//------------------------------// // Chapter 33: Onwards! // Story: Bounty Hunters 3: Genesis // by Jasper77W //------------------------------// The OASIS's bridge was busier than usual. Ponies scurried about, making lies about the barricade attack. "Spitfire, we need to capture the ILLUSION. It is a ROGUE SHIP." one of the other captains said through a hologram, slamming a hoof on the table. "I'm afraid I can't do anything." Spitfire yawned, and in the background and out of range of the communications devices, the officers that were listening to the conversation snickered and struggled to contain their laughter. "We can't find it. It just ran away, and we have absolutely nothing on the subject matter. However- I can still help." she quickly added before the other captains could add in. "I can deploy some ships to scour the debris field however. I do believe the rogue Striker reported earlier didn't quite make it." "Well... That is true... But-" "Excellent then. I'll get to work immediately!" Spitfire grinned, clapping her hooves together. "Wait-" "Logging off..." Spitfire sang, and turned off the holograms. She brought her back hooves off the shiny table, and let out a small chuckle. "Excellent acting Captain. Those idiots!" Soarin laughed. "Well, officer- we've still got a lot of work to do." Spitfire said, standing up slowly and lazily. "You're not really planning to scour the debris are you?" Soarin raised an eyebrow. "I am." Spitfire said, stretching. "But not for that purpose. The debris field is expanding by the minute, and our computers estimate it will reach a full five kilometers in just twelve hours. We hide some ships in there... We'll have ourselves a nice little ambush just when we need it." "So, two birds with one stone by taking out the barricade?" "Well, about the whole Earth's population of birds if you ask me." Spitfire said, walking into the center of the bridge. "True." Soarin nodded, following close. "Alright! I want Apollos in that debris field now! And don't forget to place down some mines!" Spitfire yelled across the bridge. "Soarin, you're in charge of getting our troops ready. Keep up our cover story, and punch some confidence into our fighters." "Yes ma'am!" Soarin saluted, and ran off towards the hangar. "Ooh, is this exciting." Spitfire rubbed her front hooves together. "Do we still have a location on Rainbow?" "Yes ma'am. They just went into Ponyville." an officer said. "Ponyville? They're supposed to meet at Haven! That's no where near it!" Spitfire exclaimed. "Haven is about two days away from their current location. They'll never make it in time." "Hmm." Spitfire rubbed her chin. "Baah. Just send them a drop ship- say to the cruisers that an important piece of equipment was tracked down to the surface or something. Make sure it can carry a car though- I doubt they'd want to let their car go." she said, waving a hoof. "Yes ma'am. Sending them a drop ship now." * "You probably should've known better than to piss me off." Val said, an odd glint in her eyes as she spun the knife. "You're not going anywhere." Blithy snarled. "We shall see." Val said, and charged forth; her hoofsteps splashing through the ankle-deep sea water. The troopers surrounding Blithy opened fire, but Val completely ignored the tiny explosions that rippled across her body and went straight for Blithy. She slammed a fist through a trooper's skull simply because he was in the way, and lunged for Blithy. "Go for the other one!" Blithy yelled, grabbing the knife with her robotic right hand and pulling it towards her. She kneed Val in the stomach, but then took a fist to the face. Eclipse tilted her head to one side when she realized Blithy meant her when she said 'the other one'. She held up a hoof, a somewhat provocative gesture. The troopers charged at her, all guns blazing. There was water all around them, meaning there was an awful lot of matter for Eclipse to easily possess. She didn't even have to go through the pain of creating matter. She stomped, sending a huge splash into the air. Then the water glowed orange as she took control, and immediately morphed into two huge blades and sliced outward. A blade cut a trooper straight down the center, and the other sliced another's rifle in half. It also sliced off his front hooves, and he fell down screaming in pain. There was nothing but mere pity in Eclipse's eyes as he splashed into the water, his blood staining it. "Why you son of a mule!" one of the troopers yelled, and threw an EMP grenade at Eclipse. Eclipse's eyes widened- an EMP was probably the only thing that could cause damage to her. But nothing too much to worry about- as long at it doesn't go off, she'll be fine. She lashed out with a tentacle, and slammed the grenade into the trooper that threw it's mouth. It cracked loudly against the back of his skull, and suddenly went off. The magnetic pulse was dulled by the flesh in the way, but the force cracked his jaw down- and it was quite literally left hanging there and barely connected. Eclipse finished him off with two clean cuts- one across both his back legs, and the other across his entire body. Blithy knocked away Val's knife, and fired a few shots at her stomach. Val deflected them with the knife, and lunged forward again. Blithy lashed out with a back hoof, and Val spun out of the way as her jetpack flared. She turned around and stabbed the knife into Blithy's leg, then slammed a fist into her chin. Blithy fell back and splashed into the water, then yanked the knife out with a grunt. She threw it at Val, who smacked it away. Blithy's jetpack flared, and she launched a shoulder into Val's chest. They both went tumbling across the room, and slammed into the far wall. It buckled, and the entire frame around the room cracked loudly. The glass walls finally gave way under the pressure, and gallons and gallons of water started flowing into the room. Eclipse held up a hoof, and the water that was about to wash her away stopped before it; glowing a soft orange. The rest went rushing past her, and swept the troopers away. The room was quickly filling up with sea water, and breathing space was decreasing by the second. Shades of red echoed through the dark depths as the emergency lights flashed, accompanied by an eery siren. There wasn't much light to go around, but it was enough for both Eclipse and Val. Blithy whacked a fist across Val's face, and slammed her head against the wall. "Why won't you see? You can't win anymore! The barricade is down!" Blithy yelled, slamming another fist down. Val stopped it with a hand, inches away from her face. "Winning isn't my priority." Val said, shredding Blithy's left arm with bullets. It was literally left as shreds of muscle, torn and ripped apart. Blithy fell back screaming, but it was quickly healing. Val stomped a hoof down on her bare muscle, and she screamed again as she ground it against the floor. "Hurts, doesn't it? Hope you didn't forget about all those years back. Ooh, that fall... Quite some pain it was. Back then I hadn't learnt to love that feeling, but now I do- and you don't..." Val closed a fist around Blithy's jaw, and lifted her out of the water. They stared into each other's eyes, their own eyes. "Did you forget what mom and dad did to us?" "I haven't, but they had their reasons." Blithy said through gritted teeth. "Then you are an idiot for forgiving them." Val snarled, and threw Blithy across the room. She started storming towards her, her fingers almost crushing themselves in tightened fists. "They left us to die! But don't you see? You can't blame me... Blame THEM! They made me into what I am today! Ruler of an entire empire, and all will bow before me. Isn't that great! I suppose I should be thanking them- but I still needed the satisfaction of having their beating hearts in my hand." Val grinned. "You have no idea how satisfying it was when I crushed them. Those bastards deserved it." "Don't talk about mom and dad that way." Blithy growled, ignoring her aching back and standing up. She stumbled a bit, but still managed to stand up. "Why not!? They deserved every bit of it!" Val yelled, and lunged forward. Blithy braced for impact. She felt Val's fist shatter the bone in her arm as she blocked it, and she fell back. Val closed her fist around her head, and pressed it under water. It was impossible for Blithy to die, because her body would keep repairing itself- meaning she could have absolutely no oxygen in her body and still live. It would hurt quite a lot though. She desperately tried to fight Val off, but she had a firm hold on the back of her head. Her body started going out of control, and into a small spasm. Her fingers twitched as her nervous system started malfunctioning, sending false signals into her cyborg body. Her vision faded in and out, and so did her consciousness. Soon her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she passed out. Blithy had stopped struggling, so Val lifted her out of the water. "Eclipse!" she yelled, slinging Blithy's unconscious body over her shoulder. "Right here." Eclipse said, walking out of a stream of water, an orange shield preventing her from getting wet. "Are all the troopers dealt with?" "No survivors." Eclipse said, tilting her head to one side. "You didn't kill her." "Point one, I can't." Val said. "Point two, I'm not done with her yet." "I see. Pick up is on its way. In the meantime, we should find somewhere dry." Eclipse said, walking past Val and towards the far door. * There was a loud boom, almost like thunder. It cracked through the now-clear skies, echoing across the vast plains and shaking the earth. "Explosions registered. Confirming location." EDI said. "Barricade has been confirmed destroyed." "What..?" Octavia set the car to auto and looked out the window. As EDI had said, the barricade has been destroyed. It was still there, flaming and setting the sky on fire. It was quite some sight. The clouds burned bright orange, the normally blue skies now shades of red and orange. "Rainbow... The barricade! It's gone!" she exclaimed. Rainbow didn't reply. She was watching. All their faces were lit orange by the bright flames. Lily was fast asleep at the back, and Silver was looking after her. Dainty was curled up in a ball on Rainbow's lap, her tiny chest heaving with each tiny breath. Rainbow sighed, lowered her head, and closed her eyes. What if more of them were to die? She couldn't imagine what she would be like if Dainty, Octavia, or anyone else's life were to slip right out of her hooves. She couldn't imagine moving on, or even standing up. She wondered what it would be like if she died- she wouldn't need to worry about anything. Everything would be out of her hooves, all the burdens and responsibilities- all gone. But she knew she wouldn't put up with herself if she were to escape that way- she would do whatever she can. She smiled softly at Dainty, and nuzzled her cheek gently. Octavia saw this, and switched the car back to manual, pretending that she didn't see anything. She was going to do her best to protect those two. It would break her heart to see them separate- but there was a long journey ahead, and not much strength to evenly spread around. She could only try her best. Magnum stared out the window, a sad expression on her face. Rainbow noticed through the rear view mirror, and decided to ask. "Everything okay back there Magnum?" she asked. "Yeah.." Magnum sighed, but then shook her head and looked down at her hooves. "I... Just started remembering some things." "Do you remember us yet?" "No... Not yet. But seeing the sky did bring back memories of what I was doing up there..." she remembered Storm's sacrifice. "We were providing cover fire, but not all of us left the damn place. I think only that mare in the forest and I made it out alive... And that mare... Bluefyre, I think..." Magnum shook her head. "I don't think I'll be able to bring her back from her state. I don't think anyone can." She fell silent, and Rainbow sighed. "There are so many ponies we can't bring back. Just gone." Rainbow said. "But we're still alive. We're still us, and we're still here." she reached back, behind her seat. "And we'll keep fighting until we don't have any strength anymore. If we can't bring back the dead, then we will defend the living." she said. Magnum smiled sadly, and shook the hoof. "This world is getting worse by the minute. But let us fight for a chance to redeem ourselves, and a chance to restore things back to how they should be." Rainbow smiled back. They looked back out the windows. There might be a chance... There just might. A hope not to be given up on- however extremely hard to hold onto. Only time will tell. * Bluefyre lay in the center of a clearing in the Everfree forest, staring up at the burning sky. Butterflies fluttered all around her, leaves slowly drifting and spinning to the earth. The breeze disturbed the long blades of grass, their tips tickling her bare skin. All her armor and equipment had burned away in her transformation, and now she felt oddly bare. She was too used to having that suit of armor on. She watched the clouds of smoke and streaks of flames shift in the wind, twisting and turning through the air. Everything seemed so ironically peaceful- she could just drift to sleep. She would've, but the tear sliding out the corner of her eye prevented her from doing so. She managed to hold off the ghost flames, despite a complete transformation. Now the tattoos have been pushed back to occupy only her left half. They pulsed with her heart beat, glowing light aqua. She sighed, and closed her eyes. She thought she had learnt to accept the new reality- but it would seem she still missed the old one. There wasn't much to worry about in the old one. She was never forced into a situation where she had to unlock the seal- and now that she did, it was becoming hard to control. The tattoos burned her skin, and stung with each pulse. She had to do her best to keep it under control, and prevent it from spreading to the rest of her body. If it did, the transformation field would form- and she'd turn into that burning skeleton again. And if she did, the only thing that could stop her from being completely consumed would be something as strong as seeing a friend who she thought was dead. It pained her as she saw Magnum's blank expression in her head again. Did she not care at all, that she was still alive? She certainly didn't do anything. She just looked at her... Like she was some sort of stranger. Some THING. Magnum, who had been through military academy with her in both realities, who had laughed with her in times of hardship, and who had been through all of this with her till now- didn't show the slightest sign of recognition. Ah-well, Bluefyre sighed. Suppose she didn't need me anyway. I was just... There. She sat up, suddenly feeling an odd amount of pressure on her chest. She coughed, and was barely able to suck in a breath. Then the pressure was relieved, and she was left gasping for air, the tattoos pulsing faster with her speeding heartbeat, sending blue flashes across the small grassy clearing. She shook her head, and stood up. Parts of her unkept mane drifted down the side of her face, strands of it glowing blue as did strands of her tail. The barricade was down- maybe she'll have much more freedom now. Live in the woods, free from all burdens. Become wild. Veer away from civilization. Yeah, that sounded just about right- she thought, trotting into the woods. * "Just two more stops, and then we'll be in the Crystal Mountain range. Gonna be a problem crossing all the snow without a snow mobile though, but EDI here should be fine. Shouldn't ya be buddy?" Octavia asked. "I estimate my own functionality to last two days, four hours, five minutes and thirty seven seconds in conditions such as the Crystal Mountain Range." EDI said. "That'll be enough, then." Octavia grinned. "Two more stops, eh..." Rainbow pulled out a holographic map on her HUD. She studied their route, weaving through the masses of cities. "Cloudsdale, then Canterlot. I take it we won't be stopping for a break." "Who knows. We might not have a choice." Octavia sighed. "Some-what like old days, I suppose..." Rainbow yawned. "Val is the target, and we hunt her down." "I suppose." Octavia said, driving through the vast plains between Ponyville and Canterlot. Because of heavy pollution after all the fighting, where they used to be able to see Canterlot they saw nothing but grey sky. Thick atmospheric pollution- they couldn't quite feel it yet, but it was there, hiding anything too far away. Sometimes the sky may seem clear, but that was just the pollutants reflecting light. Sometimes it was just hard to see the truth through all the chaos. * "Our Apollos have been dispatched." Soarin reported. "Ah, Soarin." Spitfire said cheerfully, completely ignoring the news. "I ordered a cupcake from the food court, but I can't be bothered fetching it." she had said enough. "Yes ma'am." Soarin sighed frustratedly, turning away. "Captain, there's a drop ship that got deployed from the COLOSSUS a few minutes ago." an officer said, spinning on his chair and away from his screen. "Do you think...?" "Yeah." Spitfire nodded. "But I suppose it's a bit late now for a chase." she shook her head. "Boy, are we gonna be in a heck of a lot of trouble."