Spines took a deep breath to calm her nerves. The filters expanded her lungs to keep her in a peak condition. It was coming, very soon a siege will take place at her home. It sickened her to the point of gagging but she kept her stance strong. Her gun changed to full power was gripped tightly at her side as well as her black sword. Would she be enough to stem the tide of battle? Bek warned her that the battle data he compiled showed a low chance of absolute victory and a high chance of moderate victory, this meaning she would likely survive and the Spawn would be destroyed no matter the outcome, but a moderate victory implied some Spawn would leak through her grasp, some would get beyond the walls and- no...no she wouldn't even entertain the thought and further. To her, a 'moderate' victory was no better than an absolute failure...no it was not an option. This had to be perfect and according to Bek, she was the piece needed to ensure a victory she could accept. She had to be perfect, she had to be fierce, she had to make every correct decision to or she could never look at herself in the mirror again.
As she thought about her place in all this her loyal troopers lined themselves behind her in an orderly fashion, Elites stood at the back just before the developing wall as the final guard between her grasp and the innocent town she loved. he shook her head again, focus...it was time to focus.
The army she had with her was not well equipped to handle such situations. That was the duty of her attack force that she foolishly exhausted all at once not thinking of a time such as this where backup would stem the tide of war. But that was neither here nor there. Her units were only sentry types and not battle-oriented for full-scale invasions, equipped with automatic charge rifles and a backup plasma blade. Some were more specialized like Bek and a few lingering troops designed for long-range sniping equipped with weapons that can fire something miles away. These were low leveled weapons compared to what she knew in her limited studies on weaponry, no ordnance. Her fighting force numbered in 950 soldiers and 12 Elite units, against the thousands upon thousands of vile blood approaching each Unit needed to be worth more than one thousand and she had to be worth even more if they wanted even a chance to completely suppress the enemy.
"My Lady enemy arrival ETA 30 seconds." She snapped out of her thoughts, how long was she thinking? Back to her sense, she felt the ground rumble, just over the horizon came the horrible creatures. She raised her sword, a rising heat came in her chest...fear, terror? No, she realized just now how her covered face made a venomous glare. It was hatred, hatred at the bastards that wanted so ruthlessly to kill her and her home. Every encounter she had with them ended with brutal bloodshed, compromise was impossible, they were uncaring, unloving remnants of a dark empire set on absolute genocide. Just way was she victim to this madness? Just why was she forced to handle this mantle of responsibility for an enemy that had no business being here? Why did Tendrix have to die in her place?
No, Spine was horribly mad, so furious she felt the temperature rise in her suit which was vented by her suit. Words passed along her visor.
*DETECTING HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE*
*INCREASED HEART RATE*
*HEAT LEVELS RISING*
*...ANALYZING...PURE BLOOD OF THE LORD GENERAL DISCOVERED...*
The Queen wrinkled her brow, what in the name of Equestria was happening? She felt itchy in her suit now, as if she were burning up on the inside of her scales, a unique sensation.
"ETA 10 seconds My Queen." She could barely hear Bek over the ringing in her ears. What was happening?
*MASSIVE THREAT INBOUND...ENHANCEMENT AVAILABLE...BERSERKER PROTOCOL READY*
She was steaming on the inside, what did it mean? Enhancement, protocol?? Her mind spun but a bit of her knew the suit was just an extension of herself and its core purpose is to protect the wearer. It wouldn't do something to hurt her and in this moment of all-out battle, she needed to trust her technology. In a ragged voice, she husked out "ACTIVATE PROTOCOL!"
*ACKNOWLEDGED* She felt countless injections pierce her scales throughout her entire body, were she not in a heated state the event would be incredibly painful but she was just too numb to notice. Then she felt a freezing liquid feed right into her body, the hot and cold contrast made her knees buckle. The heat in her body moved to her mind, racing, spinning, growing.... The lights in her suit tuned red as her visor. She grew a few inches, her body creaked at the shift. Her sense of balance left and she was caught on all fours now panting wildly on the ground.
She could feel the thundering riot of Spawn coming, they were within sight over the hill like a wave coming to crush a sandcastle. The entire landscape became full of black and blue and purple, It pissed her off greatly. Something in her suit shifted with her size, the joints unlatched to give more space and her back spines grew sharper and longer, her maw grew dramatically and pushed against her mask. The suit shifted its pieces and opened the jaw area to fit her feral form.
She could be about 10 feet in size now and a most intimidating figure. Her jaw was loose in the open but guarded with her suit giving her the look of a black metal jaw. She felt like fire incarnate and she needed to burn to sate this undying need to bring retribution to those who wronged her and the peace she fought for. She saw red and not just due to the re-coloration of her visor.
Her units were already at work, firing thousands upon thousands of shots that gave the field a bright green glow. The weak Shifters fell in one hit no matter the location but the more advanced creatures took more to befall. With their numbers, they would easily push through her blockade in minutes...unless.
She growled a more feral rumble than the time she became SpineZilla. Yes, this new form was designed to cause havoc, she could feel it. The target of her hate ran clearly in front of her. 'Slaughter, kill, crush, decimate' It sounded in her head and she chose to let go of her fear and only think about ending this as soon as possible.
She told her mind to run forward and before the thought even finished she was moving at the speed of the Friendship Express. She wanted to use her weapons but something told her it wasn't necessary right now. She jumped up with the height of the castle, then she dive-bombed the location she saw the most powerful-looking Spawns. She impacted the ground like a missile, crushing and pushing out those in the area. She roared so loud it could be heard faintly from Canterlot.
The Spawn around her seemed to register her as the biggest threat and pooled around her. Her gullet filled with a heavy breath of fire. So she let the inferno out like ablaze, no matter the size or speed those in her path melted down to the bone at the incredible force of her flames.
Behind her she noticed her personal units come to her aid. They seemed to know the nature of her new form as one jumped up and perched itself on her shoulder. "T-21 here to assist my Queen." The droid that resembled her more than herself at the moment unleashed a cannon to its side. She didn't speak, unsure if t was even possible at this point but she nodded while rushing another horde. The other hovered behind with its rifle, picking off the weak points at the more advanced blood creatures. The berserk Spines found a Titan coming her way and instead of evading it she chose to meet its charge, their arms clashed but quickly she overpowered the beast and tore out its right arm. The Titan struggled but was quickly snuffled out as she returned the arm with the force of a giant sledgehammer to the skull. Without missing a beat she grabbed its legs and swung it around beating the life out of those who came too near. She felt it start to dissolve into a mist so before the corpse dissipated she slung the massive body over to another nearby Titan, the impact made a satisfying crunching noise as the two fell.
T-21 fired an unending attack on those in its sight. This gave Spines more space of freedom to create more damage. Green plasma flew all around her but not once did any of it touch her for the droids were too good at their aim. Her armor ignored the scratches and hits she took from the insignificant Void, too weak was correct, with just some better weapons she bet she could destroy the entire horde in just one night. Her fist balled as she swung her right hook, killing hundreds in one blow. Her tail sliced those in her blind spot.
She and her team kept up with this for some time without worry, those that she was too far to reach were suppressed by the cannons the Elites used. With her unexpected boon in savage power, things were going well. Bek took the hoard head-on as well with duel blades at hand. He was up to his neck in Spawns but his advanced programming saw this as little challenge. With a slash of the arms, hundreds became sliced in two. Like a skilled sushi chef, the commander shredded through them like paper. "Cease your transgressions immediately or face annihilation." He stated calmly in monotone. Of course, the warning has never worked once in his long life but protocol mandated he give the enemy a chance to surrender to avoid breaking the laws of war set by high command.
The enemy who was capable of little thought ignored the words of the commander, a choice they would learn to be a death sentence. Seeing their refusal Bek gave an automatic sigh, a quirk he developed from his commander, and let several panels out of his body. Powerful jets of heat vented out of them so strong the unfortunate Spawn melted before him. This was not his attack by a long shot, his combat technique rusted and dulled by centuries of monotony needed a long-awaited sharpening. His power cells shook with a violent energy that went into both his sword and legs, the green plasma blade went from a vibrant green to an ominous violet. "It is time I show you just how small you all really are!"
To the Spawn, the annoying robot was within grasp but then he wasn't, gone like lightning not even realizing they were already dead. Bek moved around 3D space at speeds never reached before by anyone in the Universe. The blade danced across the battlefield-like web killing everything in its path. There was a reason Tendrix chose an android to command his ship for Bek was one in a million regular units who proved their power and worth in combat, It was Bek who has earned this power not by simply being built better but by being worthy to command it.
The Void tried uselessly to swipe at the annoyance only to find demise no matter the size or type. Bek moved back and forth, up and down, side to side it mattered not with his high pressured vents that made the very dimension his own. Cut by cut hundreds upon hundreds were cut back into the mist. The blade left fires across where it slashed that moved like an animal looking to feed, the violet flames ate up the foolish Spawn and spread further and further. Yes, it was with this trump card Bek felt the possibility of victory was within sight, but it remained on the General to keep her side suppressed and the Units in the back picking off the lucky few who breakthrough. No one person could do this alone and everyone had to give it their all to protect the innocent. Another wide slashing blade cut through them all like leaves, it could only be expected when you make an army out of rotted blood. With his motionless face, the commander killed as many as he could, even with this power he paled in comparison to the other great leaders of Unity but even still he had to go beyond!
Spines was starting to stagger, it's felt like forever since the skirmish began but in reality, it has only been less than 10 minutes. Her rage state was cooling down despite the suit doing its hardest to keep the flame alive, she could feel it in her head prodding around memories that can keep her furious but to no avail, Dusk's and Solaris's care and love to her were backfiring at this very moment. She never knew real loss or pain, only today has she felt true hatred but it was not enough to sustain. WARNING...BERSERKER MODE DRAINING FASTER THAN EXPECTED...SHIFTING BACK IN THE MIDDLE OF BATTLE WILL PROVE FATAL. RECOMMEND RETREAT IMMEDIATELY The suit wailed. Retreat? She couldn't do that, Ponyville was counting on her here and now...but 25 minutes left of this Hell...was it even possible anymore?
Using Berserk mode took on a lot of energy, to use hatred to power intense energy is a risky gamble if one does not harbors enough hate in their heart. It was a star that burned bright but quick. "I was an idiot to choose this." She felt tired, her muscles begun to shrink. The fire was fading fast, too fast even, she could feel the danger she was in as she slashed apart another horde. This exhaustion in the middle of hundreds of thousands of savages...she was left floating in a pool full of sharks. She could fly and escape with relative ease but that was out of the question. She had to hold the line, everyone depended on this!
Her eyes went from red back to green and her body quickly shrunk back into her normal form. The Spawn took notice of this and redoubled their effort by pouncing all at once. This was it, the final blow. "NO! It can't end here!" Her muscles screeched in torment but through the shredding pain she reached for her sword and let out a circular slash that killed off the nearby evil. It hurt, it hurt so much she wanted to cry, but she went again with another attack and again and again and again. The left-arm went limp she was unable to move, only her right arm made the move to attack again and again despite wanting to fall off at any moment."IGNORE IT! Pain is nothing, all that matters is home, ignore it all you fucking coward it's meaningless!!" Another it but it only killed half of them, another hit killing the few that got through but left an opening for those behind. One Shifter moved in and got a hit in on her side. She dropped her sword, her body failed to respond to her command. Then another came in a took a hit, then another and more.
The pain threatened to make her pass out, which sounded like such a treat right now but she would not allow it. There had to be something she could still do right? They piled on her giving out brutal hits every second. The suit would not hold on forever like this but she felt she would die long before they got through...was this it? She had nothing left.
"I can't... go yet, not here...not now..." It was so bad she begun to cry, trapped in her own body, lifeless, worthless...unless?
In a split memory, she remembered she was not alone in this. Her communication channel opened to all signals. "This is General Spines in need of immediate assistance! I can't hold on anymore!" Her voice was panicked, scared, something the androids never heard before. She was way out of time, if anyone could hear her it had to be right now or she would die.
She waited, another hit to her abdomen, a small spurt of blood hocked up her throat, a fist to the face her nose became broken. A powerful large hit to the chest made her bones creak, the once-broken rib threatened to snap once again. Did her voice get through at all? Does anyone even notice her pain? Was she really alone after all?
...
...
Her ears flickered, in the mass of screaming demons, she could hear something else...something metallic but at the same time so warm sounding. "GENERAL SPINES!!" A bright light bathe her body, the venomous jaws of the Spawn were suddenly struck in shock and dissolved in the light. She felt heat but only a warm sensation that made the pain slightly more bearable. The intense light fade to reveal the blue sky, she was in an empty crater. Yes just before her defeat someone threw a plasma grenade that burned out the evil around her, it was only the suit she was still alive. T-21 landed next to her in a frantic manner, the newly built android kneed to her master. "You must return to base and heal General, we cannot afford to lose you. Already she began lifting the downed commander with intent to take her back.
"...N-nO!" She coughed out. Every second more Spawn got through her line, the border guards suddenly found themselves firing at more and more enemies, they would be overwhelmed in less than a minute.
The droid made in her image paused. It was a priority that injured personal be removed from the battlefield, especially a high commander. "Your body scans show several fractures and muscle tears, you can no longer move, with all due respect you can no longer aid us, let us do the work as you heal, we will prevail."
Spines gasped finding it hard to breathe, did a lung collapse as well? "But...some will die. Can't let that happen! I...refuse to leave!" Even she knew she was being crazy but she could not let herself leave them. There had to be at least something she could do... With strength she no longer had, Spines lifted her left arm to grasp the black hand of her soldier. "Help me, please!"
T-21 halted her response. Her deeper thinking spun, he thought outside of protocols on what could be done...and like a light bulb, she found a possible solution. "This goes outside conventional reason General. This will put you in immense pain but it is the only thing we can do to keep you fighting.
She didn't care, she suffered a lot already, what could some more really do to her right? "DO IT, I don't care just do it!"
T-21 nodded. "It is as you command." Suddenly the droid fell to pieces, before she could react to this he suit jerked up in the air suddenly. The pain of movement made her gasp. The parts from the once standing android floated up by an unseen force and attached themselves to her form. The armor grew thicker, blades sharper. more panels and guards. It was a quick process that left Spines up in the air for a moment only to drop back down, she braced for impact by gritting her teeth but found suddenly the suit move on its own to a landing position. Then without pause, it stood up and took the blade from the ground. Each movement felt like she was being torn apart but she endured the pain. If this is what saved her home costs then she was more than happy to bear this pain.
CARBON EX Has made the scene.