//------------------------------// // 22. Battle // Story: The Symbiote // by SpyroForLife //------------------------------// In a flash of magic, Celestia and her group arrived at the Royal Guard station in Manehattan. “Good evening,” the squad leader, Captain Archer, greeted them. “We received your orders and have already sent a few guards ahead to the address.” “Thank you,” Celestia replied. “Is it far from here?” “No ma'am, in fact it's quite close. Would you like me to show you to it?” “We would appreciate that, thank you,” Celestia replied, following him out. The group walked briskly, not quite fast enough to look suspicious but still moving with a sense of urgency. It only took a few minutes for them to get to Atom's house, and she was already outside, with guards surrounding her and anxiety clear on her face. She tried to put on a neutral expression when she saw Celestia, but didn’t succeed, instead looking like she was grimacing in pain. “Relax,” Celestia said once she was close enough. “We just have some questions for you.” “This is a lot of guards for just some questions,” Atom replied. “Just a precaution,” Celestia said. “Now then. You visited Blazing Aura in the Canterlot dungeons earlier today, didn’t you?” “Yes, I did.” “And during that time, did you bring him one of the symbiotes the Life Aura Center has been experimenting with?” Atom started to answer, paused, and shook her head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Twilight stepped forward. “Yes you do. You know exactly what we’re talking about, because you were right there when I met Venom!” Venom extended out of her shoulder, giving Atom a toothy smile. “Remember him?” “You…” Atom stared. “So you’re the one who disguised yourself as Blue Bell!” “Yep. Now, talk. We know Blazing has the symbiote named Riot, because they just broke out of the dungeons and escaped, after hurting several guards and killing a civilian out in Canterlot!” Atom froze. “He… he did what? Oh, no…” She sighed, adjusting her glasses. “I knew it was dangerous. I knew he wouldn’t be able to handle the symbiote…” “Tell us what you know,” Celestia said, though not unkindly. The other was quiet for a bit. Then she said, “It was always a backup plan. If we were found out and he was arrested, he always planned for me to bring him the leader of the symbiotes so he could escape. But I never actually let the creature bond with me until today. And everything about it felt wrong. Riot is… very cruel, and very reluctant to let hosts have control. It took a lot of pleading for me to keep him quiet. I told him that I needed to take him to Blazing, who had a deal for him. I promised he would be freed very soon, along with the rest of his troops. He agreed. But I could feel his hatred during the entire trip. He finds us disgusting. He wants to wipe out everything beautiful about our planet and rebuild it after his own planet. I can only imagine what he did once he bonded to Blazing.” “He has no intention of doing what Blazing wants,” Twilight replied. “He’s going to resume the invasion. Please, we need to know where all the other symbiotes are. We have to free them. And we have to stop Riot.” Atom lightly kicked at the ground, staring down. Then she said, “I’ve… said too much already, I’ll probably be killed for this.” “We’ll protect you,” Shining assured her. “Just tell us what we need to know.” Atom looked up. She was silent for a bit, but finally said, “They’ve all been moved to the Baltimare science museum.” “So we were right!” Twilight exclaimed. “Celestia sent an agent there, he should be finding them any moment now, if he hasn’t already!” “Light Touch?” Atom questioned, and Twilight’s blood ran cold. “They already captured him. He’s good, but security has been on high alert. He was caught sneaking into an employees only area, tried to use an invisibility spell but the museum has defenses against that.” She rubbed her chin. “Probably experimenting on him by now.” Twilight spun toward Celestia. “We need to get to Baltimare.” “Blazing will probably be heading back there with Riot, it’s where we’re keeping the ship we recovered from the symbiotes,” Atom said. “Then we’re going to Baltimare. Guards, take her somewhere she’ll be safe,” Twilight ordered. “Thank you so much, Atom.” She nodded. “You’re welcome. But can I ask you something?” “Of course.” “If you can, please spare Blazing. I just know this project has corrupted him. Right from the start, since that first time Riot got hold of him, he’s been off. He’s so focused on the future that he doesn’t care how many ponies he hurts in the present. And now that Riot is controlling him, who knows what could happen to his mind?” Atom gave Venom a pointed look. “You would know. Your kind can absolutely break a creature mentally, can’t you?” “If we want,” Venom replied. “I personally wouldn’t do it. But Riot has probably already beaten Blazing down. It’s how he always treats his hosts.” “Well, if you can save Blazing, please do,” Atom said. “I… I really care about him, I know he never wanted to take things this far.” “If we spare him, he’ll still be arrested, and put on trial like any other criminal,” Celestia said. “I understand. Just don’t kill him.” “We’ll try not to.” Twilight turned away. “Let’s not waste anymore time.” She couldn’t wait to get all this over with. She felt like she could sleep for a week. Leaving Atom to the guards, she joined Celestia and Shining for one more quick teleportation. They landed right in front of the museum in Baltimare, and huddled up for a quick discussion of what they were going to do. “I’ll gather up all their security, hopefully enough of them are loyal to Equestria and not Blazing,” Shining said. “Either way, I’ll keep the guards from interfering.” “Sounds good, Celestia and I will head in and find Riot,” Twilight said. “We’re going to take him down first, get him out of the way, and then save the symbiotes. Shining, if things go sideways, get all the customers out. It’s getting kinda late so I’m sure they’ll be leaving soon anyway, but still, watch out for them. I don’t want them getting hurt.” “Got it,” Shining replied. They split up, Shining running toward the nearest security guard while Celestia and Twilight went inside. They broke into gallops, and the employee at the ticket counter started to get in front of them, before apparently thinking better of it and getting out of their way. They ran past and slid to a stop in the main room. There were staircases to their left and right going up three levels, with walkways crossing the room. Exhibits and displays were everywhere, many of them interactive. A few more steps forward and they saw that the ground floor only went halfway across the building. After that it opened out to show a huge display of various viruses and bacteria hung over the level below them. A long walkway connected to the far wall, where a door led out to a balcony. “This place is huge, where do you think their labs would be?” Twilight asked. “Probably away from the customers,” Celestia replied, going over to the walkway and looking over the rail. “There aren’t as many exhibits down there, but they seem to have labs with big windows where customers can watch them work.” “I bet that’s all for show, and their actual labs are in the employees only areas Light Touch was trying to get to.” Twilight started for the stairs. They were just starting down them when a familiar orange stallion marched up toward them. “You just don’t know when to quit, do you?” Blazing demanded. His eyes were crazed, hair all frazzled. “If you don’t get out of our way, we will destroy you!” “You need to stop this,” Twilight said. “Riot is messing with your head. Remember how much you wanted to help ponies? This isn’t-” “This will help ponies!” Blazing yelled. “Don’t you see? This is the next step in pony evolution! Riot has shown me the possibilities! Our race can bond with his and make both of us powerful beyond our wildest dreams! We can expand out into the universe! We can do anything!” “But at what cost? You’ll be enslaving ponies! This will only lead to war, you know Equestria won’t just stand by and let it happen-” “Bah, we’re no strangers to war! We’ve taken over many planets, and this one is nothing compared to them!” Blazing advanced on them, eyes glazing over as Riot’s influence overwhelmed him. “Slavery is a small price to pay for long lives and perfect health! Now get out! We have a ship to fix and a war to start!” He turned around, and Twilight growled. Venom wrapped around her, and they charged forward, planting a front hoof into Blazing’s side and hurling him out over the stairs. He threw out his hooves to break his fall, but all his legs buckled with audible snaps when he hit down, then he was rolling the rest of the way to the floor. Venom took a few cautious steps down, watching him. He was still for a moment, then snarled and rolled onto his back. His legs were broken, bones sticking out of the skin and blood pouring out. But as they watched, they straightened out, silver flesh sliding across them. “Have it your way.” Riot finished covering Blazing, then jumped up, no worse for wear. “But this time, we’re finishing this.” He sprung up, clearing the stairs in a single jump. Venom met him head on, and they tumbled over each other, both roaring and tearing at each other with teeth and claws. Celestia flew around them, shooting at Riot with her magic every time she got a clear shot, but he was soon lashing back at her with his tendrils. When she showed herself capable of dodging them, he squared his shoulders and then launched a volley of razor-sharp spines toward her. She gasped and twisted out of the way in a steep dive, but several of them still got her in the wings and back legs. She shot at him one more time, knocking him forward, allowing Venom to grab him and slam him through one of the exhibits. It contained several glass objects that fractured and embedded in his skin, making him roar. Celestia glanced at her bleeding legs and dove down toward the lower level, disappearing from sight. Venom wondered what she was doing for a moment, then focused on Riot as he separated from the exhibit and went for their throat. They gouged their horn into one of his eyes in response, making him howl with pain, and kicked him into one of the railings. It crumpled like tissue under his weight, sending him plummeting over the edge. Twilight found herself wishing she had had time to develop a better plan than just attacking with brute force, maybe come up with a sound-based spell that Riot wouldn't be able to block, but she supposed fire magic would work for now. She let her thoughts mingle with Venom's again, preparing to jump down, but Riot wasn't as stunned as they thought he would be. A huge hoof shot up, grabbing onto the floor, and several more tendrils joined it, pulling Riot back up to their level. Their fight continued, and the museum guests quickly ran for the exit, being corralled by Shining and several security members. Venom had to grab Riot's wrists several times to keep him from attacking the civilians, and once Shining shouted that the upper floors were empty, Venom grabbed Riot and flung him through the ceiling and onto the second floor. Riot scrambled backward, and Venom leaped up through the hole, stalking toward him. “You have a strong host,” Riot admitted, still slowly backing up, until he was on one of the walkways, at which point he ran into a rail and had to stop. “A strong host... and a stronger relationship,” Venom replied. Their tail lashed with barely contained fury, and they began showing their teeth, saliva dripping down. Magic flowed along their horn as they prepared to attack again, this time to kill. “But not strong enough,” Riot said. He charged at them, slamming them roughly to the floor and using his teeth to tear at their face, ripping out slivers of skin that Venom had to quickly yank back into place. They fought back, but the attack distracted them enough for him to cover their horn with a massive hoof, claws curling out of it and locking their head in a vice grip. Fear shot through them, and though they writhed and kicked at Riot, he still managed to sink his claws deep into their skin, then gripped the back of their neck and pulled his claws in opposite directions. They screamed, clawing wildly at him, but he just grunted and took it, continuing to pull them apart. Venom immediately knew what he was trying to do, and clung as tightly to their body as they could, but to no avail. With a sudden tearing sensation, Twilight found herself yanked entirely away from the other. Riot threw her to the ground, and she looked up, heart beating hard as she saw him holding a large, black mass of skin. “Venom,” she whispered. She had never realized just how comforting his presence had been until now. When they were together, she had spent most of her time feeling warm, confident, capable of anything. Even after her earlier fight with Riot, when she was lost in despair, he was an anchor she could hold to. But now he was gone, and she felt cold and alone. It was even worse than when he had briefly left her to show the princesses he meant no harm. That wasn't even that long ago... Riot smirked at her. “Not so tough without him, are you?” He carelessly tossed Venom over the rail and walked toward her. Twilight's breath caught, terror stabbing at her as she wondered if the fall would kill him, but she made herself focus on Riot, narrowing her eyes. Fine. She could do this on her own. She stood, bracing herself and firing a beam of pure fire magic at him, focusing it until it was practically a laser stabbing through his body. He howled as it cut a gash through him, his skin boiling around it. Several extensions shot from his body and arced toward her, and her stomach dropped like lead when she realized just how much Venom had improved her reflexes. With him, she could track speeds like that... and now, she couldn't. She opened her wings and flapped hard, throwing herself backward and up. He stood high on his hind legs, forming a foreleg into a huge whip and slapping her out of the air. She cried out as it drove her into the floor hard enough to crack it. Pain raced from her skull down her back and she winced, staring at the other through blurry vision. She wasn't giving up that easily. She shot at him again, but though the magic could cut through him, he was so large it wasn't doing enough damage to stop him. She widened the beam back out into flames, which made him reflexively jerk back. Twilight pushed herself up, stumbling as her legs threatened to give out on her. It felt like at least one of them was broken, but that didn't matter right now. “Ponies are capable of a lot more than you think,” she said, steadily pushing him back with her fire, preparing to take her own shot at separating him from Blazing's body. If she could just get him away, he would be practically harmless- Agony twisted through her gut and she gasped, everything coming to a grinding halt. Her magic abruptly cut out and she found herself unable to take another step. She struggled to process what just happened, trying to focus through the maelstrom of pain, but it became crystal clear as Riot lifted the arm he had turned into a stake and driven through her body. “But compared to us, you're little more than a nuisance,” he said. Twilight looked down, staring at the flesh piercing through her. That stake was sharp as glass and had been stabbed all the way through her, straight through her stomach and out her back. He lifted her higher, letting gravity push her harder onto the stake, and she screamed. He stabbed her with his other arm, this one just barely missing her heart but instead going through a lung. She jerked, blood flying from her mouth. “You should never have challenged me.” Riot stared into her eyes, and for a moment she could feel just how much he hated her. How much he wanted her to suffer. Then he flung her to the floor, not even giving her a backward glance as he trudged away. Twilight swept a wing under her stomach and pressed her forelegs to her chest, but it did very little to stem the bleeding. And with the exit wounds, there was no way she'd be able to put pressure on everything. She stopped trying, instead just trying to drag herself after him. Intense nausea rolled through her, along with pain so bad she almost threw up. She could feel her insides starting to fall out through the stomach wound, and quickly moved a foreleg down to hold them in. “Riot,” she coughed, then wheezed as blood filled her burst lung. Her vision darkened, and she gathered up her strength, trying to shoot one last fireball at Riot. He ducked to the side and looked over his shoulder at her. Then he smirked and went downstairs. “You're finished, Princess.” She would have screamed if she could. She ordered herself to move, or call for help, to just do something... but she couldn't. It was taking everything she had just to stay awake, but she was hemorrhaging blood and everything was fading. Then she heard a wet slapping noise and turned her head toward it. That drained the last of her energy, and her cheek flopped down to the floor. Her chest heaved as she struggled to get enough air, but it was a hopeless battle. She was dying. Yet she still kept her eyes on the nearby ledge, and she saw a familiar black mass pull itself over it, crawling toward her. She exhaled almost too quietly to hear, “Venom?” The creature stopped in front of her. It had no eyes she could see, but she knew it was watching her. Then a thin tendril lifted up and gently stroked her nose. Her eyes slid shut, the pain fading. She accepted her swiftly approaching death. But Venom had other plans. He pressed more tendrils to her, connecting his cells to hers and forcing the needed oxygen into her bloodstream to keep her alive. She gasped as sensation returned, and he wrapped around her, embracing her as he swiftly bonded to her skin. His flesh covered her wounds, pulling them shut and healing them in seconds, and she let herself just collapse against him. He kept his face separate from hers so he could watch her, and as her vision cleared, she saw that his usual smile was gone. His mouth was pulled into a sharp frown and his eyes were wide and horrified. Twilight shook her head, able to focus her thoughts again, and she started breathing hard as she realized just how close she was to dying. “Venom, I... I almost...” “Almost died, yes. But I'm here now. We're together again, and I won't let you go.” She felt him withdraw his tendrils and knew he had completely healed her. Yet he still stared at her with such worry that it melted her heart. She ran a hoof against his neck. “I know you won't. And I'm okay now. You got to me in time, it's okay.” He held her hoof close, expression softening. “You were very brave to challenge him like that. Even without me, you're a formidable opponent. But now that I'm back, and Riot is injured... we can finish him.” “Yeah. Together.” Twilight couldn't help but rub her stomach, still remembering the pain of being stabbed, and the other seemed to shiver. “Don't think about it. He won't hurt you again. We won't let him hurt either of us. We're going to end this. Together.” Twilight smiled at that, nuzzling his cheek. “I missed you,” she said. “I missed you too.” He ever so slightly drifted his mouth against her, and she started to lean in, but then the moment was over and he looked away. “We need to stop Riot.” “Right. Let's...” Twilight's face felt hot, her heart fluttering like a caged bird. “Let's go get him. And kick his sorry ass. Suit up.” He covered her and they jumped over the railing, opening their wings and soaring down to the lowest level.