//------------------------------// // Tenacity Redux // Story: [Forlorn Ascension]|[Rites of Dominion] // by Desrium //------------------------------// The Spell-core was ruptured. All that energy forced into such a small space -all the energy required to travel across the galaxy- given free reign; a path to escape. The release should have bowled through restraints and bulkheads, decks upon decks should have been blown apart by such tremendous forces. For all intents and purposes, the destruction of the scientific vessel should have been minutes away. But that wasn't the case. Phineas realized this after rocketing out of the Spell-core chamber. The PDA's data readouts suggested that the Spell-core was stabilizing itself when, not even a minute ago, the powers that were wound into that neat glowing ball were spiraling out into chaos. Phineas slowed to a hover. He was not much farther than a yard or so when he stopped and turned back to look at the nook in the wall where a soft green glow continued to reflect off of the damaged interior surfaces. He muttered, "There is no possible way..." The chimera's bellow had gone silent after all but a few seconds, and Phineas was quite confused by that. Why had he fallen silent, and did it have anything to do with how the Spell-core was not an unstoppable, expanding cascade of fiery death? The first thing Phineas considered was the chimera somehow succeeding in impeding the blast with magic. He did say he almost saved himself from the boosted explosion when the arcane grenade was thrown into his mana beam... but how did he fail then against something that was but a tiny flash in the pan compared to the full scale of what powered a starship? The stallion was pulled from his thoughts by the chimera's approach from down the hall. He was alive! He had stopped the explosion and was still alive to carry on the fight! Or so it seemed initially. Phineas' disbelief was replaced as he grew even more perplexed. The Hoof-Talon had no rhythm to their step. A few thuds against the metal floor at a time was what his "march" to combat was, defined by long periods of dead air that became silence all together by time all air on the level went away. After several more minutes of waiting, Phineas saw dark claws emerge from the tunnel, scraping against the wall to the side of the entrance. The chimera stepped out with an obvious limp on his right side, but that was far from the end of his slew of injuries. Whereas before he was a ragged berserker with a few disfigurements -most notably the eye and charred skin- the chimera now looked like a true abomination, a misshapen play on what used to be a body. His skin had began to melt right off of him and muscle began to peel away. The side of his bottom jaw, for instance, was pinkish with stringy strands of sinew clinging to the bone and flaps of flesh hanging loosely. A similar sight was to be seen on the creature's horn. His face was distorted further, its charred flesh was blistered with many lumps and folds forming around them. His eye was nestled amidst the folds, the cobalt color dulled by a transparent white film. It was as if the rest of the chimera's head was subjected to the exhaust of thrusters and cooled before it could melt completely, though the patches of completely missing flesh was something new to behold. The rest of his body did not fare any better. The hybrid's arms, most notably his right one at that, were mostly muscle now, flesh burned away into a black sludge that dripped off of the tortured frame of the chimera. His legs were also affected in a similar way, except instead of the flesh simply melting off in the case of the right one, the limb had fused with itself around the joints. Thin membranes of black tissue spanned the distance between the femur and tibia and from there, simply hung toward the floor like fleshy tendrils. The bare wings on the hybrid's back flattened against his shoulders and sides, looking more like a cancer that ballooned into ridges across his body than anything else. Skin peeled off of his torso in strips, a gaping hole over the chimera's gut revealing organs turned into crisps. Much of his tail was missing, leaving only the vertebrae extending past the flesh, held together by ligaments. And yet still, the chimera lived. He lived, and his sole eye stared out from its lumpy features at the stallion floating in the air with complete silence between the two adversaries. There was no pain evident in his gaze. Despite his body twisted and broken beyond belief, only hatred was visible in his damaged gaze. "How are you not dead...?" The chimera's lips -what remained of them- slid upwards into a reptilian smirk, the hybrid's teeth bared, adding elements of a sneer. He assumed a more stout pose, hunched over, tail waving behind him. He still intended to fight. It was then Phineas thought he understood what happened. "Let me guess... you almost saved yourself...?" he thought, putting his Harmonizer away and letting his jets cut out. He fell onto all fours in a low stance and stared the chimera in his eye. The two squared off in the hallway for yet another go, Phineas in his burnt armor and the chimera in his decayed body. "Well, almost wasn't good enough. It's time to finish this, once and for all." Phineas initiated, darting at the chimera with the tail blade screeching to life behind him, light rippling down its length. A puff of jet exhaust from his boosters sent him at the hybrid and Phineas spun around in the air, blade bearing down on his disfigured opponent. A low warbling became audible seconds later and Phineas felt resistance where the blade should have passed through unperturbed. The hybrid's hands were enveloped in a viridian light, a blinding whitish-golden glowing shining through his fingers. He caught the blade! "Oh holy sh-!" The Hoof-Talon leader transitioned into a spin, sending Phineas flying into the wall after one revolution. The impact was unforgiving and Phineas toppled to the floor in a daze. It was when the chimera attempted to stomp down on him did he catch himself; barely stopping it with his front hooves against the flat of the hybrid's foot and pushing back, making what sounded like a growl in his helmet from the strain. Phineas threw the chimera back with an especially powerful shove and rolled out from the monster's shadow. Back on his hooves, Phineas jumped onto the chimera's charred back, much to his disapproval. The hybrid thrashed about and Phineas held on, using a hoof to beat and batter his foe relentlessly. It was only when the Hoof-Talon whipped his tail against Phineas' back that the pony's assault was interrupted; the pony reeling in pain and his grip breaking. In that same instant, the chimera reached around and grabbed one of Phineas' hind legs, pulling him off and holding him upside down. Phineas kicked the chimera's wrist with his free leg and twisted upright once he was released with a burst of booster fire. He flew up to the chimera's face, swinging and kicking with reckless abandon, knocking the hybrid's head up then down and side to side. With one hateful blow, Phineas smashed one of the Hoof-Talon's fangs. The chimera bellowed silently and wrapped his hands around Phineas' midsection. The stallion directed the brunt of his jets onto them, burning them even more than they already were and freeing himself once again. Evidently the chimera still felt pain and it was driving his rage soaring. Meanwhile, Phineas assumed a low combat stance in front of the hybrid. The chimera dropped into a low stance of his own, a single palm on the ground in front of him before launching himself vertically. Phineas jumped as well but just before he collided with the Hoof-Talon leader, the hybrid's interlocked hands came down in a vicious overhead swing, knocking Phineas to the floor with astounding strength behind the blow. Phineas was on his side when the chimera came down again. His back arched in response to one of the hybrid's clawed feet pressing down on him, stabbing through the armor and piercing flesh. Baring his teeth, Startrot brought out his guns and fired up at the chimera before it could inflict more serious wounds, the bolts of magic plunging into the chimera's chest and neck, taking off chunks of flesh on exit. A dark colored ichor started flowing out of the newer wounds and Phineas noted this was the first time the chimera actually bled during their confrontation. The chimera stepped off of him, but the damage had been done and Phineas needed to get back to his ship. His life support systems were failing and his air supply was escaping through the breach in his suit. The silver pony didn't want to think about the blood he was losing, either. Phineas swiped the tail blade across the lower part chimera's crippled leg, cutting through it cleanly and toppling the monstrous creature. He writhed and undulated in a heap and Phineas rolled himself upright. His jets flared up again and he shot down the hallway like a bullet, then the access lift and the passage leading from the cargo hold. Over his PDA, he sent the shuttle a single command: ready the cockpit. The crates were a blur on either side of him as he went, soaring down the aisle until he reached his waiting spaceship. The cockpit was already open and he flew in without a moment's delay. The screen came down and the rush of air filled the compartment. Phineas ripped his helmet off and let it thunk off of the shuttle floor as he pulled in deep, gasping breaths. "Celestia's flaming mane... that was close," he thought. When he regained his breath and his silver coat stopped turning blue, Phineas turned his attention to the stinging in his side, just in front of his thigh. A nasty gash had been left there and crimson stained the outer edge of the puncture in his armor, adding more red to the scorched gray suit. The pony edged over to the utility locker and leaned against it. "Can't go into stasis yet... not while he's still out there." Phineas put a hoof to the deep wound and pulled it away for inspection. Now his hoof was given a red coating, and he frowned. Bleeding out wasn't going to be a pleasant way to die. It was then the chimera's words from earlier finally clicked. "As long as I still stand there will be two..." It was Phineas' turn to chuckle. "Son of a bitch was saying we're of a kind from the start... and the only way I'd beat him would get me killed too," he said before he winced at a particularly painful throb from the wound. "... I almost proved him wrong." Phineas looked behind him, to the door leading to his quarters. He could save his life, go into stasis for however long it would take for its mending magic to repair his suit and heal his stab wound. Afterwards, he could hunt down the chimera and whatever the hybrid might have done in that time. "He will learn from this... they always learn... that's what Tsubar told me... and he'll be more prepared next time..." Phineas clenched his eyes shut. No, couldn't let the galaxy be at risk just because he wanted to save his own life. If in his last moments alive he could definitively kill the last of the Hoof-Talons, then he would do so. He bared his teeth and pulled himself away from the locker, staggering a few steps but righting himself all the same shortly after. He approached his seat, intent on taking off and destroying the ship. Perhaps he could nudge the science vessel with his shuttle by powering his thrusters perpendicular to its orbit, lowering its altitude and bringing it on a collision course with the ground. "It's as good a plan as any... if all else fails a missile at point blank range will end it for both of us." As Phineas began to climb into his chair, he saw something at the corner of his vision. A flash of light... of green light. "... You've... got to be... kidding me..." he rasped. Through the cockpit screen, he saw the chimera enclosed in a magical field, his aura thin and barely there, but there nonetheless. He floated down the hallway slowly, his legs dangling limply beneath him, one whole, the other a halved stump. Against all odds, against every punishment and torturous, crippling injury, the chimera pressed on. Startrot couldn't believe it; there was just no killing this thing! Phineas leaned on his chair for support. He was done, exhausted. He gave the fight more than his all and the chimera was still not down for the count! He sucked in a deep breath and pulled himself up and into the seat, wincing at the pain in his side. "You did good, Startrot. Damn... damn good. Maybe when they find your body in here, they'll build a monument for you... somewhere... out there..." He inserted his legs into the neuro-link sleeves and armed his ship's weapons. The dual phaser cannons moved into position beneath the nose of the cockpit. It did not matter if the pony didn't have a clear shot. The blasts would go through the crates and finish the chimera and that would be the end of it- Phineas felt the chamber shiver through the ship and averted his eyes from the view screen. Six arcane grenades had just gone off as one, releasing the hellfire and electricity directly into the chimera. Before he was taken by the fires for the last time, his body finally came apart, partially liquifying while it was still in the air. "Heh..." Phineas choked out. "I should have... warned him about... that..." "... Duh, Startrot. How could you forget your own damn trap!?" *** "I can't die." Phineas dragged himself across the floor. The door opened for him and he pulled himself forward once. "Not because there's a fight I need to fight," He reached the pod and started to climb up it, his limbs shaking. He was starting to feel cold. "but because there's a chance for me to live!" He flipped the screen up and toppled into the bed, panting. "So... I'll go to sleep... and I guess I'll find out which sleep it is after..." He let out one last groan as the screen came down over him and the familiar lights came to take him to the whiteness. [End]