//------------------------------// // Chapter 118: Mutual Fiend // Story: We don't go to Sub-Level Five // by RadBunny //------------------------------// To Astral’s eternal surprise, they made it past the jellyfish forest unscathed. The creatures seemed to be hovering far above the ground, actively avoiding coming down. But the motion tracker was clear, for however much that was worth. If Number Two had been through this place, it was long gone. His hooves were jelly by the time they climbed the stairs back up to the original intersection. On every flight, Astral had to stop and catch his breath. “Uh, Sas? My hooves are a bit numb,” he said, Sassi letting out a disproving huff. “Random numbness. Yeah, I remember that too. It’s worse when it’s your tongue or something. Your body basically is entering the shock stage, and is trying to acclimate to the new “you”. So, fun times ahead.” “P-pretty sure it’ll be a while before any fun times with you can be had.” Sassi let out a snort, not able to suppress a soft giggle as they walked down the hallway. “Fair enough, lover-colt. Trust me, that’s going to be the last thing on your mind for the next few months, at least.” “Well, we probably were going to have a long engagement anyway. Y’know. For cuddles and therapy.” A happy hum echoed over the radio, Sassi leaning on Astral a bit more as they walked. “True. That can be one of many things we talk about when you’re in the hospital. But now it’s time for me to be scary and kill everything in front of us,” she remarked, the two of them taking a right and following the tunnel to the cargo transport area. “Scary? Eh. You’re hot either way.” “How are you able to be even more flirty when you feel like crud?” Astral chuckled, hacking up some black fluid. “I don’t have the energy to filter things. Don’t get me started on the naughty jokes I could start unleashing.” “Don’t tempt me,” Sassi fired back. “We-” “-ome in. This is the Unified Extraction Squad, broadcasting to Sassi and Astral. Have you reached the cargo chamber?” Astral abruptly felt tears welling up in his eyes. They were that close. “This is Sassi Satin, and I’ve got Astral with me. Good to hear a friendly voice. We’re approaching the final hall now. After that, it’ll open into the cargo chamber. What does it look like from up top?” the mare said, giving Astral a nudge as they walked down the old, metal hallway. “Miss Satin? This is Copper Spear, First Battalion of the Canterlot Royal Guard. I’m glad to hear you’re both ok,” the voice said with audible relief. “You’ve got two squads waiting for you at the extraction point; griffins and ponies. We’ve dug out the entrance and gotten the cargo-lift operational. It’s slow, but works…” the voice drifted off, a rather worried voice sounding off from the side. “I’d hurry if possible. We’ve heard some weird noises, and the motion tracker keeps going crazy every now and again. Apologies, but we can’t leave the lift unguarded in case something tries to sneak through.” “Understood. We should be there in a few min-” The screech of metal drowned out everything, and Sassi felt something slice across her chest. Looking down, a familiar black claw had barely missed skewering her. The air vent to their left was barely big enough for the arm to have gotten through, a malevolent, grunting chuckle echoing up from below. Her HUD abruptly lit up with red lights, Astral letting out a choked cough from her left. No. Sassi turned, the miniguns ripping out fleshy chunks from the arm as it snaked back. Astral fell to the floor with a thud. Healing foam and blood gushed from the puncture wound in his side. The puncture went completely through; cleaving through the armor and suit with ease. The claws had entered near the rear of his ribs and exited up near the opposite shoulder. The reactor had been torn to pieces by the other digits of the creature that had barely missed them. “WARNING: PRIMARY USER VITALS CRITICAL WARNING: MEDICAL COUNTERMEASURES EXHAUSTED WARNING: REACTOR INOPERATIVE, BATTERIES DESTROYED” She froze. It was only for a half-second, but the terror nearly whited out everything else. Seeing Astral on the floor, covered in foam and blood… MOVE! She grabbed all of their bandages from the saddlebags. It took only a few moments to pack them into the wound and then tie them up. Astral let out a pained groan at the pressure, the stallion struggling to breathe. The bandages were immediately soaked through with blood, but it was all she could do. She couldn’t heal him- but there were creatures close who could. The mare slung the stallion over her back, galloping down the hall. Blood slicked the floor behind them, the mare spotting the final security door. It was blown to smithereens by a shot from the cannons, Sassi nearly tripping as the metal floor gave way to a dirt one. The cave was massive, the size of multiple hoofball stadiums carved from solid, dark, sandstone. Flickering construction lights lit up the edges, large rocky outcroppings dotting the entire area. There was some more recent construction to the left, next to a large oval tunnel that led upwards. Large rail tracks led down, ending at the large yellow platform that was docked close to ground level. A group of creatures waved at them, a dozen running her way as the mare continued to sprint. She would have normally been put off or at least overwhelmed by all of this. But none of it mattered. Not now. “Astral. Puncture wounds to side. Internal bleeding,” she relayed mechanically as the group neared. Six ponies and six griffins fanned out, two of them coming forward with visible medic patches on their bulky armor. The griffin muttered something in his own language, digging into their medical pack as his counterpart, a mare, lit up her horn as she looked over Astral. Sassi took a few seconds to catch her breath. The last thing they needed was her panicking. But she was. Silently. Her strength was utterly useless here. “What happened?” A stallion asked, and only now Sassi noticed that they seemed to be wearing a prototype of powered armor. It was more of an exosuit than anything, but far above the standard metal plating. Side-saddle firearms adorned every one of the ponies, and the gryphons had massive rifles slung across their shoulders, held at ready. “Number Two. It’s a massive experiment. Punched through a metal grating and nearly got both of us,” Sassi said, wincing as her chest stung. “You’re Copper Spear?” “Yep. And we’re getting you out of here,” The stallion said, one of his counterparts opening their own first aid kit to bandage Sassi’s chest briefly. Copper turned to the medics, the mare surrounding the wound with magic as the griffin continued to work. “Can he be moved?” “Not a question right now,” the mare muttered, “he’s already saturated to the brim with magic. I’m barely able to slow the bleeding. Galleon? Can we at least get him to the platform?” “Shut up and let me work. I need a minute,” the griffin hissed, yanking out a syringe the size of Sassi’s forelimb. It produced a cream-colored foam, the substance spraying into Astral’s chest cavity. What made Sassi’s stomach turn was that it began to leak out of both puncture sites before hardening around the existing foam. “He can move as soon as it fully sets. Two minutes,” Galleon reported, shaking his head. “He’s unconscious currently. I don’t know how he’s alive. That other foam must have sealed up his lungs. Not sure how it could stop an arterial bleed though. I’m guessing his heart got nicked, and at least one of lungs are definitely punctured. Maybe liver too. That foam is all that’s holding him together.” “What do we need to prepare for, Sassi?” Copper asked, the firearm at the stallion’s side covering the lab entrance. “Number Two. It’s basically a giant monster. And a bunch of infected ponies might come with it. Some sort of fungal virus turned them rabid. They’ll tear your throat out. Best way to describe them? Zombies. We punched a dozen holes in them, and they still kept coming until they bled out,” Sassi rattled off. It was easy to focus on that, her eyes threatening to drift over to Astral. “Not likely, but possible. Fantastic,” one of the other stallions muttered. “Can it,” Copper growled. “We need to get you two topside ASAP. That elevator is the only way up due to the shields. Well, there are stairs along the side of the shaft, but that’s a last resort. As soon as we’re clear, this place is going to get sealed. Celestia is going to turn the sand into glass. It’ll basically turn into a giant jar, and we’ll be covering the lid with a cannon. I hope they gas the place.” “Did anything else get out?” Sassi asked, one of the griffins letting out a dark chuckle. “A few of those Skitter things dug their way out. But the holes were sealed and they got a cannon shell to the face.” “They dug?” Copper’s uneasy face told Sassi all she needed to know. This wasn’t contained, not as much as she had hoped. Other members of the group were busy double-checking six devices; large automated turrets. Sassi couldn’t help but smile slightly at that. Each one of the pony-sized, boxy, pop-up guns appeared to hold thousands of shots and was heavily armored. “Ok, it’s set. Move him carefully. Keep him level,” Galleon instructed the mare, the unicorn levitating Astral along as they backtracked towards the elevator. As if summoned, a chorus of nightmarish screams erupted from the depths of the cave.