“We attack in one week,” Spike said.
The gathered teams could only blink as they sat around the briefing table, trying to decipher exactly what the dragon was saying. “A week?” Silver asked. “That seems kind of far from now.”
“I now, but I’d rather you be prepared for this fight than not,” he said, before pointing to the illusionary image of the old castle built into the side of a mountain. “Besides, we’re not sure what exactly Valentine has in his castle. This is a vampire who has had more than a thousand years to fortify and defend his lair, the dangers there are probably as innumerable as they dangerous.”
“Good to know,” Mandible grunted, “and for the record, I appreciate the fact that I’m not going to have to try and disarm everything in front of us blindly.”
“Noted,” Spike said, before he continued, pointing at the castle. “The truth, though, is that he’s right there, waiting for us. He wants us to come, and I’m willing to bet our entire budget on the fact that he’s laying traps for us right now.”
“So how are we getting in?” Silver asked, while suppressing a yawn. “What’s the plan of attack?”
They hadn’t slept since they left on the last operation. Silk was still getting her ribs checked, and Sparky’s death had only been reported a few hours ago. Between everyone gathered in that room, they had maybe three hours worth of naps between them.
“I don’t know,” Spike said. “You’re going to be in charge of that for the assault next week.”
“I’m in charge?”
“Yes, do you have a problem with that?” Spike asked.
“No, sir, I’m just surprised. I thought you’d want to lead the charge on this, consider...well...you know…”
Spike looked up for a moment, and stared at the leader of Alpha Team for a long second, before he finally allowed himself a small smile. “I appreciate the thought, Silver,” he said. “Unfortunately, I am too close to this, so I’m trusting you with the mission.”
Silver blinked. “I...um...I’m honored, sir?” he said, still unsure if this was actually happening.
The dragon nodded. “Glad you think so,” he said, turning back to the others. “The fact remains, however that this is a fight that needs to be fought with all your combined might in order to win.”
Neon Looked up. “Why do you keep saying ‘your strength,’ don’t you mean ‘ours?’”
“I’m not talking about what I need to do. I’m talking about what you need to do,” the dragon said in a soft growl. “I know what I need to do when I get there. I’m asking if you do. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Neon replied.
“The fact is, this is big. Bigger than anything the Department has ever done before. For the first time in my life, the Department’s goals are mine, and so you are about to face the greatest fight of your life.”
Silence reigned for a moment.
“So, if there is nothing else, then I will leave you to plan,” he said, before stepping back and out of the room.
Silver groaned, before turning to Manticore, “How do you think we should approach this?”
The vampire did not answer immediately, in fact she was silent for a long time, before she finally spoke in a small, quiet voice. “I-I don't know. I don't have a clue on what to do this.”
Silver blinked at the oddly gloom-and-doom tone of he voice and moved on. “What about you, Jet?”
The Gamma Team Scout shook his head. “I’d be willing to bet that every hallway in that mess is trapped. Approaching it from the gate would require an army. If we approach from above, we might have a better chance, though.”
“Unless, of course, his throne is in the center of the castle,” Moonlight, the Gamma agent pointed out.
“If it is, then this is a fight in every direction,” Mandible continued. “Traps no matter which way we go.”
“If we could get inside the wall, we might find the palace, and the throne room easier,” Jet added. “Of course, that means getting inside, which could be equally as problematic if he’s prepared for a siege.”
“There’s also the problem of who’s going,” Lemon said. “Any one of us demo ponies can bust through the walls, but we just learned that sending the whole force can be disastrous at worst.”
Hunter, the Phi leader spoke up. “I think it’s best if my team stays,” he said. “Clearing rooms has never been Phi’s specialty, and the last thing you need is somepony holding you back.”
“Of course, that means we’re bringing less guns,” Chestnut said, his metallic hooves flexing as he sat by the table. “That means less guns pointed at the target.”
“Which is a point,” Hunter said, “but I believe Lemon is correct in suggesting someone watch the base. Leaving it open a second time is asking for trouble.”
“But the Commander did say we needed all the help we could get,” the Gamma assault said. “Leaving the base behind might be bad, but if we’re leaving here without everything we need to knock Valentine down, then we might as well not go.”
As the conversation continued, and the parties in the war room focused their attention onto the problem at hand, they quickly became oblivious to the purple shadow that slipped away into the halls.
Spike slipped down, out of sight of anyone, with a single, focused goal in mind. His will was set for this now, and nothing was going to stop him. Not cowardice, not fear, not even the measly need for survival that had held him back for so long. It didn’t matter now, because Valentine had crossed a line.
He had Rarity.
The questions that constantly surrounded the dragon, the fear of her well-being inside the crystal meant nothing anymore. Was she dead? Then he’d retrieve her body. Was she alive? Then he would rescue her.
It was time to continue on with his lifelong mission. It was now or never. Spike had no one left to hurt, and nothing left to lose. This was everything, here and now.
With only a wooden stake, and his number one assistant at his side, Spike slipped into a SCOOT, and buckled himself into the driver's seat. No one else was coming. No one would know until it was too late. If he failed tonight, then the Department would finally clean up the vampire a week later, but Spike had run out of patience for this.
There was no more waiting, no more excuses. He was going to stare Valentine down, and stab him in his ruby heart, and he was going to do it now. Nopony else would suffer, and nopony else would distract him.
It was time to end this.
He waited a moment, just a moment, searching the control rooms of the hanger for any sign of anyone who could stop him, before he madly began flipping switches.
A remote signal to the cargo bay doors was sent, and they opened, slowly, with only enough space for his three-man vessel to slip through and away. Quickly punching in the coordinates, and a flip of the autopilot switch, Spike then leaned back and pulled his his handgun from it’s holster. “Soon, Twi. They’ll all be ready to rest soon.”
An hour passed, and the terrain passed quickly beneath, changing first from the dry, air desert, to the forests and plains of central Equestria, to the tall and towering mountains of the north. It was almost time. After two hundred years, it was almost time.
Spike glared at the castle where his old enemy had resided, a small holdfast built onto the side of the mountain, sitting on small peak where only the most foolhardy invaders would try to lay siege.
Today, that invader was Spike the Dragon.
The SCOOT screamed as it fell through the air, pushed by it’s pilot into a terrible dive. It spun and fell from the sky, like a giant, terrible missile aimed directly for the main building beyond the wall.
Yes, there would be traps, yes, the hallways and doors would be dangerous. So obviously, the best decision was to make his own door.
Spike leapt from the back of the SCOOT the moment before it made impact, smashing into the keep wall and throwing masonry out across the courtyard. The dragon quickly leapt up, into the hole caused by his own wreckage, and immediately opened fire into the first vampire he saw.
A needle of magic slammed into the undead pegasus so hard and so fast that he didn’t even have the time to turn to mist. Another shot hit a vampire earth pony in the heart, ending him in a moment while a third was just slow enough to let its victim cry out “invader” before his existence was ended.
The dragon strode forward, his mouth spewing flame like an old, terrible, demonic boiler. Brilliant, orange-red flames engulfed vampires whole as he walked down the hallways, leaving ash and destruction in his path.
“There he is!” a unicorn vampire cried, casting a spell, only for a needle to smash into his horn, and another to pierce his heart.
“Valentine! I’m here!” Spike roared, his voice echoing in the castle as it unleashed all his power and fury into the cry. “I’m here for you Valentine! It ends today!”
“For lord Valentine!” an earth pony vampire cried, rushing Spike with supernatural speed, only to slam into Spike’s waiting claw. He growled as he twisted his open claw, his talon ripping the vampire’s heart to pieces before he let the dissolving body drop the flagstones.
“Where are you!” Spike roared.
Only a handful more of vampires dared to stand before him, but they were pitiful compared to Spike, and much less to their master. The dragon cut through them like a blade, and though his fury drove him forward, he knew that they were nothing, and should be treated as such.
His number one assistant roared as it ended another unlife, before he finally reached the massive doors of the palace throne room. They were open, and waiting, and decorated with unicorn figures and beautiful mares. Spike turned to face the room, glaring into it to see the vampire sitting on a throne at the far end of the room.
Beside him sat Rarity, locked in her gem.
“I have been waiting for you, Commander.”
Spike simply opened fire.
His handgun roared as it spat shot after shot into Valentine's head and chest. The distilled and solidified magic slammed into him, pinning the corpse to the back of his chair.
Valentine blinked, needles digging deep in his chest, before glancing up at the one between his eyes. For a second, there was silence, and Valentine’s eyes slowly rolled into the back of his head.
A moment passed.
Then his mouth twisted into a smile, and his gaze snapped back to the dragon. “You never fail to amuse, Commander.”
“I’m here to end it, Valentine.”
“Of course you are,” the vampire replied, “and you didn't even bring your kids along. I’m so proud. You’ve finally taken responsibility for your mistake.”
“My mistake!” Spike cried. “My mistake? My only mistake was thinking that you were tougher than I gave you credit for!”
Valentine laughed. “First of two mistakes, Commander. First of two,” the vampire corrected. “The second mistake was thinking I’d leave them out of it,” he said, motioning to the mare caught in the crystal.
Spike grit his teeth.
“Of course, I’m a monster, so you should have known better, shouldn't you have?”
“Another word out of you, Valentine, I swear.”
“You swear what? To kill me? After all this, I’m still not sure you can. So what else? To sic your children on me? Yes, I’m terrified of a horde of children that will throw their lives away at your order. Or maybe you intend to die and rob me of what little amusement this charade offers? That, perhaps would hurt the most, I think.”
Spike did not answer, though he raised his weapon.
“So the third option, then? You disappoint, Commander. I thought better of you.”
“Shut up and die, Valentine.”
The vampire sighed. “If I must, but first, a gift for you, Commander.”
“No, no gifts! No tricks! Just you and me to the very end!”
Valentine smiled. “Oh, but Commander, I think it's only right that we have a little reunion.”
With the ring of magic and a crack of thunder, a spell was cast, and the gem that held Rarity in place cracked.
Spike froze.
Another crack, and the gem began to fall apart.
With a third and final fissure, the gem shattered.
For a second, the mare stood there, as young and beautiful as she had been two hundred years ago. For a second, her chest raised, breath gracing her lungs for the first time since she was captured. For a second, Spike felt his heart leap as the one he loved all his life was finally free.
Then she began to scream.
Her neck gushed blood, and she fell to the ground in pain.
Spike’s mind shot back to that night two hundred years ago, where he found her screaming on the floor of her boutique, clutching her wounded neck.
He moved toward her, only to be thrown across the room as Valentine landed his first blow. “Now, now, Commander, pay attention. We don't want to let the lady down, do we?”
Rarity screamed.
It was that same terrible scream that haunted his nightmares and plagued his memories. He tried to turn on the vampire, but Rarity’s cry broke his concentration like a pane of glass.
She’s been alive all this time. Had she been conscious? Was she aware the entire time? Had she been in pain?
Valentine sent another blow down on the baby dragon, and Spike slammed into the ground. He rolled, firing his weapon up at the vampire, before unleashing his breath onto him. Valentine leapt back, escaping the cone of flame with only a single hair of his mane singed.
Was she okay? Where was she hurt? Was this the same wound or a different one? Did the old one never heal?
A spell sent twelve thousand pounds of force down on the Commander, and Spike felt the tiles crack beneath him. “Come now Commander, don't let her down now.”
Oh Celestia, she was alive! Everyone she knew was dead. If she made it out of here, she’s have so much to adjust to. Could she get out of here?
“You're going to let us down, Commander!” Valentine called.
Spike slowly began to push up against the spell that was trying to crush him. He raised his handgun, taking aim even as he was being shoved down into the stone.
A shot rang out, followed by another, but Spike knew they were useless, they missed his heart.
“Come on, Spike. Stand and be the hero, cut me down and save your beloved. Only one of us is leaving here today.”
Spike kept firing, before he used every ounce of his strength to force a leg beneath him. With another Herculean effort, Spike freed his other leg, and he forced himself to stand.
Rarity’s hoarse and ragged scream continued to echo around the room.
Spike fired again and again, trying to wound the vampire with just a single shot to his heart.
He missed every time.
“Is this it, Commander?” Valentine growled, stepping forward. “Is this all you have to show? I bring you an audience out of time, a chance for someone to witness your vengeance, and you can't even hit me!”
Spike took aim again, but his eye glanced back at the mare behind him.
She was rolling on the ground, gripping her neck as tears flowed from her eyes.
“Hit me, Commander! Hit me!”
Spike fired.
And he missed.
Valentine sighed. “Oh, Spike, you disappoint me again,” he said, walking forward as Spike took aim again, only for his arms to be magically shoved up into the air, before his weapon was ripped from his grip.
“I had such high hopes for you, Spike, yet you fail me here, at the very end. It's so disappointing.”
Rarity still screamed, and Valentine slowly walked up to her as he held Spike in place. “All this work and time put into you, and you fail me utterly. Simply pathetic.”
Spike struggled against his bonds as Valentine stood over the mare, but he couldn't move, couldn't break free.
“I suppose I’ll just have to find someone else,” he said with a sigh, before his magic tossed the dragon across the throne room. Spike slammed into the masonry, scattering stones in all directions as he was thrown through the wall.
“If you want something done right,” Valentine muttered, before he turned to the still screaming mare. “Ah, well. I suppose I might as well put you out of your misery.”
He hovered over Rarity, his hoof ready to come down and silence her screaming for the last time.
And then there was the sound of thunder.
Covering the distance in the moment it takes to blink, Spike was already on the vampire, claws digging deep into his undead flesh.
Valentine had just enough time to smile before he was thrown back, and sent flying into the opposite, but much closer wall.
He did not smash through the masonry like Spike did, but there was a meaty thud as he impacted, and he laughed as he slid to the flagstones. “There you are. There you are.”
“Don’t you dare touch her,” Spike growled, hunching over the mare like a great cat crouching over its prey.
Valentine laughed, sitting up as his bones knit together. “There you are. I was afraid I broke you too soon.”
Spike merely growled again.
“Now, the fight can truly begin.” Valentine grinned, and his skin began to split. Angry red line ripped across his body as the muscle beneath was exposed to air. They began to bulge and tighten, audibly groaning under their own weight. His face convulsed, transforming entirely into that of a wolf, with his horn still protruding from his forehead, now red, engorged and crystalline like a ruby obelisk.
Ruby claws burst from his hooves, and wings like a demon’s erupted from his back. And finally Valentine looked every bit the monster he was.
“Well, Commander? Are we finally going to end this?” he asked, his fangs snapping as he glared at him with his brilliant, blood-red eyes.
Spike growled back, still standing over Rarity. “Just die.”
Valentine smiled. “One of us certainly will.”
There was a flash, and they were on the move. They leapt at each other, their bodies thundering from the impact, leaving only a blur to trail behind them. Claw met claw, fang met neck, muscle was matched with muscle.
Spike used everything he had. Every ounce of his strength, his speed, his draconic instinct to protect what was his was poured into this last fight.
He had to win.
He had to win.
The ruby claws ripped into his gut, tearing away scales and leaving draconic blood to splash on the flagstones. The needle-like teeth dug into his arm, pulling muscle from bone.
Within seconds, Spike was shredded.
But the dragon left his own mark.
In his jaws was Valentine’s front left leg, already turning to ash in his mouth. The back right leg was little more than goo, the bone splintered and shattered into pieces no larger than a bolt head.
But these were already healing, the vampire’s flesh smoking and sizzling as its regeneration came into play.
Spike was not so lucky.
His wounds continued to bleed, and his breathing was heavy.
But he had to win.
He had to.
They leapt at each other again, ripping and tearing at each other, throwing fur, muscle, scale and ash all across the room.
Spike had ripped another leg from the vampire, but he was already growing the first on back. Meanwhile, he himself had been torn apart. Blood was flowing freely, and he could feel his strength fading.
And Valentine’s smile faded. “No? You don’t have enough do you?”
Spike didn’t answer.
Valentine sighed. “Then this was all for naught. Shame. Well, if nothing else, when I end you, I will send your beloved right after.”
Spike growled, before his legs gave out from under him.