//------------------------------// // Chapter Eighty: Moving day with extra “AAAH!” // Story: We don't go to Sub-Level Five // by RadBunny //------------------------------// Stowing her new weapon, Sassi sat down next to Astral’s bed. With an unwelcomed jolt, a cold sweat broke out across her body, Split’s leering face seared into the mare’s mind. Ah. I was wondering when it’d come crashing down… She had to hold on a little longer. They weren’t safe here. Even as Sassi’s skin crawled, the mare knew she couldn’t break down. Not yet. Will he understand? It was a silly question, especially with how much Astral cared about her, and vice versa. And yet such questions would continue to come. There was the fear of the unknown, the pitting of a known factor against a new one. If anypony can prove my doubts wrong, it’s this fantastic stallion. He’s already shattered so many. I just have to hold on a bit longer. Her side shook with barely contained sobs. Sassi could feel the room closing in around her, the sensory overload that came with trying to work through… Memories? Trauma? All the above? She’d be out of action if the mare let things continue. A splash of cold water snapped Sassi out of it, at least temporarily. Replacing the helmet, she took a few deep breaths before double and triple-checking the next course of action. As soon as Astral was up and lucid, she’d get him set to move. A quick scout ahead, and then they’d be out to somewhere with working lights. And find a new, replacement cartridge. Sassi didn’t dare leave Astral alone to go scrounge further. The creatures were clearly counting on the lack of light to disrupt her actions. The mare wouldn’t tackle them until she was good and ready. Her new, flaming friend would certainly help with that. Astral’s a lot hotter though. The mare nearly faceplanted as she tripped, a bright blush making her cheeks burn. Where did that come fr- Interrupting her pleasant musing, a distant *BANG* followed by a soft hissing sound caught Sassi’s attention. ‘Warning. Contaminants detected.’ A soft growl left her throat as the Thestral trotted to the door. What now? The helmet’s scanning abilities activated, picking up on her curiosity. A mesh blueprint fanned out, a red portion highlighting in the darkness. ‘Warning. Toxic chemical line breached. Unknown composition. Potentially flammable. Avoid inhalation. Chemical analysis continuing. Parts per million rising.’ “Can Astral be moved even if he’s unconscious?” ‘Not recommended but possible in an emergency. Thankfully, that question was able to go unanswered. “Sassifraaaaaas!” Mostly unanswered. “Hey, Astral. How’re you feeling?” she asked cautiously, the stallion looking her way with a grin. “Pretty awful!” he proclaimed, coughing up some sludge. “You seem rather perky for feeling bad.” “Well, I feel bad, but I also feel like I’m floating!” ‘Warning. Painkiller reserves at under 10%. Please replace.’ And that AI text immediately solved the question of what Astral was talking about. The poor stallion probably was pumped so full of painkillers, he’d be in and out of lucidity for a bit. That thought made Sassi’s heart fall a bit more than she had anticipated. She missed him. Non-loopy Astral at least. It’d also make him harder to move. She double-checked the non-RASP helmet, making sure the filters worked. “Sorry, Astral. The air may be getting a bit funky. So, you’ll need to wear this,” she explained, putting the helmet on his head. She’d like to give him the RASP one, but Sassi needed the motion detection and AI the more advanced helmets offered. The emergency lights flickered, and then went completely out. The two helmets clicked on their lights, but Sassi’s heart abruptly rose in her throat. It was pitch black in the room. The motion detector pinged- a dozen contact, but at the edge of their range. “New plan. We need to move now.” If the creature attacked en-mass, Sassi couldn’t cover all angles. But with flammable gas starting to leak… “Astral, can you stand?” Sassi asked, Astral then letting out a giggle. “This songs gonna get stuck inside your heaaaaaad!” he sang. “Catchy, catchy, such a catchy song…” Ponyfeathers. “AI. Can you control the armor to have Astral walk at a non-damaging pace? Keep him close to me?” ‘Primary user consent needed. Movement not advised.’ “Astral, do you agree to this? Just say yes.” “Sounds good to meeeee!” ‘Consent registered. Activating locomotive subroutines.’ Astral’s limbs moved slowly, the stallion’s head sagging slightly. The armor supported Astral’s weight, the pony’s movements robotic as he took a few steps. ‘Calibrating.’ A few more steps around the room, and the armor’s movements became much more fluid. ‘Calibration complete. Limited movement is available without damage to the user. Healing crystals fully active.’ The gems welded to the armor glowed a soft pink, Astral moving with the protective metal as he was manipulated like a puppet. Of course, he didn’t seem to care. “Where we going?” he asked, managing to look at Sassi before yawning. “Somewhere safe. Follow me,” she instructed, meager supplies packed into their saddlebags. The mare slotted on both of the miniguns with a nod. Astral followed her out the door, head on a curious swivel. It was a bit of work to get him through the makeshift barricade, but soon they stood at the end of the dark hallway. The fear was now only for Astral. But Sassi had training for this. Asset protection, VIP scenarios; it was almost too easy. Moving carefully down the hall, Sassi did regular sweeps, eyes darting to the motion detector. The rising levels of flammable gas had her worried. “Can you move him faster?” Sassi asked the AI. ‘Not without potential damage to fragile tissues.’ As they passed the ruined fuse box, Sassi took a glance to the left. Disturbing, fleshy webbing was spread all across the end of the short hallway. That was new. “How long until the flammable gas ignites? There’s plenty of sparks I imagine.” ‘Unknown.’ “Helpful,” she hissed, glancing over to Astral. “How are you holding up?” “Wooooooooooooozy!” he proclaimed, head lolling from side to side. “We still going on a walk?” “Yup. Hopefully not for too long. AI, can you scan any further for a layout of where to go? Medical centers or power grids in general.” ‘Scanning.’ They continued walking, Sassi was mindful of the vents to their left and right at the base of the tiled floor. Each air duct exit had smatterings of the fleshy webs, and it started to make her skin crawl. It was only on the fifth vent they passed where Sassi saw an eyeless face staring back at them. She let out a yell, turning and blasting the vent with the flamethrower. Other vents began to burst with fire, a series of piercing wails echoing as something fled the attack. “Can you boost the healing to prevent damage? We need to run,” Sassi growled, her sensitive ears picking up movement that was confirmed by the motion detector. Dozens of contacts but just out of range. ‘Testing. Shunting power to supportive spells and systems.’ The armor began to hum, an affirmative ping chiming in Sassi’s helmet. ‘Success. Unable to sustain for more than five minutes. Requires a ten-minute break after each activation.’ The motion tracker abruptly lit up like a hearths-warming tree. The sound of claws on metal echoed through the hallway, and Sassi’s fur prickled. “Initiate it. Full gallop. Follow me and make sure he dodges threats!” Sassi barked, the two Thestrals charging down the hallway. A cacophony of warbling roars sounded after them, Sassi skidding to a halt as they reached a massive door. It appeared to be the first of two, the in-between space between them some sort of decontamination chamber. A keypad stood next to it- but there wasn’t time. ‘Warning. Gas at flammable levels. Ignition possible. Heavier-than-air mixture approaching current position. Ignite within the next six seconds to avoid burns.’ The guns spun up, and the mare couldn’t help but smirk as the flamethrower threw out a wall of fiery protection. The ignited gas roared back down the hallway, scorching everything in its path. Hundreds of rounds followed, ripping into the dozens of fonys that scrabbled along the floor, ceiling, and walls towards them. The gas wave burned out quickly, only igniting the farther-away mutants. Sassi’s flamethrower, however, caught the closer ones. The mutated creatures immediately fell to the floor with satisfying ‘pops’, others being torn apart by the minigun’s fire. The cannons blew creatures to smithereens, Sassi unable to tear her attention away for a moment as Astral stood silently behind her. “AI, type into the keypad zero, three, two, four, zero! Move inside if it’s clear!” Sassi ordered. There weren’t any threats beyond the door, at least that she could see. The thick plexiglass showed another door more clearly as dim lights started to flicker on. ‘Confirmed.’ The override code forced the door open. Sassi kept up a constant stream of magical bullets as the guns glowed a cherry red. More fonys still came, clambering over the dozens of bodies lining the floor, even while aflame. Behind them all, a dark figure loomed at the end of the hallway. Yellow pupils locked onto the Thestrals, blue, unblinking eyes matching the gaze. Only amid the fire’s light and shadow did Sassi see how massive the creature was, even if the details remained hidden. It was like a combination between Joro, the common Skitter, and the cloned queen. The pitch-black carapace covered any detail outside of the general, spider-like outline. A triangular head looked her way, and Sassi caught a glimpse of a rectangular box bolted to the side of the creature’s face; the source of the unblinking blue eyes. Its limbs moved smoothly, methodically. It was like watching a crisp shadow take life, eyes never leaving the ponies. Sassi adjusted her aim with a snarl. A hundred magical rounds spattered against the creature’s torso, but the black carapace deflected the smaller projectiles. As the door lowered, the mare sent two cannon blasts towards the shadowy mutant. One of them missed, the creature ducking. The second slammed into its side, black armor now crackling with orange, fiery patterns. That’s for cutting our power. Just wait until you don’t have your minions with you! The Fonys stopped on the other side of the door, parting to allow their master a view. The eyes narrowed as they met Sassi’s. The creature stopped halfway down the hallway, its bulk now hidden behind blown-out lights. A bit of reflected light from the still-burning fony corpses illuminated a brief flash of something recognizable. On a pale area of skin sandwiched between two black armor plates, a tattoo stood out in the firelight. #28 The creature didn’t look away from her. A fang-filled mouth parted- A soft tremor shook the floor. Whether caused by a sound or a physical movement, Sassi wasn’t sure. All she knew was that when she looked up, the creature and its minions were gone, a few fonys scrambling frantically down the hallway. Good riddance. If they were that skittish, perhaps Sassi could use that against them. The second door opened without issue after a gentle mist of decontamination spray. The hallway abruptly slanted upwards, the ramp having a single staircase on the side to accompany it. After a few minutes of walking upwards, the hall then branched off into simple offices on the left and right, the lights flickering on as they walked amidst the open cubicles. ‘Power grid detected and analyzed. Potential medical bay located. Partial Silo blueprint available. Plotting path.’ The glance Sassi saw of the map made her heart drop. It was massive. It was less of a single silo, and more of a fan-blade design. The central shaft was far larger than any of the others and had multiple spokes of branching hallways, rooms, and honeycombed passages all around each. They were in one small spoke, approaching the central shaft. A leaden ball settled into the mare’s stomach as Sassi realized her knowledge of this silo was utterly useless. She barely would have even scratched the surface of this place with her job! Later. First things first. The hallway could have easily been mistaken for one of other two Silos in terms of appearance. The same tile, lighting, and even the bloodstains in various offices. The occasional bright-red, biological webbing still made Sassi shudder. Whatever it was, it wasn’t limited to just their previous encounter. The sign for a medical center proved the AI right, Sassi carefully scanning both the hallway and then the interior. While only having a single healing bed, the rest of the center was in remarkably decent condition, with various cupboards still having supplies. The single, L-shaped room was divided into a front treatment area, and a back storage location with multiple shelves and additional supplies, along with a patient care area with a large shower. Most importantly there was a large, white box bolted into the wall at the back. ‘Replacement cartridges confirmed. Minimal degradation in effectiveness due to age. Adding exact schematics to scanning profile.’ Sassi helped Astral onto the healing bed, she pushed one of the only other two elevated cots closer. The mare then busied herself with double-checking any other entrances (including the vents,) and sealing them up tight. There was plenty to use, and Sassi soon had barricades on the main door and air vents that far surpassed the previous location. Another exterior barricade wasn’t possible, but at least the doors were far sturdier and had smaller (now covered) windows on them. The mare took a few deep breaths as Astral hummed to himself on the healing table, crystals on the mechanical activating to give the ones on his armor a break. Safe, for now.