//------------------------------// // A Crafter's Dream Ch. 54: Retribution (Part 2) // Story: A Crafter's Dream (Discontinued) // by ruthim345 //------------------------------// Now, without further ado, I present, “A Crafter’s Dream” Square: Shield Bash Triangle: Shield Swipe Rushing forward, Steve slammed his shield into a changeling’s face before spinning around, simultaneously smacking away a lance that nearly stabbed him in the back. X (Hold): Shield Dash Swiftly blocking two bolts of magic, he sprinted forward, using his shield as a battering ram, slamming into two changelings and sending them rolling. D-Pad Down: Shield D-Pad Up: Sword Circle + Square: Counter Putting away his shield, Steve swiftly withdrew his sword, just in time to stop an iron sword from landing a strike. Parrying the attack, he whirled around and slashed the attacking changeling. ‘Steve, above you!’ Nightmare warned. Looking up, Steve saw the bigger changeling flying towards him, war-hammer lifted up for a devastating strike. Circle: Dodge Rolling backwards, Steve felt the ground beneath him shake as the attack missed, crashing into the ground and cracking the stone around it. Gritting his teeth, Steve rushed forward to attack. ‘Watch out!’ Nightmare Steve yelled. Before the Crafter could react, a beam of dark green magic hit him straight in the chest, sending him flying backwards before slamming into the ground back-first, the force causing him to flip onto his stomach. Damaged Received - 5 damage. 10 health remaining. Suppressing a groan, Steve got to his feet, sword at the ready. Much to his confusion, he saw that his opponents had retreated slightly, glaring at him in apprehension and their weapons at the ready. At the front of the group stood a changeling, though this one looked very different from it’s companions. It had a sleek and narrow figure, suggesting it was most likely a female. Her eyes, instead of a light blue, were orange in color. On her chest was two jagged gray lines, crossing to make the shape of an X. As she approached, she grinned madly at him, showing off dozens of razor-sharp teeth, all ready and waiting to rip him to shreds. As she passed, the others backed away, almost nervously. Some smirked at Steve, while others looked at him with something akin to pity in their large eyes. ‘Steve, something is wrong with that particular changeling.’ Not a moment after Nightmare had said that, the changeling mare stopped, now only a short distance from Steve. The Crafter eyed her warily. ‘What do you mean?’ ‘Her magic aura feels different, almost dark in nature. Be wary, she may be far more of a threat than any of her kin, probably combined. Due to your lack of armor and healing items, I suggest activating your Nightmare Form for this battle.’ ‘Got it. I should probably…’ Steve’s eyes widened as he fully registered what Nightmare had said. ‘Wait, my what now?!’ “So, who would you happen to be?” The mare suddenly asked in a drawl, drawing Steve’s attention away from his mental conversation. “Steve.” He answered bluntly, anger prominent in his voice. “Who are you?” Not that he cared. “I’m Vask, leader of Squad #371. Now, since you may not be aware, I’m not very fond of random shaved monkeys coming into my base and hurting my drones and soldiers.” “You started this when you took my friend captive.” Steve replied evenly, struggling to keep the anger blossoming in his chest from showing. “Then, from what I heard from some of your lackeys, you sucked the love out of her, and then.” Steve hesitated, his teeth grit. “You killed her. And from what I can tell, you don’t care in the least bit. So I don’t give two fucks about what you think, you bitch.” He flourished his blade, dropping into a fighting stance. “I was too late to save her, so the very least I can do is avenge her.” Her eyes narrowed. For a few tense moments, silence reigned in the corridor, both sides waiting with baited breath. Then, Vask grinned and started laughing. “Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha! Oh geez!” She wiped an orange eye with a hoof as her laughter began to die down. “You don’t know much about zebras, do you?” Steve furrowed his eyebrows at her. “The fuck are you talking about?” She put a hoof to her chin in thought for a few moments before shrugging “Eh, doesn’t matter, since you’re gonna die anyway. Listen genius, zebras aren’t ponies. If a pony were to get all of their love drained, it would be fatal, yeah. But zebras have some kind of resistance to that stuff, something about their biology relying less on magic or something, so getting drained just makes them exhausted.” Steve felt a wave of relief flood through him as he listened to her words. “Pretty sure it’s the same with griffons and minotaurs and the like. It’s why they’re so much better for long-term food sources than ponies are.” “Wait, then why are we trying to capture ponies then?” One of the changeling bystanders asked, confusion on its face. Vask shrugged. “I don’t know. Why don’t you ask the Queen when we get back?” The changeling shook his head before shrinking in on himself slightly. “I-I’m fine. She kinda scares me.” “Well then you’re smarter than you look.” Vask muttered. Clang! Clang! Every changeling except Vask jumped slightly as Steve banged his sword twice on the cave wall. “Do I have everyone’s attention?” Silence. “Good. Now, Vask was it? I was originally going to take all of you down for killing my friend, but seeing as how you haven’t, I’d like to propose a deal. You hand Zecora over, and none of you ever even think about kidnapping another pony or otherwise ever again, and in return, I don’t kill each and every one of you and take her myself. How ‘bout it?” Vask laughed. “Alright, since you seem so confident, how about this instead? When we win, you become our slave and we get to suck every ounce of love out of you for as long as you live. If, by some miracle you happen to win, you get your zebra friend back.” Steve stared at her with furrowed eyebrows for a few moments before responding. “Alright, deal. You ready to lose?” “Are you?” Vask responded snarkily. “Because there’s no way you could beat me, let alone all of us at the same time.” “Alright then, prove it.” Steve spoke, causing the mare to blink in confusion. “What?” “You heard me. You say you can beat me in a 1v1 fight, so prove it.” He gave an over-exaggerated shrug. “Unless you’re too worried you might lose, of course.” Eyes narrowing, Vask grit her teeth and growled at Steve. “You calling me weak?” “Depends. Are you?” Snarling, her horn flickered and a beam of dark green magic shot towards Steve. Circle: Dodge X (Hold) + Square (Hold): Sword Slam Rolling to the side, Steve narrowly avoided the attack. Getting to his feet, he leapt high before bringing his sword down with force, cracking the stone beneath him and sending several changelings flying through the air. Vask, unfortunately, managed to dodge the attack, leaping away only to run at him shoot him point blank with an ice spell, not hurting him but freezing him in place. Due to his state, he was unable to dodge the next bolt of magic, which cracked the ice and sent him flying. Damage Received - 6 damage. 4 health remaining. Groaning, Steve got back to his feet, albeit a bit shakily. Coughing, he hurriedly scarfed down a loaf of bread he had, letting out a small sigh as the all-too-familiar warmth filled his body. Regeneration Effect Gained: +1 health every 5 seconds. Focusing back on his opponents, he grit his teeth and raised his sword. Square: Slash Dashing forward, Steve swung his sword at Vask. The mare easily dodged the attack, rolling to the side and pushing off the wall, throwing herself towards Steve with a hoof pulled back. Circle: Dodge Square (Hold): Whirlwind Side-stepping the punch, Steve grabbed his sword with both hands before spinning around, managing to hit Vask hard, as well as clobber a few changelings who’d tried to triple team him. Coming to a stop, Steve looked around, only to see a beam of green magic about to hit him in the face. Circle: Dodge Throwing himself backwards, he managed to avoid the attack, which instead hit the cave wall a little ways down the corridor and exploded, making the ground beneath him shake slightly. Shooting to his feet, Steve saw Vask approaching. Suddenly, her horn flickered and she was bathed in a dark green aura. A few moments later, the aura faded, revealing a very different looking Vask. Her eyes, which were once gray, were now dark green, similar to the color of her magic. Her horn appeared longer and sharper, and her teeth looked more like knives than fangs. A strange glow seemed to emanate from within her barrel, slightly lighting up the ground beneath her. Steve stared at her with wide eyes. “What the actual fuck?” She chuckled darkly. “What? Not what you were expecting?” “You look like you swallowed a torch.” Steve answered bluntly. His response elicited a few hushed chuckles from the surrounding changelings. She grit her teeth angrily. “Shut up!!” She roared, sending a few drops of spit flying. She whirled to look at her fellow changelings. “And stay out of this!! I’m gonna make this monkey learn his place!!” Turning back around, she flared her wings before launching herself at Steve, horn glowing. Circle + Square: Counter Dropping low to avoid the possible magic bolt, Steve grabbed her front hooves before swinging around and throwing her into her comrades, sending the whole lot of them tumbling. ‘Nightmare, what the hell happened to her?’ Steve asked, keeping his guard up and sword at the ready for the next attack. ‘I’m not sure. There was a huge energy spike just before she transformed, but I have no idea how she managed that.’ The Nightmare answered. Vask pushed a changeling off of her before getting to her hooves. Her eyes narrowed as her horn lit up and a beam of dark green magic shot at Steve Circle: Block Steve blocked the attack with the flat end of his blade, but was sent stumbling back, the blast being much more powerful than any others prior. ‘Steve, it appears Vask’s transformation has greatly increased her speed, strength and magic capabilities. I really think you should activate your Nightmare form for this battle.’ ‘Yeah, I would love to, once you explain what the hell you mean by Nightmare Form! What is that?’ Circle: Block Square: Slash Vask rushed forward, throwing two powerful punches. Ready this time, Steve managed to block both before responding with a slash that cut a gash along the changeling mare’s side, causing her to cry out in pain. ‘It’s the form you took in your battle against Herobrine. Remember when you turned all smokey? That was your Nightmare form. It increases your body’s endurance, as well as giving you an increase in strength, speed and resistance to physical and mental trauma.’ Circle: Dodge Steve rolled to the side as a wave of magical fire shot past him. ‘Cool! How do I activate it?’ ‘It is yours to command, all you must do is call it forth.’ ‘Got it!’ D-Pad Up: Sword Sheathing his sword, Steve took one moment to collect himself. Taking a deep breath, he looked up to see Vask looking at him with a slightly confused expression, probably wondering why he had put away his blade. He grinned. “Nightmare Form!” He shouted, letting his instincts take over as he reached out a hand. “Come forth!!” Clenching his outstretched fist tight, shadows burst out from his hand, traveling all the way down his arm and along his chest, soon covering his entire body. He felt newfound strength fill him, giving the Crafter a slight power rush. His body felt cold, like he’d suddenly been submerged in an icy lake. Every single one of the changelings in front of him, Vask included, looked scared. Some held their weapons in a shaky grip, while others slowly backed away. Vask, to her credit, stood stock-still, staring at Steve in horror. “A Nightmare.” She whispered, tone fearful. “You’re, you’re…” Steve grinned a vicious grin. “What? Not what you were expecting?” He asked, repeating the exact words she’d said to him only a few minutes prior. Shaking her head, Vask regained her composure, dropping low into a fighting stance. “It doesn’t matter! I can still beat you!” “Really? Well then.” Steve crouched slightly, gesturing at Vask with a ‘Come at me’ motion. “Let’s see what you got.” Growling, Vask launched herself at Steve, hoof pulled back. The Crafter responded in kind, rushing forward towards his opponent with his fist pulled back. For a moment, time seemed to stop. Square (Hold): Punch Then Steve let a shit-eating grin overtake his features as he suddenly dropped down to one knee, Vask flying overhead. Clenching his fist, he punched upwards, uppercutting Vask’s unprotected belly. The mare made a strange half-choking/half-exhaling sound as the air was forcibly knocked from her lungs. She hit the ground hard, rolling onto her side as she struggled to get her breath back. However, Steve wasn’t about to let that happen. Grabbing her by the front of her chitin, he lifted her up and slammed her into the cave wall, smokey fist pulled back. “Yield.” Steve spoke firmly. She coughed a few times, but eventually shook her head. “N-never!” She rebutted loudly, her horn beginning to glow. Square: Punch Steve punched her straight in the face with his Nightmare-enhanced strength, eliciting a cry of pain from the mare and breaking her concentration, the glow around her horn fading. “Yield.” He spoke again. “Never.” She repeated, though her voice had lost most of its volume. Square: Punch He punched her again, making her cry out in pain once more. “Yield.” She coughed up a bit of green blood, spitting it out on the floor. Breathing heavily, she looked up at him, with defiance in her orange eyes. “N-No.” Steve stared at her in silence, the only sound being Vask’s ragged breathing. He looked deep into her eyes, like he was trying to see into her very soul. Finally, after a few moments, he sighed. “Fine. Have it your way.” Square (Hold): Uppercut He slammed his fist into her chin, hitting it in such a way so that it knocked her out instantly. Releasing his grip, her unconscious body fell limply to the ground. Stepping back, he turned to look at the rest of the changelings, who either stared at Vask in disbelief or looked at him in terror. Walking over, he stood in front of them, glaring down at them with glowing eyes. “Where is she?” He asked, his tone demanding answers. In response, one changeling shakily pointed towards the corridor behind them. Nodding slightly in response, he trudged past them, the changelings moving to either side to get out of his way. “If she’s not alive.” Steve spoke, drawing the attention of every changeling in the corridor, Vask excluded. He turned to look at them with an unreadable expression. “You better hope and pray I don’t find you.” And with that, he walked off, leaving them in silence.