and he will be good as (annoying) new!" Gaige smiled, with a hint of disgust at fixing the annoying robot. "Ok, well that answers that then. Now can you explain why he burst into electricity?" Twilight asked, genuinely interested in the strange technology. "It didn't look like any kind of magic I've ever seen." "It's not magic, it's elemental. Check this out!" Gaige pulled the clip out of her pistol, but before she put the next clip in she stopped. "You all may want to stand back. Further. Further still. Perfect." Gaige slammed the clip into her pistol, causing her lunchbox sitting on her utility belt to hum for a short second. Twilight felt her jaw hit the ground as the pegasus exploded, releasing an electric nova around her. Everypony watched for a moment as the mechromancer smiled at the jaw dropped ponies before her. Then she began walking towards the castle, every pony snapping out of their awe to follow. Twilight caught up with her, her eyes glowing with interest. "Ok, explain. I absolutely HAVE to know about this... elemental stuff..." Twilight begged. The group worked towards the castle, Gaige explaining all the different technology she had used in her equipment with the unicorn siren. Every word left Twilight wanting to hear more, especially when she began talking about implementing Eridium into the different weapons to amplify or change how it fired. In what seemed like no time, the long trek to the castle finally seemed over. The fifteen ponies stood under the massive castle's shadow, the vault hunters eyed the castle, impressed by the size and splendor of it. Soon after, the whole group stepped into the crystal castle to meet the rulers of the kingdom. The tall threatening figure towered over Carapace, who seemed to back down as it approached. The bright yellow armor was shadowed in the dark alley, and Carapace could see traces of blue energy pulsating off the armor. The hyperion infiltrator slowly stepped towards the changeling with an unfamiliar object held in his hand. He rose it up and pointed it towards Carapace, who heard a slight *click* as it rose. "Hyperion tech, nothing beats these bad boys. You know what is the best thing about guns Cara?" Caine grinned with malice in his eyes. "As long as the man holding them is capable, they will never fail you..." Carapace felt his heart race as the gun slowly rose to point at his forehead. "Tis unfortunate, I figured you would do anything for your people. Thought it would make you into quite the tool, but it seems this land's... peace... corrupts people in a strange way, makes you soft... eager to make friends and such... Silly little child..." Carapace closed his eyes, expecting the worst. "Well, it's no matter. You were a convenience. Nothing more, the plan will still be a success. However, that does not mean I can forgive your... failure. Good bye Carapace. It was not a pleasure knowing you." *click* POW! "Hmm?" The infiltrator mused at the display. "You will not harm another one of my people... monster!" Carapace recognized the voice, but did not think it possible. He wanted to open his eyes but they sealed shut. Fear held him in place as the noise continued. "Oh, it's you. Heh, took a bullet for your parasite kid huh? Sweet. Hold still, I'll let you catch a grenade for him too!" Carapace heard another small click, then the sound of something being tossed in the air. The unmistakable sound of magic resounded through the air, followed by a much louder explosion than from before. Carapace finally opened his eyes to see the tall black figure of Queen Chrysalis standing in front of him, sweat trickling down her head and blood seeping from a foreleg. "Hey Tavi, did you hear that?" Vinyl asked after the loud pop. "Yes, it came from where Carey ran off to" The earth mare responded. "Do you think he is ok?" Crissy asked, worried. "Don't worry girl, your boyfriend will be fine. I'll go check up on him, heh" The unicorn scoffed. Crissy blushed at the comment, but before she could respond the unicorn ran down the alley. She could have sworn she saw her hooves glowing with her horn. Octavia frowned but slowly trotted after her. "Don't worry about her. She may be reckless, but she can more than handle herself." "You know, I wanted to put a bullet into that ugly mug the day I saw it" Caine taunted the Queen as she formed a magical barrier around her and Carapace. "You dare... You think your toys will outlast my magic!?" Chrysalis growled at the human, knowing her magic would surely fail after too much longer. "Ha! Even in the end, your arrogance to those stronger than you... I will never understand your type..." "Well, I'll be glad to give you a lesson..." The Queen huffed as she quickly ran out of breath. The blood loss on her leg was draining her faster than she planned. She either needed to think fast, or get really lucky. "Give me a lesson? Lady, you have no idea who you are talking to" Caine laughed as he pumped another two shots from his pistol into the shield, lowering Chrysalis's resolve and energy. "Ex-Lance, not like you know what that is... Military, I was the top shot in my squadron. See this ring? Shot 753 shots straight through it, at 500 yards. No body could beat me, nobody except... After the lance... disbanded, I had no where to go. In a war torn galaxy, nobody wanted a lethal assassin. Always too scared. Until I met Jack. Heh. He get's it. He knows what the galaxy needs. Rid of the lesser races! All of them! Bandits? Aliens? All of them! And right now, your kind are right on the top of his shit list..." "So, where does that leave us?" A stranger's voice echoed through the ally. Caine looked up to see a small unicorn pony. "Heh lesser races? I'll show you lesser!" Vinyl's front hooves raised, revealing two strange devices strapped to each. Both devices began to glow, one red and the other blue. Caine took the opportunity to fire his pistol at the interfering pony but each shot deflected into the walls on either side of her. The gauntlets glowed even brighter until they peaked into such a bright color that Caine could barely tell the difference in colors. Vinyl gave a cool smile as she thrusted both hooves forward, releasing the stored energy into a pure beam of energy. A sudden boom seemed to deafen the area of sound, Caine was thrown back into a wall. "Heh... Bass Blasters... What will you come up with next?" Vinyl asked nopony in general before noticing Carapace and the taller changeling. "Hey Carey!" Carapace was shocked, not only from the sudden display of power from his friend, but mainly that she was looking at him in his normal form and not screaming or running or anything. "Uh, Hi Vinyl..."