Rhino approaches the next floor as stealthily as he can, both in an effort to surprise whatever opponent is up there, and because he doesn't hear any sound at all other than water running. He pokes his head into the entranceway to see a room with minimal decoration, at least compared to the last total makeovers. The personalized touches to this floor seem to be entirely water-based. A few fountains and even a few small pools dot the edges of the room. In the center of it all though, is a rather large chitinous desk.
Sitting in front of that desk is a large, orange-tinted changeling. He seems a bit lankier than the last two, as if he doesn't exercise as often as they do. This is hard to tell, however, since his head is resting on the desk, his barrel rising and falling in the even pattern of sleep.
Two particular memories got through Rhino's head as he quietly approaches the changeling. One recent one of both Luster and Flick bringing the keys he needed out of their manes, and the other of a particular note written by his pets describing the one who took Gel. As he stand to the side of the changeling, he looks down at it with hard eyes as he debates whether to search his mane with magic... or throttle him with it. He smiles grimly as he realizes they aren't mutually exclusive and lights up his horn as a ring of magic appears around the changeling's neck.
What he didn't expect was for a hole-filled hoof to slam into his jaw.
Rhino stumbles back, the blow luckily not as strong as Luster's, but getting hit in the jaw by anything tends to stagger a pony. He shakes his head and glares back up at the changeling.
The drone sits up, yawning quietly before turning to him, frowning deeply. "I was taking a nap. Why did you wake me up?"
Rhino growls at him. "Because you took someone from me, and now you have something I need."
He furrows his brow, confused. "Someone from...are you talking about Colonel Gel?"
The stallion's eyes practically flash at the name. "Yes. I've come to get her back."
The changeling glances at a clock on the desk, noting the time. "It's probably too late for you to do anything, honestly. She's to be executed at high noon." He yawns once more, shaking his head. "She may be one of the Elite, but even we aren't above the law."
Rhino eyes snap wide open as his fur stands on end. "Executed?!" He looks down for a moment before looking back up at the drone, determined. "All the more reason for me to get there quickly. Will you give me your key to the next floor?" He figures he might as well try the direct approach.
He stares at the stallion a moment, perplexed. "Give you the key? That's against protocol, and punishable by psychological torture. Where did you get an idea like that?"
The unicorn answers simply. "Because after fighting through three floors, though the first wasn't much of a fight, I thought I might try to see if I could avoid one. I take it that was a 'no'?"
He stands up, pushing the desk and its contents off to the side with his magic. "I'm not going to commit treason for one nymph's life."
Rhino changes to a combat stance. "Then you are just another obstacle to overcome."
The drone doesn't seem to respond to this, his face in a neutral expression. "Then it is my duty to stop you." He lowers his stance, his horn glowing the same orange as his mane. "I'm Lieutenant General Port, and your journey ends with me."
The stallion doesn't say anything, his own horn glowing green. He tries to simply end this fight quickly as he grabs the changeling's neck in his magic and squeezes.
The drone does the same, enveloping the pony's head with a bubble of water from a nearby pond.
Rhino holds his breath as he tightens his hold on the changeling's neck. His enjoyment of swimming over the years making him not too concerned by feeling underwater.
Seeing this isn't affecting him the same as the nymph before, Port focuses, forcing the water into the stallion's nostrils, hoping it will break his concentration.
His eyes widen as the water starts flowing into his nose, the usual burning sensation associated with such things making him cough and break off his hold on the changeling to reform his Res runes on his body, concentrated on his face. The spell pushes the water out and away from him a few inches, and since it covers his horn as well, the few inches from the tip of it allow a break in the bubble so air can rush in. Rhino breathes gratefully as he glares at Port through the distorting water.
The drone narrows his eyes at this but doesn't comment on it, instead turning his gaze to the fountain. A pillar of water slowly forms from its surface, swirling around as if caught in the pull of a drain. He takes this moment to strike up a conversation. "I do enjoy my job, but sometimes, I just want to relax." He motions to the mini-typhoon, the corner of his lip turned up almost imperceptibly. "What better way than a good feature film?"
Rhino looks where the stallion motions, but his vision is still obscured by the water. "The effect is a bit lost when I can't tell what it is." He turns back to port. "At least orange stands out nicely." He prepares a few balls of magic force around the changeling, planning to buffet him with them.
The drone rolls his eyes, sending the water spout at Rhino and dispersing the bubble once it is upon him. "Everyone's a critic."
The typhoon immediately picks the stallion up and starts throwing him around within its walls. Icicles and hail form among the waters, buffeting the stallion's body.
The still-intact Res spell around Rhino's face prevents the water from rushing down his nose or mouth and protects it from most of the damage. However, his body is not so lucky, he now is starting a collection of bruises to match the scratches and paint splotches from his previous fights. As soon as he can get his head straight, Rhino Blinks out of the vortex to appear on the other side of the room, sopping wet. He looks angrily at the changeling and forms a large fire circle pointed directly at him. Rhino wastes no time in launching the torrent of flame at his opponent.
Port glances at him briefly before a wall of water separates them, absorbing most of the attack and turning into steam. He shakes his head, like he is disappointed. "Everypony has a temper..." He points at a pool behind the stallion just as a shark head made of water pops out and attempts to chomp on the green pony.
Rhino quickly Blinks out of the way again, this time next to the changeling with his back to him. Rhino braces himself and bucks both of his hind hooves at the changeling's face.
The drone quickly ducks under the kick. Frowning slightly, he picks some water up in a hoof and smacks the liquid shield into Rhino's knees, forcing the pony's hindlegs to move over the rest of his body.
The stallion's eyes widen as he is forced to walk on his forehooves for a few steps to avoid flipping over. After he rights himself, he growls and turns to face the changeling yet again. He covers his entire body in the Res runes and quickly starts charging at the drone.
Port quirks an eyebrow and steps to the side at the last moment and slamming the shield into Rhino's side, taking note of the slight resistance it encounters. "I see." He leaps back, the gears in his head visibly turning. "You're more of a threat than I expected."
The unicorn simply snorts as he orients himself towards the changeling and scuffs a forehoof on the ground threateningly. A few more ideas pop into his head, some of them unorthodox but that's half of what's been keeping him up these fights. He lights up his horn and the flaring light spell that was effective on Luster forms once more. Just before it releases, Rhino Blinks behind and under the desk, the only source of shade in the room.
The changeling covers his face and turns away, erecting a wall of water just in case it was a physical spell. When he doesn't feel anything pressing against the fluid, he peeks open an eye, seeing his shadow being formed on the wall in front of him, made due to the harsh light shining on his back. He doesn't give off any emotion, his face still blank. "Impressive." He turns to Rhino as the flare dies down, eyes narrowed slightly. "Were I any slower, that would've blinded me. Kudos."
Rhino mentally curses his inability to harm this stallion yet. He switches to his next crazy idea, replacing the Res runes on his body with those of the light spell. He begins emitting light from all over his body, but since he is the source of it, he isn't affected by it himself. The light isn't as bright as the flare, since it's constant, but it still hurts to look at. He skates closer to the changeling, but always in a serpentine pattern so he isn't very predictable.
Port tries to follow his foe's movements, but the light is taking its toll on him. He turns away and puts a hoof to his head, groaning at the migraine starting to form.
The stallion notice this and takes the opportunity to quickly move in and deliver an uppercut right to the changeling's head. Not wanting to waste this moment, Rhino follows it up with more punches, hoping to get in as much damage as he can.
He grunts with each blow delivered, trying to focus on the pony in front of him. He's forced to close his eyes before long and bring his shield up, absorbing the punches for him. At the same time, he brings more water around Rhino's hooves before it snaps up against his sides as a large feline's head.
Rhino yells in pain as the tiger's teeth pierce his flesh. He reflexively Blinks away, his reappearance across the room freeing him of the jaws. He now has a perfect set of puncture wounds along his barrel to match everything else. The light spell on his flickers from his lapse in concentration as he catches his breath while blood drips out of the punctures. Out of anger, Rhino readies one ball of magic force and slams it into the top of the drone's head, hoping to force it to hit the ground.
Port, feeling the blow hit the back of his head, closes his eyes and lets the force knock his head down through a yellow-rimmed circle he forms in the air. At the same moment, a red one appears above the stallion's head, leading to a strong headbutt through them.
Rhino rears back as he yells in pain again, holding his face. Luckily both males' horns had stayed out of the equation, but the result was still extremely painful. Rhino lightly shakes his head as he blearily looks at the drone through the headache he now has.
Port chuckles and shakes it off, used to blows to the head. "You have tricks. I do, too." He directs his attention back to the water on the floor. It quickly rises up into the shape of a dragon, roaring fiercely at the stunned stallion.
Rhino though, instead of getting scared, just groans as he sees the new obstacle. He forms the fire circle in front of him, acting as though he's going to just turn it to steam, but not putting much magic at all into the circle. However, at the same time, his magic envelopes the desk off to the side, the furniture lifting up slightly off the ground.
The dragon's tail swiftly lashes out, striking the stallion into the wall between the fountains behind him.
Rhino grunts as he impacts the wall and slides down into a heap on the floor. His magic had fizzled out from the impact of the tail. However, as he lays on the floor, he lights his horn up again, the desk once again in his grasp. He quickly builds up his strength and tosses it through the at at the side of the drone.
He cries out in pain, sliding on his side across the floor and into a pool. He gets up on shaky legs, pushing the soaked piece of furniture out of the water before climbing out, himself. He stands up on his hindlegs, creating a shield and sword. "This is going on longer than I expected." He narrows his eyes, raising up his weapon as a wave washes over his form, giving him a suit of armor. "Too long, I think." He rushes forward, quickly closing the distance and swinging the hard water sword at the stallion's face.
The unicorn is still working himself back to his hooves after the whole dragon incident, which was luckily dissolved when Port's concentration was shattered by the desk. Seeing the changeling approaching him so quickly, Rhino decides to try something a little different and promptly lights up his horn. He brings up his Blink spell, but instead of using it himself, decides to use it instead to teleport the drone across the room and up against the ceiling, meaning he crashes to the floor about half a second later.
Surprisingly, the orange-tinted changeling brings his shield down, the armor absorbing the force of the fall. Port launches himself off the ground with the water on the floor, bringing him sailing high through the air, his hindlegs aimed at Rhino's chest.
More prepared this time, Rhino is actually standing up and waiting. He tracks and gauges where the drone will end up before preparing a nice fire spell to welcome him. The circle forms and points right along his angle of descent, firing its pillar of flames at the leaping changeling.
His eyes widen in shock and he tries to protect himself, but it's all for naught. He yells as the flames envelope him, leaving nothing behind when it ends.
While surprised at the effectiveness of his attack, Rhino isn't complaining as he moves over to the floor where the drone was defeated. His eyes scour the ground, trying to find the key he needs.
What he finds, instead, is a hoof straight to his cheek.
Not prepared for an attack, Rhino stumbles to the side and falls. He looks up and sees Port climbing out of the pool he had been knocked into by the desk.
The drone gives him an even look. "Did you really think it'd be that simple?" Another changeling, mirroring the first, climbs out next to him. "Water is the source of life. If I can make other things out of it, it is no trouble to make more of myself." A yellow-edged circle appears between them, and a red one between Rhino's forelegs. They both punch a hoof through the former, striking him in the center of the chest.
The stallion, having only half-managed to stand up before he was struck again, collapses back onto the floor. He glares at the two drones, launching a quick ball of magic at one, only to have it pass through as the changeling melts into a puddle of water, making the whole act useless.
Port shakes his head, sighing quietly. "I really should end this soon. The General would be upset if I didn't show up for the execution." He punches into the air, the portals rearranging right as he does so, allowing him to hit a different part of the stallion's body. He repeats this action multiple times, striking the unicorn's paint-covered face, his barbed-spike wounds, the bite marks, anything and everything that could be hit. "Again, nothing against you. Just doing my job."
Rhino's eyes blaze as he responds, grunting or hissing with every hit. "As... am... I..." He suddenly Blinks a few feet away, leaving behind a high Res circle on the ground. As the changeling's hooves strike the place where the stallion once was, both of his forehooves become stuck fast to the ground, unable to pull back, and thus leaving him unable to close the portals around them. Rhino stands up and starts to approach the changeling with a menacing look.
Port struggles a moment, futilely trying to free his hooves. After a few moments he realizes he's not going anywhere.
His horn glows and a mass of water rises out of the pond behind him, holding a knife in the corner of its mouth, a wild grin on its translucent face. It approaches the stallion, laughing as it goes. "Why. So. Serious?"
Rhino gives the drone a flat look before harshly kicking him in the head, making sure most of the force landed on his horn. He follows it up with another kick to the side of his head just to make sure he breaks the changeling's concentration, all the while his hooves are still stuck on the other side of the room.
Port groans, hanging limply from his own portals. He stares evenly at the stallion, drawing in shaky breaths. "You are...better than I..." He lowers his head, closing his eyes in acceptance. "...go ahead...finish me off..."
Rhino responds evenly, his voice neutral. "As much as I am severely tempted to just snap your neck and be done with it... I won't." His magic rifles through the stallion's mane, finding the small key inside. He regards the defeated drone carefully. "I can't maintain my spell forever though..." He brings over the desk, swinging it experimentally. "Logically... I should just knock you out so you don't attack me from behind when I'm dealing with..." he gauges the distance the necklace is telling him Gel is from him, "the last floor of this place." He looks down at Port. "I won't kill you... so I guess this is the only way..."
"...last floor?" He chuckles, shaking his head. "...good luck...the General's tougher than I am..." He looks up at him, frowning slightly. "...you don't have to knock me out...I'm almost out of magic, myself..." He turns to the portals where his legs are. "...it takes an ungodly amount of power to hold these open...and I'm tired...besides..." The drone looks at Rhino once more, a small smile on his lips. "...you beat me...fair and square...despite going through two others...you, of all ponies...deserve your happy ending..." He chuckles, lowering his head, anticipating the blow against his skull.
Rhino blinks before killing his magic and letting the drone's limbs go. They snap back to their owner and the portals close. "You really do like your movies don't you?" He rolls his shoulders as he sets the desk down, his body definitely starting to feel the strain of all this. "It was a tough fight... you did well..." He heads towards the stairs. "But I've got a rescue to complete," he turns partially back to Port, "see you on the way back down."