//------------------------------// // (SOL) The War on BLUE (a.k.a. Live and Let Spy) // Story: Equestria Fortress 2 // by nightelf37 //------------------------------// This chapter is somewhat based on The Winglet's Live and Let Spy. Of course, due to the nature of one of the teams I'm using, this won't be a direct copy, and I'm free to add more dialog. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 After the the Robot Heavy disaster, SOL managed to pinpoint the destination of the teleporter the BLUE "Chef Pyro" used to take the intelligence they stole from them. Thanks to Katherine, they now know it's in an area that is far from Well, but connects to it with the same train tracks, and as they would later find out is eerily similar to it. Because of how serious this mission was, Andrea decided she would be going as well in person, and has geared up. Unlike EqU and LUNA, due to the nature of SOL's missions, she's permitted to go out in the field, and her specialty is espionage, and thus she uses the same gear as a Mann Co. Spy. Including the sapper and disguise kit. She would've been connected to the respawn system, but Andrea refused, claiming it would make her complacent. Katherine did so anyway in secret, and to ensure it remained so from Andrea, only she and Libby know of this. Nobody else, not even Timerity. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 (A/N: I won't be doing everybody, because only a few have the spotlight, and because of the chapter title, there'll be so many BLUEs, it's a nightmare to check all of their weapons and cosmetics by eye. Yes, I do them by eye, and believe me it's hard.) SOL Team Andrea's Loadout: 2° Weapon - Revolver 2° PDA - Dead Ringer Melee Weapon - Sharp Dresser Cosmetic 1 - None Cosmetic 2 - Le Party Phantom Cosmetic 3 - None Rainbow Blitz's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Back Scatter 2° Weapon - Pistol Melee Weapon - Flying Guillotine Cosmetic 1 - Standard Cosmetic 2 - Track Terrorizer Cosmetic 3 - None Timerity's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Black Box 2° Weapon - Shotgun Melee Weapon - Magic Horn Blade Cosmetic 1 - Team Captain Cosmetic 2 - Fancy Dress Uniform Cosmetic 3 - None Barbara's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Degreaser 2° Weapon - Flare Gun Melee Weapon - Fire Axe (Fire Breath) Cosmetic 1 - Standard Cosmetic 2 - Mishap Mercenary Cosmetic 3 - Trickster's Turnout Gear Applejack's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Iron Bomber 2° Weapon - Scottish Resistance Melee Weapon - Nessie's Nine Iron Cosmetic 1 - Scot Bonnet Cosmetic 2 - Hurt Locher Cosmetic 3 - None Macareina's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Iron Curtain 2° Weapon - Family Business Melee Weapon - Hooves Cosmetic 1 - Officer's Ushanka Cosmetic 2 - Borscht Belt (colored A Distinctive Lack of Hue) Cosmetic 3 - None Berry Bubble's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Pomson 6000 2° Weapon - Pistol Melee Weapon - Jag Cosmetic 1 - Safe'n'Sound Cosmetic 2 - Antarctic Researcher Cosmetic 3 - None Dusk Shine's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Crusader's Crossbow 2° Weapon - Medigun Melee Weapon - Vita-Saw Cosmetic 1 - Standard Cosmetic 2 - Physician's Procedure Mask Cosmetic 3 - None Butterscotch's Loadout: 1° Weapon - AWPer Hand 2° Weapon - SMG Melee Weapon - Bushwacka Cosmetic 1 - Trophy Belt Cosmetic 2 - Marksman's Mohair Cosmetic 3 - Elusive's Loadout: 2° Weapon - Ambassador 2° PDA - Dead Ringer Melee Weapon - Knife Cosmetic 1 - Fancy Fedora Cosmetic 2 - Made Man Cosmetic 3 - None BLUE Team BLUE Scout's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Scattergun 2° Weapon - Pistol Melee Weapon - Bat Cosmetic 1 - Batter's Helmet (colored A Distinctive Lack of Hue) Cosmetic 2 - Head Hunter (but minus the zombie-face) Cosmetic 3 - None BLUE Chef Pyro's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Flame Thrower 2° Weapon - Shotgun Melee Weapon - Homewrecker Cosmetic 1 - Connoiseur's Cap Cosmetic 2 - Foster's Facade Cosmetic 3 - None BLUE Demoman's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Ali Baba's Wee Booties 2° Weapon - Splendid Screen Melee Weapon - Half-Zatoichi Cosmetic 1 - Party Hat Cosmetic 2 - None Cosmetic 3 - None BLUE Heavy's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Brass Beast 2° Weapon - Shotgun Melee Weapon - Fists Cosmetic 1 - Proof of Purchase Cosmetic 2 - None Cosmetic 3 - None Dr. Autom's Loadout: 1° Weapon - Syringe Gun 2° Weapon - Medigun Melee Weapon - Solemn Vow Cosmetic 1 - Surgeon's Stahlhelm Cosmetic 2 - Foppish Physician Cosmetic 3 - None EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 At the BLUE's Well-like facility, a shiny bald head popped out from a pane-less window, which is promptly followed by a mousy yet all-business face concealed by an eye mask, and then a shadow black dress shirt sleeve holding zoom-in binoculars which they held over their eyes. The spy took note of what was ahead, looking at the entryway leading to the intelligence they stole, then at a BLUE Engineer's blueprints. They put the binocs down, then nudged someone on their right. A styled violet mane on a white pony head followed. "You don't need to nudge me so hard, Andrea," Elusive complained, already in Spy gear. Ignoring his jab, she said, "I need you to swipe the Engineer's blueprints. We'll need a layout of the building before we could proceed further. I'll distract him." "Got it." EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 The mini-mission was a resounding success, and Elusive got to see Andrea's skills in acting, being able to play the part of a drunken Demoman pretty well without a modicum of flirtatious behavior. She distracted the Engineer long enough for the SOL Spy to swipe the blueprints, and they both managed to make a break for it with no one the wiser. Soon enough, they made it back to the SOL truck, which unlike the LUNA semi has its container crate directly attached instead of being on its own set of wheels, and was bigger on the inside like the semi and the EqU trailer. In comparison to the other two vehicles, the truck's container's inside was much larger, holding multiple rooms. Andrea has gathered SOL's present sorta-couple, Rainbow Blitz and Timerity, for the infiltration plan. The rest were gathered in another room, where Katherine and Libby were advising the others on their appropriate loadouts should things go wrong with the infiltration. Due to being in the middle of an upgrade, deploying clones wasn't an option right now. Andrea laid out the map she and Elusive swiped on a table, then placed figurines representing herself and the two. There were also BLU figurines representing BLUE. "Now here's the plan. Rainbow Blitz, you shall enter through the vents, and take out the enemies you see as you make your way here." She used the figurines to enact the plan. "I trust you can fly narrow spaces to minimize hoof contact? We can't have you thundering in there." "You got it!" "Remember to be discreet. I don't want us to be found out until it's too late for them." Andrea turned to the other blue pony. "Timerity, you will bring our exit Teleporter and set it up at the control room here, where you and Rainbow will do a pincer attack on the occupants. We'll need it when things get sour so we can bring in the rest of the team." The entrance (Level 3) Teleporter was already set up inside the truck. "Why not have Berry Bubble do the job?" asked the SOL Soldier. "He can be surprisingly sneaky, and given what he can do…" "But you're a better fighter. We can expect to meet a lot of resistance while infiltrating the base." "All right." "As for me, I will sneak my way inside, neutralize key forces inside the building, and go for the intelligence. But if you happen to be in the area, Rainbow, you're permitted to grab it. Now let's move out." EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 At the BLUE base, men were hauling crates full of metal materials inside, and security was tight outside. They were real serious with keeping out intruders. But it was not a big deal for SOL; they can handle this. Hiding behind a flatcar, Andrea, Rainbow, and Timerity (with the toolbox carrying the exit Teleporter) popped out to reassess the situation, then the leader had everyone hunker down to relay final steps to the two, giving out hand signals. The messages were clear enough for even a hand-less species to understand, and the SOL Scout understood everything she had to say. Soon enough, it was showtime, and the three scattered. Andrea sneaked past the flatcar and behind an adjacent car, seeing a patrolling BLUE Scout near her position judging by the shadows of his legs underneath. Just as he passed the car, she let out a whistle to catch his attention. Judging by how he stopped and how he turned, it seems to have worked. Knife ready, she waited for him to come around before swiftly stabbing him by the neck, then pulling his body towards her to hide it. The BLUEs used countless clones of the BLU team and had no respawn system, but Andrea had that fact kept secret from the Equestria-natives. "Time to move," she radioed in on Rainbow, who was hiding behind a crate. Seeing that the coast was relatively clear, he moved, keeping low to avoid catching attention as he jumped between crates and even a passing truck to reach the base wall. Meanwhile, Timerity moved behind another train car, found a BLUE Sniper taking a break, and…ensured it was eternal with a clean slice. Disguised as the Scout she killed, Andrea left her hiding spot and walked toward the base. She passed a BLUE Demoman who greeted her, and replied with a slice to the neck, making him fall backward to an open crate as she switched her Disguise into him. Meanwhile, Rainbow reached the rooftop after seeing nobody up there, but still hiding in various spots just in case. Soon, he found the vent he needed to enter, and got himself inside. Timerity also found her entry point in the form of the pool, complete with a "No Swimming" sign. If the blueprints were correct, it had a waterway leading to a hatch deep into the base. As for Andrea, she found a crate the BLUEs were about to close and invisibly entered it. Phase one was complete. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Later… Inside the base, a BLUE Heavy with a Christmas hat was in the process of opening a crate. Just as he loosed one of the sides however, he was treated with a quick surprise; Andrea shoving a knife to his neck and pulling him inside the crate. A second later, she exited it and brushed herself off before walking in further and disguising herself as the Heavy she killed. Before long, she found herself stopped by a BLUE Soldier, who shoved a push broom into her arms. "Heavy! Let's go, maggot!" He pointed at the blood stains on the floor. "I haven't got all day!" And with a tap on the shoulder, he walked off. With a groan, she permitted herself to do as he said, to minimize suspicion. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 At the exit of the hatch, three BLUEs stood by; a chubby Engineer with a smoothie and a Rescue Ranger, a hooded Pyro with a Scorch Shot, and a mohawk Demoman with a Claidheamh Mòr. They immediately stood alert when they saw a white toolbox surface from the hatch and landed on the floor with a clang. This was followed with something jumping from the waters like a dolphin before submerging again. They had seen a small blue sorta-blonde unicorn, just like BLUE Chef Pyro relayed to them. Immediately, they had their weapons on the ready and aimed them at the hatch, ready to shoot when the intruder surfaced again. What they didn't expect however was a flash from behind them, which showed a drenched Timerity with her magic horn blade drawn and coming down on them in six seconds flat. And she came out with nary a scratch. "Piece of cake," she quipped as she retrieved her toolbox, and swiped the dead's weapons; they won't disappear like RED's and BLU's. She didn't get the Claidheamh Mòr however; it was too long. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Rainbow swiftly navigated the vents, eventually finding his exit point, where he saw a BLUE Sniper and Soldier through a grille. Quickly cooking up a plan, he kicked down the grille on the two, disorienting them, hurled his Flying Guillotine at the tougher Soldier (his mech-arm doing wonders in regards to accuracy), then knocked the Sniper out cold with a few punches to the back of the head. Once he was done, he checked the area for the next vent opening he should be entering according to the plan. However, he found a slight problem; there were two of them, and the blueprints didn't account for that. After a while, once he retreived his cleaver, he picked one vent. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Back with Andrea, she's finally had enough of cleaning as she found the BLUE Soldier who assigned her task just reading a Mann Co. Monthly magazine. Quickly, she conked him on the head with her broom, the aggressive action dropping her disguise, knocking him with its cleaning end, then coming around back to choke him with it, eventually snapping his neck. After that, she delved deeper into the base, finding her next obstacle; a Level 3 Sentry Gun, a Dispenser, and their napping Engineer. With a devious grin, she took out her Sapper, personally upgraded to do its work faster thanks to Katherine, and slid it to the Sentry Gun. "Spy sappin' mah Sentry!" was the immediate response as the Engineer ran over to knock the sapper away, but it did its work much faster than he anticipated, blowing up just before his wrench could reach it and blowing him back. He got back up just in time to see Andrea pounce on him, driving her knife into his face before he could scream. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 After bypassing a lax Scout guard, Timerity reach the hallway she needed to take to get to the control room…which was filled with Snipers watching the main windows and covering the train yard she, Andrea, and Blitzy were in minutes ago. Good thing we didn't decide to outright storm the fortress! The operation would take too long and they'd have time to escape! With a nervous gulp, levitating her gear, she sneaked past them with catlike tread. It took the better part of a minute, but she made it all the way past. Well, only halfway, since to her right was an inclined hallway leading to the control room. She trotted over to it but stopping just before she could be visible from the overlooking Heavy inside. Readying her stuff, she used the comms system. "You in position, Blitzy?" "I'm at the vent right above them, Time. I see a Pyro, two Engineers, a Demoman, a Sniper, and a Heavy. We can do this." "Right. I managed to nick some gear from some chumps I took down. Here's the plan." A minute later, the plan was taken into action. Opening the vent grille, Rainbow tossed his Flying Guillotine into the Pyro's oxygen tank, leaking it and possibly injuring him. At around the same time, Timerity fired her stolen Scorch Shot in the room, hitting the tank and engulfing the area in flames. In the ensuing chaos, once the SOL Soldier had a BLUE there in sight, the two of them opened fire, killing the lot of them. Once they were done, Timerity gave a hoof-bump. "Yeah! We make a great team!" "You said it! I'll go see if I can nab the briefcase. Can you take care of things from here?" "I'm just gonna set down and guard a teleporter. How hard is it gonna be?" "Good point. Well, see ya!" With that, Rainbow was off, having already retrieved his still useable weapon, and Timerity set down the toolbox. Remembering the instructions, she opened a panel in the outside of the box and pushed it. The toolbox then opened as the Teleporter unfolded itself. Without a wrench, she can't speed up the process, so she'll have to wait. And she mentally smacked herself for not asking Berry for his wrench. (A/N: Because kidnapping a Pyro and then jumping down with his flamethrower to burn everyone down at once sounded too ridiculous, and sounded to me impossible for Rainbow to even do effectively.) EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Andrea opened a door and found herself at a rail-less walkway overlooking a wider hallway on the floor below. And in her path was a Soldier and Heavy, their backs to her. Using her knife and a Sharp Dresser under her sleeve, she swiftly jammed them into their necks, performing a double assassination. Unfortunately, she neglected to check who was watching below, and that witness turned out to be a Scout. He already pushed the alarm button before she could think of silencing him with a shot. "Shit!" she swore as the klaxons rang and BLUEs started to move. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Meanwhile, at the main room where the intelligence was located, Rainbow overlooked the whole area, seeing the BLUEs move. The Medic there seemed to be the ringleader, but it wasn't in the mission to eliminate him, so the SOL Scout ignored him as he navigated the ceiling until he was on top of the briefcase. Once he was, he swooped down, grabbed the case (ignoring the alarm that blared), then was about to take off when a couple syringes jammed themselves into his leg. And unlike most syringes, these had some sort of sedative in them and he began to get woozy. "I don't plan on killing you," came a voice that sounded like the Medic's. The pegaus turned around to see two Level 3 Sentry Guns, a Heavy, a Pyro, a Soldier, and a Scout pointing their guns at him. The one who spoke had his back turned. "I know you'll just Respawn. I am called Dr. Autom. It is a pleasure to see members of SOL in the flesh." EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Erstwhile, back in the control room, Timerity waited boredly as the Teleporter finished assembly. Finally, after a good long while, it began to spin with the power of what it was designed to do. The first to come out was Macareina, who turned around to greet Timerity as she stepped off. "Let's start," she said as Dusk Shine followed. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Further erstwhile… Amidst the alerts for a spy, Andrea hid behind some crates, wondering how to get to the Intelligence. Just as she turned invisible, she then saw a different room marked Secrets. Intrigued by what they might possibly have there (any new intel is always good), she snuck there instead. Once she was inside the room, she looked around with a penlight, hoping whatever was inside was worth it. And then she found it. A corkboard with pictures, pins, and colored wool strings connecting every which way. Andrea approached it and was shocked at what they intended to do. According to the board, BLUE was working with a mysterious backer named G. Mann (she hoped it wasn't the G-Man involved in the Inter-Universal Combine War). The attack of the Robot Heavy on Sawmill was just a test run (and the Engineer at the forefront of the attack was the brains behind the project). They plan to develop a robot army consisting of the Mann Co. mercenaries, as well as Tanks to transport them. And then, they intend to take over Mann Co., and don't plan on stopping there. While the Story Crew would rather have this situation left to its natives to solve, there's a lingering question as to how BLUE even came to be in the first place, why they're separate from the BLU team under Blutarch Mann's employ, whether or not the Administrator knows of this and why she isn't making moves to stamp them out if she is, and if the Story Crew's enemy is somehow behind it. Just then, sensing someone approach her, Andrea turned around with her gun drawn, but the BLUE Chef Pyro was already too close, and he quickly grabbed the hand holding it, disarmed her, then punched her to the ground. Crap! I made a noob move, she thought as she got to her feet, only to see two other Pyro's flank the Chef Pyro. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Dr. Autom gave a smile as his Pyro Trio brought in the SOL leader and took her hands tied up the platform with the Intelligence. Rainbow Blitz had also been tied up, ropes around his barrel (binding his wings) and one lasso around his neck like a dog and held by a BLUE Soldier, who also aimed a shotgun at his head. They also took the liberty of destroying the mech-arms after it resisted attempts on being extracted. "Ah, the one behind SOL's operations," Dr. Autom spoke to Andrea, taking off her eye mask as his men brought her down to her knees. "How nice of you to drop by." "You're not getting anything from us," Andrea defiantly. "Ah yes. We're well aware of your Respawn, just like RED and BLU and those other groups of yours that're fighting them. If I kill you, you'll just come back elsewhere. In fact, if something will permanently injure you, you'll simply disappear from us before it could. That means cutting off body parts or any form of surgery is right out." Despite all his bravado, Rainbow had to do his best not to choke. "But I know a secret of yours." Dr. Autom drew Andrea's gun and aimed at her head. "And a secret behind this system." His gun still on her, he approached Rainbow, then patted his back. "One, you are not connected to your Respawn system, my dear. Two, these ponies have a special card on them that connects them to it. Now, tell me everything I want to know about SOL and the other groups fighting RED and BLU, or I'll tap the card he has, and his death will be his last." The two SOLs began to look doubtful. Rainbow was clearly hiding his fear of dying for good. Andrea was wondering where the hell was Timerity. She promptly got her answer when a Sniper bullet blew the head of the BLUE Soldier restraining Rainbow. From the balcony above, Butterscotch reloaded his rifle, looking a little disturbed. "I meant to do a warning shot," he muttered to himself. Behind him were the rest of SOL, and Timerity had her Black Box ready and aimed at the BLUEs as Macareina and Applejack stood and followed suit next to her. "You did good, 'Scotch," assured the SOL Soldier. "It was either them or Andrea." She then addressed the BLUEs. "Surrender those two and your intelligence and you can still walk away!" But she very well knew that wasn't going to happen. A fight was about to go underway. "Fess!" Dr. Autom swore as he stood up and moved to get a clear view of the other opponents, putting the trolley the intelligence is perched on between him and his hostages. "Dummkopfe! Raus! Raus!" Immediately, the BLUEs mobilized and revved their guns at the SOLs. "Butterscotch," Timerity whispered. "You need to aim at the Medic or the Heavy. Go for the head, or we'll lose Andrea." Said Heavy had his minigun revved up at the SOLs, ready to attack. They couldn't start a chaos now, or else the SOL leader might escape. Or die before spilling any beans, and Dr. Autom couldn't have that. Seeing everybody busy with the situation, Andrea unsheathed her Sharp Dresser and started cutting the ropes with it. It took a couple seconds, in which Dr. Autom tried to assert that he still had the upper hand. The moment the bonds were loose, she yelled, "Kick it, Rainbow!" The SOL Scout didn't wait for her to finish his name before bucking the trolley, just as Dr. Autom heard Andrea and turned his gun toward her. The trolley hit the BLUE ringleader on the belly, forcing the Ambassador out of his hand, and him down on the floor. Everything seemed to slow down for a while as Andrea quickly caught the gun and turned around as the BLUE Heavy guarding them began to turn around to mow her and Rainbow down. Because of the quickness of her spin, she lost her balance and fell down, but not before letting loose a bullet to the Heavy's head, instantly dropping him. Dr. Autom stopped thinking clearly and ordered, "Stop that spy!" The BLUEs immediately turned their guns on Andrea, and Timerity blew up three of them as she promptly descended. "Hoo-ahh!" Barbara and Applejack quickly went down after her. "We got your back!" And the battle between BLUE and SOL began as she rocket-jumped away. Next to a Heavy with the Brass Beast, a Soldier let loose three quick rounds from his Panic Attack before reloading. Their target, Applejack, was using the new Iron Bomber against them and fired two grenades before tucking behind a box. The explosion knocked that Soldier down, only for another to take his place. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Elsewhere, Rainbow narrowly dodged an explosion as he got down to the floor, his ropes gone thanks to Andrea, though without his mech-arms he can't do much. Still, his karate skills were enough to knock out the BLUE Engineer and Demoman that went after him. And then he saw a BLUE Demoman with a Party Hat, a Splendid Screen, and a Persian Persuader rushing toward him. But help came in the form of an unexpected drop of a toolbox on his head. Its owner came down after him and killed the Demoman. "Berry Bubble!" gasped Rainbow as the SOL Engineer unpacked the toolbox, revealing a Level 2 Sentry Gun, and looked at the broken metal where his mech-arms are supposed to be. "Tap your card to switch back, then tap it again to switch again!" he said with uncharacteristic seriousness, taking out his Pomson 6000. "It should replace your mech-arms! I'll cover you! Do it!" EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Amidst the chaos, Dr. Autom immediately demanded the Chef Pyro to hand him something, which he gladly followed. It looked like the construction Tool for the Engineers. He pushed a button and a platform from the ceiling descended On it were regiments of robotic Soldiers. But nobody noticed it as Elusive took cover behind a crate, reloading his revolver. Then he vaulted over it, letting loose two bullets at the BLUE Scout and Sniper firing on him. Both bullets were headshots. He moved to another cover, seeing a BLUE Heavy unload his minigun on his teammates, then saw a BLUE Spy pass by his position. Quickly, he tripped him up by 'grabbing' his leg, then landed a headshot on his prone form. "Let's give 'em hell!" called out a BLUE Soldier as he led an Engineer and a Sniper to the other SOLs. And then Barbara emerged from behind a crate and immediately burned them down with her flamethrower. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 "Heavy load coming through!" After Rainbow was officially back in the fight, Berry began hauling his Sentry, now Level 3, to another place, effortlessly dodging rockets and whatnot as he did. He soon found one next to a pile of crates in the middle, set it down, and it quickly unfolded. Next to him, Timerity landed, then performed another rocket-jump. Whilst in the air, she launched a rocket at a BLUE Heavy and Level 3 Sentry, taking them both down, and landed with a roll and ended up next to Rainbow, who was taking cover behind some more crates. Whatever wood they were made out of, they could certainly withstand explosions. "How's it goin'?" was all he managed to say before getting his head cut off, having turned out to be a BLUE Spy. Timerity knew her coltfriend better than them. She watched and moved as a BLUE Soldier rocket-jumped to the air before a grenade from Applejack blew him to bits. She then saw the real Rainbow, his mech-arms back in working order, zoom by as he shot down a BLUE Scout, clotheslined a BLUE Engineer, then tossed his Flying Guillotine at a BLUE Sniper, immediately taking him down. The other Sniper next to him was too busy lining up a shot to notice Barbara sneak up on him and airblast him off. Bypassing Berry's Sentry nest, a BLUE Spy attempted to backstab Dusk Shine as he healed up Macareina, but the SOL Medic saw him coming and used his Vita-Saw to kill him. The SOL Heavy just kept on firing, even as a Huntsman arrow embedded itself into her flank. Berry's Sentry continued to fire at the BLUEs as the SOL Engineer upgraded the Dispenser he built. Smartly tracking its targets, once its rockets were ready to fire, it fired past a BLUE Spy—who was being impaled by Timerity's "horn blade"—and into a BLUE Dispenser. At a corner of the large room, Butterscotch and Elusive were back-to-back as they fired with their SMG and Revolver respectively. Sadly, things weren't gonna stay in SOL's favor for long. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Just as he finished the upgrading the Dispenser to Level 3, Berry Bubble immediately hauled ass, took out the Rescue Ranger Timerity gave him, and launched it at his Dispenser, pulling it towards him as the BLUE stickybombs he noticed earlier on his Sentry blew it to kingdom come. "Whew! Thank my Berry Sense!" He got really lucky, but that was only him. Macareina was out of bullets for the Minigun and was using the Family Business to fight as another Huntsman arrow struck her. "MEDIC!" she called. Dusk had to cover the others, since he was the only Medic they had. "Jawohl!" a voice that was decidedly not Dusk or a clone came. Dr. Autom knocked down the red mare on the head with his gun, then peppered her with sedative syringes, immediately sending her away after two full rotations of its barrel. Libby would be hard-pressed to extract all the dangerous fluid from her body in the limbo room. Looking up at the lines of robots, he said, "Time to put them to the test," and then took out his device and pushed a switch on the side. In a second, the robots were online, and were jumping down the platform. Their appearance caught the SOL Team off guard since they were nearly finished with every BLUE in the complex, and because the Robot Soldiers were spouting out lines the RED and BLU Soldiers would say. Then, the robots all turned around and held out their palms. "Palm rockets!" Andrea warned, now standing with the other SOLs and having retrieved her mask. Indeed, those were fired, but quick airblasts from Barbara deflected them all. Just then, the SOL leader noticed something. Where was Dr. Autom? She shortly found him laughing evilly as he and a hooded BLUE Scout made themselves discreet and walked away. After having seen his plans, she knew he can't be allowed to get out of this alive. Getting her Dead Ringer out, she clutched to it tight as she made her way to them. Predictably, a Robot Soldier blasted her, but the Dead Ringer held true, protecting her while spawning a ragdoll of herself. SOL, I'm counting on you to retrieve the intelligence. As she saw them walk to an exit, she hid behind the wall as the Dead Ringer's cloak expired. Unfortunately, the noisy uncloak alerted the two and Dr. Autom made a break for it, his Scout covering him as he followed. She let off a shot before following. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Andrea found them escaping by the train yard, and immediately gave chase. She climbed an easy slope to the top of a cargo container. The BLUE Scout covering for Dr. Autom stopped to fire at her, but they were narrow misses as she then jumped on a platform hanging on a crane via ropes and shot at the BLUE Medic leader, but he used the Scout as a human shield before tossing him aside. Before long, the two humans stood at opposite sides of a train track, guns aimed at each other. Dr Autom let out a mad laugh. "It's just you and me." That was when a train passed between them, which Andrea took the chance to…disappear, much to his confusion. By the time he found her, she was descending on him with the Sharp Dresser ready (she had lost her knife in the ensuing battle). Luckily for him, he managed to narrowly dodge it with a sidestep, and then kicked her in the face. She recovered quickly, already had her Ambassador out, and was already shooting at Dr. Autom, who dodge-rolled behind a crate, then got up to let loose a rotation's worth of syringes. These managed to hit her gun with enough speed and force to disarm her. Before Andrea could retrieve it, Dr. Autom kicked it away and she had to draw the Sharp Dresser. She tried to slice at the neck, but he pulled back in time to just scratch his cheek. She tried to attack again, but he grabbed her wrist to stop it short. Dr. Autom then tried to shoot her, but she did the same thing to him, and now the two were in a deadlock. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Back inside the base, the now-flying Robot Soldiers continued the attack, and were a real problem for SOL, especially since they've tired out from their attack on BLUE. It was a miracle they haven't lost anybody yet, though ammo was running low. Timerity stood behind a critical Butterscotch, who was taking a breather after a couple of hits on him. She let loose a shotgun round, and then she was out of ammo. She was also out of rockets, too, and Berry was working overtime to get the Dispenser to everyone while dodging rockets himself. Dusk was nearby, healing up the SOL Sniper. Once he was done, he was to deploy the ÜberCharge on the only mare left in the battle. In a while, Timerity decided it was time, jumped onto a crate, and cried out, "Hey, tin cans! Over here!" The Robot Soldiers immediately opened fire on her, somehow kicking up lots of smoke. When it cleared, however, she was covered in a bright off-white coat of ÜberCharge. "Go get them, Time!" cheered Dusk. "Just as I intended!" and with her magic horn blade drawn, she jumped at the machines and started slicing them in half. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Meanwhile, Rainbow Blitz approached the intelligence and picked it up when he noticed the BLUE Chef Pyro ready to take him on. Putting the briefcase down, he prepared for battle, taking out his Back Scatter. The arsonist countered with an airblast, sending him tumbling mid-air and somehow disarming him. The Chef Pyro then attempted to torch the pegasus. Unfortunately, it turns out he used the last of his fuel in that airblast. Grunting, he tossed it aside, took out his Homewrecker, and jumped with a downward swing to smash in the cyan pony. But Rainbow recovered very quickly and was dodging about. He had been unable to retrieve his Flying Guillotine amidst the mayhem, and his pistol was out of ammo, so he can only rely on hooficuffs, but the Homewrecker had quite a lot more reach. And all of his friends were too busy with the robots right now, so no one would be able to help him when the Pyro should land a hit. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Back outside the complex, Andrea and Dr. Autom were still struggling to get the upper hand. The former got it by headbutting the latter in the face (it'd be stupid to hit the helmet), forcing him to let go. She then proceeded to attack with her Sharp Dresser, making three missed slashes as he dodged before Dr. Autom managed to grab her wrist and break the hidden blade by forcing it onto a crate and bending it out of her sleeve. He quickly followed through with another volley of syringes, which Andrea ducked under and then grabbed his shooting arm with both hands and wrench it upward in an attempt to disarm him. However, her positioning left her vulnerable as Dr. Autom ducked, grabbed her waist with his other arm, and hurled her over himself and into the floor. As she got up on her knees, the BLUE Medic was already onto her with a punch. She dodged that as she got on her feet, blocked an elbow hit with her arm as she secured her footing, ducked another uppercut, pulled away from the doctor as another train passed by, then was rendered a little disoriented with a kick to the gut. Unlike the Assassins she (and Blue Diary of LUNA) wished to emulate, Andrea didn't have what it takes to be a one-man army or to endure so long in a solo close-range battle. Dr. Autom took out his Solemn Vow, and proceeded to conk her on the head with it. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Back inside, SOL was still in combat. Dusk Shine just barely managed to teleport out of a horde of Robot Soldiers that were trying to pull him in and tear him apart (since they all since ran out of palm rockets), not that they would be able to, but a lingering BLUE managed to find the exit teleporter and destroy it, so any SOL who got sent away isn't returning to this fight. Berry also lost his Dispenser, so any bullets (or fuel in Barbara's case, and even sappers for Elusive) they have left is all they're getting. Still, things were looking up. Rainbow continued to dodge the Chef Pyro's hammer swings, looking for a good opening. Once he found it, he took it by zipping down onto the BLUE's kneecap, forcing him to drop his Homewrecker. Next, Rainbow kicked the arsonist on the chest, and shoved him down the stairs that led to the platform, making him tumble all the way down and lose his hat. The pegasus then finished him off by zooming in after him and delivering an axe kick to his head. "About time, Rainbow!" cheered Barbara as she ran over. "Now let's get the intelligence and get outta here!" "We better clean up the house first," said Timerity as she took out a grenade from her Soldier uniform, pulled the pin, and tossed it at a horde of Soldier Robots, destroying them. The reason why LUNA and EqU don't often do the same is because those they have are duds and just for show. As for RED and BLU, their Soldiers are just that stupid. "They're just gonna follow us if we bail out now." "Time's right! Let's wrap this up!" But two of the remaining eight were missing, having taken off somewhere… EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 Andrea was being beat up bad by Dr. Autom as he held her down with one hand and kept conking her with the Solemn Vow. Tasic often told her that she was rather hard-headed both in the metaphorical and literal sense, and the fact that she can still keep focused was a feat in and of itself. Something invisible entered the scene and made their way to the conflict. Another individual, just as quiet, accompanied them. Once the doctor thought she was through, he dropped his bust and grabbed Andrea by the lapels. He said something, but Andrea ignored it since it was some sort of taunt/ridicule directed at her. And then a shot was fired, which whizzed past their heads, startling both of them. And then Dr. Autom felt his helmet 'pull' him away. This gave Andrea the distraction she needed as she pushed him further away, got on her feet, and greeted Elusive behind Dr. Autom as he nodded and stepped aside, allowing her to finish him herself. She delivered two punches to his face, one to the belly, a kick to the groin, an uppercut, and then another kick that sent him flying into the train track. And a train came just in time to run him over and scatter his body parts all over the area. The two ponies (Butterscotch having stationed himself somewhere high and nearby) were visibly disturbed, even though they have fought against BLUE (and others) so many times. Andrea however, being used to constant killing, kept her cool. A few seconds later, out from an exit of the complex came the rest of SOL, the BLUE's intelligence with Timerity. "Mission accomplished!" "We did it!" Rainbow. "I'm gonna throw a party when we get back!" Berry. "I'll take you up on that." Andrea. "Think you can do it inside the truck?" "You'd be surprised with what he can do." Dusk. "The doctor's gone?" Applejack. "Andrea took care of him." Elusive. "Sorry I wasn't able to…shoot him in the head." Butterscotch apologized. "I could've stopped him right then and there." "It's all right," assured Andrea. "You would've hit me too if you did. Now let's return." The nine members of SOL walked across the train yard—which was devoid of resistance—en route to the exit, where the SOL truck was parked a quarter-mile away from. The ponies and dragonling thought all was right with the world, but Andrea knew better; this G. Mann was behind the scenes, and they had something big planned. Once the party was over, she will tell them, and they would be getting to work again. EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2—EF2 And that's all for this chapter. What will happen next in the SOL arc? The answer is, quoth the Medic, "I have no idea!" See ya on Third!