Hearthfire The Sands of Time: Part 2

by Predman1227

Chapter 5: Like Ghosts In The Night

(Barrierland, Near Resistance Base, EHC Squad)

(Agent 042)

It was late after noon, and the warm glow from the sun was slowly growing dimmer in the orange sky, as the evening began to creep in. A perfect time to move covertly, as the shifting shadows and changing colours of the light broke up the land, making it hard to see one slowly moving in the dim. Agent 042 knew this well, from her time in the Legion Spec Ops and was using what she learned from that time to move quietly on her belly, her suit helping her blend in with the terrain.

Like a mirage, she crawled along a grassy cliff side, her armour bending colours and textures as she crept through the wet grass. Snow, melted snow, clung to her suit but she didn't feel it. Her suit kept her body tempreture at a comfortable level and was completely water proof. But she still liked the feeling of the frozen water, reminded her of home, even though that home had been overrun four years ago. She wasn't alone, Whimcy and Buck were at her flank, crawling with her while Boomstick was elsewhere. They made it to a rise on the cliff side and when they reached the top, they stopped. They lay there and looked down on the valley below them. About 300meters away from them was what looked like an old fort and from here it was hard to make out if anyone was home.

"This the place?" Buck asked, his green eyes glancing at his Captain from behind his visor. "It don't look like much, and too open to be a proper base."

"More like a lookout post." Whimcy chimed in, her pink eyes also glancing at her Captain for direction. "Looks like no body's home. Cap, what ye thinkin'?"

042 pulled out some digital binoculars and pressed its curved screen to her visor. It fit around her visor perfectly and it turned on when she pressed a button on its top. A high res image appeared in her vision and it zoomed in 2x magnification. She scanned the battlements of the walls, towers and even through some of the windows on the lower levels.

Nothing. No movement and no signs of life. But there was something in there, just out of her line of sight. but she wasn't sure and shook her head to her team.

"I don't see anything either. I'm sure this is one of the places that Agent Zero showed us on the mission map." 042 said to Whimcy and Buck and then pressed her helm's mic to speak on team com. "Boomer, do you see anything from your end?"

There was a pause, and then Boomstick spoke. "Nah, it's like who ever lived here, just up and left."

"You comfortable up on that rock formation? It looked a little pointy to me." Whimcy patched in, sounding like she was teasing him.

Boomstick sounded like he found her question amusing, as he chuckled a little. "Honestly, it's better than laying in some soggy grass. Anyway, Captain, just let me switch to thermals and maybe I'll.. Oh, that was quick. Cap I got some heat sigs."

"You do? How many and what do they look like?" Whimcy asked Boomstick.

"Hmm, can't tell from here. I think the fort's stone walls are blocking most of the readings, making everything blobs of heat. But there are Multiple contacts inside the fort. Some red hot and others, not so much. Try looking again, I think something moved outside."

042 looked to the building again, and sure enough, there was something there. Out on one of the battlements, she saw an infected dragging a dead Pony by what was left of its right leg. It then dropped it and lay down behind the stone wall of the battlement, hiding from the ray of the sun. She moved the binocs away and looked to Whimcy and Buck.

"Infected, there's Infected in the fort. But there's also dead Ponies in there, how many, I don't know." 042 tapped her binocs in thought, while Buck shifted restlessly.

"I hate just sitting here. We should go down there and make them pay." Buck said, his tone low and pinched with a hint of anger.

"Hey, Buck?" Whimcy said to him, sounding annoyed. "Need I remind you that theose Infected, were once Ponies like you and me. They didn't want this, they don't know what they're doing. You can't just look at them liie they're the bad guys, 'cause they're not."

"And what would you call 'em then, eh?" Buck snorted.

"Victems." Whimcy simply said, tossing some snow on his face plate. "Looks like you forgot that part."

"I didn't." Buck wiped his visor clean and flicked what was left back at Whimcy. "I just don't let that get in the way of my job.

"Nither does it mine." Whimcy stated in a low tone.

042 eyed the fort up and down, considering all the angles and how best to handle this. She put away her binocs and got up in a low crouch. "We're moving in. Boomer, watch our backs and call out if anything else appears. Rest of you, keep coms to a minimal till I say otherwise."

"Roger." They all said at once.

042 unslung her rifle and stuck her left arm up in a 'L' shape. She then curved her hoof glove's fingers 90 degrees. This was the sign for single file formation and they stacked up behind her. She then straightened her fingers again and flicked her wrist a few times in the direction of the fort. This meant move out.

In a single line they moved toward the fort, quickly and low to the ground. They covered the distance in record speed and soon they reached the wall of the fort. Agent 042 quickly stuck her hoof up again and spread her fingers out wide, the sign to stop. They all stopped just short of the wall and watched their lanes of fire, while keeping one eye on 042 for orders. 042 looked up at the windows and tried to see into them. They were dark and made her feel uneasy when she heard screeches coming from within them, so she pointed at Buck with one finger, then tapped the top of her helmet and then pointed at the windows.

"Cover the windows." Those gestures told Buck and he did just that, keeping his weapon trained on them while 042 looked at Whimcy. She pointed at her, then tapped her helmet again but this time 042 pointed at herself. 042 wanted Whimcy to cover her while she moved up and Whimcy nodded, sticking close behind her and aiming for a door 042 was approaching. 042 stopped at the door and tested it. It wasn't locked, when the handle turned a the whole door moved a bit. She pressed her mic once to make a static burst sound over team com.

Both Buck and Whimcy looked at her and she pointed at her flank. "Stack up." That gesture told them and they moved to her up at the door. Buck went behind 042, while Whimcy went on the other side of the door. Buck put a hoof on 042's shoulder, a sign he was ready and Whimcy gave a thumbs up.

042 then pointed with two fingers to her own visor, then pointed at the door and then made the gesture of opening something. "Watch the opening." That sign said, and Whimcy nodded, aiming her weapon at the crack in the door, while 042 pushed it open softly. She cracked it open just enough for her to peek through and on the other side, she saw a couple of Infected roaming around, with some chewing on bodies, while others fought over meaty bones. 042 looked at Whimcy and with her hoof glove, she flashed her metal fingers a few times and Whimcy knew instantly what she wanted her to do.

Whimcy pulled out a Flashbang from a pouch on her chest rig and with a pull of its pin, she tossed it through the gap and 042 closed the door again. There was a loud POP, and there was suddenly many confused and pained screeches coming from the other side of the door.

042 then nodded and Whimcy made a, move it, gesture to Buck, and the two of them burst through the door, weapons raised and instantly firing, sending bolts of magic energy right into the blinded Infected. 042 came in behind them and aimed up high for the towers and battlements while the others aimed low for the grounds ahead of them. They were in some sort of courtyard and there were many Infected all thrashing around with their claws, blind from the granade's intense light.

042 fired a slug through the head of the Infected she saw earlier, that was slight feeding on the Pony it had killed. Her rifle made a loud, sharp, crack as the sparker within the weapon's frame, created a miny explosion and propelled the metal slug through the air for a nano second, before blasting the brains of the Infected out the back of its skull. Just as 042 was chambering another round with the pull of her charging handle, her sights found a new target, one that had recovered from the Flashbang and was charging toward them.

The rifle barked again, and a new slug punched through its skinny chest in a spray of black blood, as it made a leap for her and toppled to the ground, skidding to a stop just by her boots. She chambered a new round again, the weapon humming once more with power and she looked for her next target, but found there was no more Infected left standing. All the Infected in the wide open square were now dead, all with smoking holes burned in their bodies, and 042 flicked her wrist again, motioning for her team to fan out.

They searched for more threats, and so far, nothing challenged them. 042 eyed some of the bodies of untouched Ponies and looked to Whimcy.

042 pointed at her, then 042 placed two fingers on her own throat and then pointed at one of the bodies. "Check for a pulse." She signed and Whimcy got to work, checking around the intacted bodies for any signs of life.

042 lowered her weapon but didn't let her guard down, as she eyed the blood stains with dismembered limbs and melted spikes in many surfaces that looked too eerily like weapon's fire. She went over to one of those spikes that stuck out an old well, and yanked one of them out the stone. It was light, but very thick and longer than her hoof was wide, tapering into fine points at either end. It was blackened, as if it had been red hot when it struck this well, but had since cooled.

"Captain." That was Whimcy and she sounded puzzled. "Um, take a look at this."

042 came up to Whimcy, who was crouched by a Pony's body and she was looking over their wounds. They had the same spikes in them, and around the entry wounds, the flesh was charred. "You ever seen damage like this?" Whimcy asked, looking up at her Captain.

042 looked at the dead Pony and shook her head. "No, this is a first."

"Well, whatever this was, it was extremely hot when it hit 'em. Practically cooking the wounds on impact." Whimcy just shrugged. "All I can say is, who ever shot 'em, was aiming to cause as much pain and suffering as possible."

"Can we tell how long ago?" Buck asked, shifting slightly as he glanced around at the damage. "Some of these things are still smoking."

"Couldn't be no more than a few hours old." 042 stated, as she inspected a blood patch on the ground near a mangled arm. The blood was still damp, meaning it had been spilt not that long ago. But the biggest question was, what had happened here? Her first thought was Infected, but some of the bodies had spikes in them, suggesting weapon's fire and some of the bodies looked like they had been dead for more than a day, suggesting this battle was an on going one. This thought sent a chill down 042's spine, as she relived for a moment, a painful memory of a similar situation.

But her thoughts were pushed aside, when Boomstick's voice sounded over team com. "Cap, you still got heat sigs in the building."

"Are you sure?" 042 asked, as she stood up straight and aimed her weapon at the building of the fort. While Boomstick spoke, 042 tapped her helmet and then pointed at the building, making Buck and Whimcy aim for the doors and windows.

"I can confirm, there are heat sigs moving on different parts of the fort's interior. But the closest ones to you, seems to be chasing something with a lower heat sig. I think you got a survivor in the building right next to you, if you're quick you might save them from being something's next lunch."

"Roger that, over." She pointed at her team. "Switch to your F,A,Ws. We're sweeping and clearing this place!" She ordered and both Whimcy and Buck holstered their Arck 22s. They pulled out their Arck 12 sidearms and then pulled out another item. It was a little longer that their pistol's barrel, with a square mussel and hand grip. They attached these items to their Arck 12s and changed their weapon's appearance.

Now their sidearms were configured into a Arck 12-M, a fully automatic weapon that was perfect for close quarters combat. They powered their new weapon sets and waited for orders. "Get set to breach and clear, check your corners and put down anything that looks too skinny to be Pony!" They nodded and set their weapon's power levels high. 042 slung her rifle and pulled out her own sidearm, but she kept it the way it was, as she aimed it at the door they were stacked up to.

She nodded and Buck nodded back, and then with the power of his machine enforced legs, he kicked the door in. It crumbled under the impact of his boot and with speed and quick reflexes, they stormed in and checked every corner. There were small numbers of Infected in the hallways and they only had a second to snap their hollow gazes on the EHC squad, before getting blasted by a hail of bolt fire. Their F,A,Ws barked, and iluminated the halls blue, as bolts of energy punctured flesh, and broke bone. One managed to get through the hail and tried to go for Whimcy, but 042 was right there next to her, punching the Infected right in its over sized jaw and when it was stunned, she shot it clse blank range in its head.

"Thanks, Cap." Whimcy said, patting her on the shoulder and then snapped her aim back up, just as another Infected tried make make a swipe at her. She put it down with a burst from her F,A,W, blasting fragments of its head apart.

"Just don't let your guard down." 042 stated, as she also gave Whimcy a pat on the back, as 042 moved past her. "Buck, sound off!"

"All clear! Permission to move to the next floor!"

There were no targets left on the first floor so 042 nodded to Buck and they moved as a unit up a flight of stairs to the next level. The moment Buck set a hoof in the hallway of the second floor, he was met with an Infected's clawed hoof. It scrapped the top of his helmet and while he backed up from the sudden blow, 042 was right behind him, pushing him past her while she aimed her Arck 12 in the fucker's face and pulled the trigger. It's face blasted apart in a shower of skull fragments and brain, as its body flew back in the hallway in a skinny heep.

"Move, move!" 042 ordered, as she pushed Buck back out and they filed out of the stair way. Once in the new level, 042 called Boomstick. "Boomer, update."

"Tangos have moved rooms again. They are now directly down the next hallway to your left and it looks like the survivor has locked themselves in some room." Just as he finished saying that, they heard the sound of Infected and the screams of a Mare. Boomstick continued and he sounded just a little bit on edge. "I think you should get a move on, Cap, there's Infected trying to get in and I can't tell how many there are since they seem bunched up. Stay frosty."

"Roger, keep me posted." She looked to her team and gestured to the next door that led to the next stairs. They moved up to it and paused.

"What's the plan?" Buck asked, as he put a hoof on Whimcy's shoulder as she aimed for the door.

042 looked around and tried to think of something. She motioned her team to fall in behind her, as she crept down the hall and listened. Barks, and the sound of chuffing became louder as they neared a bend in the hall and when they came up to it, 042 pressed her body to its edge and peecked around. Down the next hallway, was a door, and crowded around it, was a bunch of Infected, all climbing over one another, trying to claw at its wooden surface.

She counted at least seven, and two of them were seemingly getting bored, as they began to creep back to were 042 and her team were. 042 quickly pulled herself away from the corner and looked to her team. "I count five, two are heading this way and it's very tight quarters. Switch back to your Arck 12s, and prepare for CQC."

They glanced at one another and then nodded without question, breaking down their F,A,Ws back into pistols and then pulled out their CQC knives. Now ready, 042 pulled out a Smoke grenade and took a deep breath. Then she pulled the pin and tossed it around the corner. There were surprised grunts, as the smoke grenade bounced off one wall and rolled to a stop under one Infected.

Then it popped and smoke burst out and filled the hall in a grey white screen of thick fog. "Let's go!" 042 shouted and tapped her visor as she rounded the corner, gun leveled. Her HUD flashed and green outlines of everything in the hallway was highlighted, allowing her to see through the smoke, as if it wasn't then and she aimed her sights right for an Infected's head.

One white flash and eletrical bang later, the first Infected fell and then she aimed her weapon for the next, just as it lunged for the flash of light. But instead of finding a tender meal in the smoke, it got a knife rammed in its chin and then a gun shoved in its mouth. 042 blasted the back of its head out in a spray of gore and just as she was removing her blade, the other Infected had noticed the new activity and rounded on her, charging right through the smoke blindly and with no fear.

042 thought she wouldn't get her weapon up in time to stop the first of them barreling into her, but luckily, Buck and Whimcy came forward and with practiced aim, they shot down the first two. Then as one, they aimed their guns forward and fired single shots into the mass of bodies. The infected didn't have much of a chance, as they cut them down, either shooting or stabbing them to death, till none were left standing.

"Clear!" Buck sated over team com, and sounded a little out of breath.

"Good work, but stay alert." 042 said, as she cleaned off her knife and put away. She then looked to the door and held her pistol in tow hooves, as she approached it slowly. "Buck, get a window open and clear this smoke." She asked, as she reached the door.

Buck went up to a window in the hall, but instead of just opening it, he smashed it open with an elbow and the smoke soo began to vent out. "You could have just opened it, like a normal Pony." Whimcy said, with some sarcasm in her tone.

Buck just shrugged. "Ah, maybe, but this was faster." He joked.

They chuckled at that, but 042 made them cut it out with a wave of her off hoof. She then knocked on the door three times and spoke. "Hello? This is the EHC, we're not here to harm you. Please, come out slowly and hooves where we can see them."

There was no reply and 042 looked back at her team, a question in her posture. Her team just shrugged and 042 pressed her helm's mic. "Boomer, is the survivor still in the room?"

A pause, then. "Yes, they are just behind the door."

looked at the door again and banged on it this time. "Hey, we know you're in there! If you don't open this door now, I 'll open it for you!"

"FUCK YOU!" A female voice shouted and 042 felt her tolerance thin.

"Alright, I warned you! Better back up, unless you want a door to smash your face!" 042 listened and heard the sound of hooves scramble away, as aimed for the lock. She blasted a hole right through it in a hail of splinters and with a rough kick, she slammed the door wide open and stepped inside.

Almost as quickly as she entered, she suddenly had an Earth Pony Mare right in front of her, with a crossbow aimed right for her chest. The Mare didn't wait for her to speak, as she fired and a bolt struck 042 right in her chest plate. The impact hurt like hell, but it was stopped by the plate's thick resin compound and bounced off her. The Mare stood there in shocked horror, as 042 suddenly shot forward and yanked the crossbow out of the Mare's grasp.

"What the fuck?!" 042 yelled, tossing the weapon away and sized the scrawny Mare up. "You better not try something like that again, or I'll.." She was interrupted, when the Mare, in a blind panic, pulled out a dagger and came at her with it, screaming at the top of her lungs. 042 holstered her pistol and with her free hoof, she grabbed the Mare's wrist, curling her metal fingers around the joint and then with her other hoof, she slapped the weapon out of the Mare's hold. She thought that would be enough, but the crazed Mare tried to punch her with her free hoof and was able to land a blow on 042's armoured chin.

She had just about enough of this, so she did the only thing she could do to make this struggle come to a halt. She gripped the Mare's scruffy collar on her loose fitting armour and with a twist of her body, 042 flipped the Mare over onto her back. Then she quickly rolled her onto her belly and pinned one of her arms to her back.

"Aaaa, just, kill me and get it over with!" The Mare screamed, crying her eyes out in pain and sheer misery as she kicked her legs around, trying to hit 042, but she couldn't quite reach..

042 was taken aback by this but kept her hold on the Mare. "Relax, we're not here to harm you. If anything, we're here to help." 042 tried to calm the distort Mare, but she didn't seem to hear her.

"Don't eat me, please I beg you, please no!" She cried and stopped struggling as she sobbed loudly. The smoke was starting to clear and when it did, 042 noticed this Mare was injured and recognized the same kind of spike, sticking into her side.

"Whimcy, Buck, get in here, NOW!" 042 yelled over team com and in seconds, her team came rushing in and aimed their weapons. "Stand down, she's subdued." They lowered their weapons and 042 looked at Whimcy as she put away her own weapon. "I need you to treat her, she's got one of those spikes in her."

"Uh, right, on it." Whimcy put her weapon down and got out her medkit. She then looked at 042 and Buck and looked at all the black blood on their suits. "Shit, guys we're covered in contamination! Get out, right now!" 042 looked at her and was about to object, when Whimcy grabbed her by the arm and hauled her off the Mare. "Now, Cap!"

042 knew better than to argue with her, even though she was only a Lieutenant, she was the team's medic after all and when it came to this sort of thing, Whimcy out ranked them all. "Ok, I'm backing up." 042 moved away, hooves raised and went to stand beside Buck, who was leaning cross armed by one of the door frame

It wasn't technically out the room, but 042 didn't want to let that Mare out her sight, so she joined Buck by the wall near the door and stood there, hoof resting on her sidearm. She set the weapon to stun, just as a percausion, while Whimcy got to work decontaminating the area. Her horn glowed and with a flash of pink magic, she coated everything in the room, in pink energy and slowly, all the dirt and blood in the zone, were cleaned away. Suddenly, everything from their suits to the wooden finish on the floor boards were completely, and utterly cleansed and Whimcy wasted no time getting to work on the Mare.

"Ok, Ma'am, can ya hear me?" She asked the Mare and she glared up at her face plate, in a hateful yet terrifised scowl. But Whimcy was calm and gentle with the Mare, as she knelt beside her. "There ya are. Ok, we are not gunna hurt you. Now,
I'm gunna roll you onto your side, so Ah can take a look at that wound there. Do ya understand me? Nod yer head if you do."

The Mare just kept glaring at her for a few more moments, before her face seemed to relax and nodded once. Whimcy then rolled her onto her side and the Mare cried out in pain and tried to struggle. "Hey, try not to move!" Whimcy, stated to the Mare, as she put a hoof glove on her chest to keep her still. She stared at the metal fingers of her glove and looked like she was going to faint as she took in sharp breaths of air. Whimcy quickly got out a oxygen mask and tried to put it on the Mare, but she flinched with fright.

"It's ok, this will help you breathe a little easier." She tried to put it open her again but the Mare was having none of it.

"You..you just want to knock me out..so you can eat me easier." The Mare looked like she was really struggling to keep her eyes open and Whimcy tried a different strat.

"Why would I eat you? Me and you are no different. Watch." Whimcy hooked something on the chin of her helmet with a metal finger and 042 saw what she was about to do.

"Whim, no..it's not.."

She opened the front of her helm and pushed the face plate up with a hiss, as the air inside escaped. Whimcy's face was a light purple, with dark purple freckles and a small bit of her red mane fell out of the new opening, to lay over one of her pink eyes. She gave the Mare a warm smile and put a hoof on her chest plate. "Ma name, is Charlie Whimcy, and I'm a medic who really wants to help you get better. But Ah can only do that, if you work with me here." She got the mask again and put it over her own snout. She breathed deep the oxygen within and it felt, rather good, as her body relaxed. "See, completely harmless."

She offered it to the Mare and finally, the Mare nodded and Whimcy put it on her. Quickly the Mare's eyes went wide and she seemed to look more alert now, as pure, clean air entered her lungs and brought some much needed energy back to her body.

Whimcy smiled at this reaction and got to looking at the Mare's wound. "There, now isn't that much better, than all this stinky normal air?" The Mare looked up at her and nodded, even laughing a little. She tried to get up but Whimcy put a firm hoof on her shoulder. "Hey there, sugar cube, not so fast there. You might be feeling better, but you still got a spike in yer gut."

The Mare seemed to remember she still indeed, had a spike sticking out her side and she lay back down, sighing in pain. Now that the Mare was calm and still, Whimcy spoke to her, while she cut away at her blood stained clothing with some surgical sissors. "Please, tell me about yourself."

The Mare just gazed up at Whimcy's kind face and a tear left one of her blue eyes. "Shada..my name is, Shada."

Whimcy smiled at that, as she managed to open up the clothing around the wound and get a better look at it. "Shada? That's a pretty name. Tell me Shada, what happened here? Why did you shoot at us?"

"I didny mean to." Shada stated, weeping as Whimcy pressed the side of the spike but didn't do it again when she saw it caused Shada pain. "I..I thought you was them.."

"Who's them?" 042 asked Shada, as she walked over to stand by Whimcy and look down on the Mare. "Shada, I need you to tell me. Who attacked your people? Are you the resistance?"

Shada seemed to find it hard to keep her eyes on either of them, as she grimaced when Whimcy applied some disenfectant to her wound. "They...they came in the dark, like ghosts..oh Gods, they started killing everyone, I can still hear the screams, as they tore them apart and..and.."

"Who, Shada, who attacked you?" 042 asked, getting inpatient.

"NOT, who..they weren't Pony!" Shada looked off into space, as if replaying events in her head.

"What? You saying Infected did this?" 042 asked, confusion in her voice.

Shada suddenly looked at 042's visor and grabbed her arm. "No, not Infected..worse!" Whimcy paused what she was doing and looked at 042 with a frown, as did she. Shada continued to speak and she was getting more histerical with every word. "They, they looked like Ponies at first..but we learned, they were far from it...they..walked on two legs, had weapons I'd never seen before and..and.." She started to panic again and they both had to hold her down when she stared screaming. "Oh GODS! We need to get out of here, before they find us and kill us all!"

Shada was out of her mind now and Whimcy had no choice but to give her a seditive. Once she injected the chemicals into her blood stream, Shada suddenly become more dosile and lay back down. "There we go, just relax now." Whimcy said, in a soothing voice as she put the air mask back on her and then waved 042 away from her.

"What was she talking about? About something worse than the infected?" Buck asked, still resting on the wall near the door.

Whimcy just ignored him and addressed 042. "Ok, Cap, I got good new, and bad news."

"What's the bad news?" 042 asked, also ignoring Bucks question 'cause really there was no proper answer.

Whimcy looked at Shada's wound and 042 saw that familiar look in her eye, the one she was going to hate. "Well, with how the spike went in and how its charred the tissue around it, I can't remove it without a surgery kit. Luckily I have one, but that's the thing. In order to remove it safely, I'll have to preform an operation on her, right here. Like now."

042 titled her head in question, but her face that was hidden from view, was shocked. "Like, now, now? Whim, this place is crawling with Infected and gods know what else, and you want to do surgery here?"

"If we try to move her now, gods know what damage that could cause." Whimcy shook her head and frowned. "No question about it, Cap. If she's going to live, I have to get this out of her the right way. Otherwise she'll bleed to death if I just yank it out."

042 felt like she was going to throw something. This was not what they needed right now and she put a hoof to her visor, as if rubbing her eyes. Then she let out a sigh and looked at Whimcy again. "And the good news?"

"Oh, right now with the spike in her, she's not loosing too much blood."

"Lovely." 042 said in a sarcastic tone and looked to Buck. "Come on, we might as well clear out the rest of this place while Whim works."

Just when 042 was about to walk away, Shada suddenly grabbed 042's boot and she stopped. "Please, my friends are still fighting them....help them..please." Shada moaned, as her eyes began to close.

"Shit, Shada? Shada I need you to stay awake honey. ..Shada?" Whimcy looked at her and saw Shada was out cold. "Damnit, Cap I need to operate on her soon, before she's too weak."

"Do it, Whim. Keep her alive." 042 ordered but then suddenly Boomstick came over the team com and he sounded worried.

"Uh, Cap? I don't mean to alarm you or anything, but you got new heat sigs."

"Come again?!" 042 asked, standing up straight and looking out the window.

"Some freak heat sig with a bunch of other normal ones just appeared on my scope, and the bugger's hot, really hot."

"Where?" 042 asked while she pulled out her sidearm.

"On the other side of the fort, and.. wow its movin' fast, shit it's bloody on top of the others and.. it's fucking killing them!"

"We're on it, keep track of it." 042 also charged her TB-AMR and fed it two fresh slugs to replace the ones she used, putting the ammo count back to 8.

"Cap, Infected can show up on thermals, right?" Buck asked 042 and she nodded.

"Yes, they show up, in fact they're even hotter than we are, so they should show up almost white." She thought about that and spoke to Boomstick. "Boomer, how hot are the new heat sigs?"

"Really bloody hot, the readings say a least 80 to 85 degrees."

"That's hot." Buck mused and 042 shook her head.

"Roger that, keep an eye on it." She let her arm fall to her side and took and deep breath. She then sighed and looked to Buck, who was standing there, waiting for her input. "Right, Buck you come with me and we'll check out the new activity. While Whimcy stays up here and keeps that Mare from kicking the bucket. And close your fucking helmet, Whim."

"Oh, right." Whimcy closed her helm's face plate and it sealed with a click.

"Right, lets move." 042 stated and made her way out the room and down the hall, with Buck right on her tail. They kept their weapons trained on everything in front of them as they moved down the next hallway, moving at a brisk pace. Then traveled over a long closed bridge that led to the other side of the fort and began to hear the sound of fighting. It sounded intense, like what ever those Ponies were fighting, must have been one tough S,O,B, as they entered the next part of the fort and followed the sounds.

The place was a mess, with dead Infected and Ponies laying about the halls. They had those spikes in them, and these ones were still red hot. 042 could hear them sizzling away as they burned flesh and charred fur. She was glad she couldn't smell the air in the halls, she never liked the smell of cooked meat, it always made her sick. The fighting was getting closer now and they stopped just outside a door when they heard the most gods offil screams.

042's blood went cold, when she heard skin being ripped, could actually hear tendons snapping as something was eating someone alive. Then something heavy slammed agaist the door on the other side and both 042 and Buck jumped. Blood, red blood, was seeping out from under the door and then they heard something new. It sounded like..breathing, heavy, beastial breathing and it was right on the other side of the door.

Then there was the ripping sounds again, as what ever that thing was behind that door, was eating again. 042 actually forgot to breathe and sucking in some air, she looked to Buck and he looked as freaked out as she felt. They didn't dare speak, even if their helmets could block it outwardly, they were just too stunned to move. Then Boomstick suddenly spoke and 042 nearly had a hearty attack.

"Cap, what's going on? You're just standing there, with the tango right in front of you!"

042 had to restrain herself from throwing a storm of profanity at him, when she got her heart rate back under control and managed to speak more steadily, but a hint of her anger still slipped into her voice. "Thanks, I already knew this."

"Then, why are you just standing there? Is it blind?"

"There's a door here you twat!" Buck spoke now and he was less cander about how he spoke to his team. "It's on the other side, chowing down on some poor sod it just ripped apart!"

"How was I supposed to know that?!" Boomstick sounded annoyed. "I can't see doors with the thermals you fuck wit. Maybe if you set it on fire then maybe I'll see it."

"Sargent!" 042 snapped, trying to keep her voice down. "Put a cork in it, both of you!" She also looked at Buck and he straightened up. She then took a deep breath and cooled herself off, as the thing on the other side of the door, continued feeding. 042 then got an idea and spoke to Boomstick again. "Boomer, it's right on the other side right?"

"Um, yes? Why?"

She aimed her rife at the door. "How low is it?"

"Huh?"

"How low to the ground is it?" 042 asked again.

"Um, it's crouching, like half way down the door." 042 moved her scope to the side of its frame so she could aim down its iron sights and aimed low for the door. She waited for a moment, listened for where the sound was coming from exactly and when she was sure she had pin pointed it's exact highet she pulled the trigger. In the small space, the gun shot sounded like a bomb going off, as the metal slug tore through the wood and impacted something soft on the other side.

The chewing stopped, the breathing stopped and all went dead silent. Was it dead? 042 looked to Buck, her rifle's barrel smoking. "I think I got it." 042 mused.

They relaxed, then the door suddenly came to life with a hail of molten hot spikes punching through it from the other side and they both fell to the ground in fright. 042 felt the heat from those spikes, as they narrowly missed them and sunk deep into the wall behind them. Heart hammering, 042 sat up when the hail stopped and looked at the door. Dozens of burning holes filled the doors surface and she saw for just a second, a glowing red eye, glaring back at her through one of the holes.

She suddenly came to her senses and pulled out her pistol and began firing at the door again. She didn't stop firing till her gun overheated and she had to vent the heat. As she vented her gun, Buck had gotten up and was aiming at the door with his Arck 22 but he didn't fire. Instead he side walked over to 042 and offered a free hoof to help her up, all while still aiming at the door.

"What's happening down there?" Boomstick yelled over the coms.

042 had gotten back to her hooves with Buck's help and spoke to Boomstick, sounding a little shaken. "Boomer, where is it now? Is it still there?"

There was a pause, then. "Uh, no. I think you got it."

"Only one way to find out." 042 nodded to Buck and they approached the door. She checked her weapon's heat meter and saw it was cool again, but the ammo reading said it was almost empty. She ejected the near spent mana battery and stored it away to be recharged later, while she got out a fresh one. She slammed the mag home and pulled on her weapon's charging slide and it hummed to life with a full ammo reading.

Buck did the same with his weapons, swapping his spent mags for fresh ones and now fully reloaded, he looked to his Captain.

She aimed for the door with her rifle, chambering a new round and then pointed at the door. "Buck, keep your guard up and check your corners. I don't like this." 042 said, and then pointed at the door ahead of them.

"What do you think's in there, Cap?" Buck asked, while he shifted his body a little and flexed his fingers on the grip on his Arck 22's barrel.

042 just shrugged and shook her head. "What ever it is, don't relax for a second." She hooked one finger on the door's handle and waited for a moment. Then she nodded to him and he got ready as she raoteted the handle with her wrist. The door opened, and then it suddenly was pushed all the way, when something slumped against it, flopped out into the hallway with a wet splat.

When it did, both of them backed up, startled at what they saw laying before them. It was the mangled body of a Pony, so messed up that 042 couldn't even tell what gender they had been, as there was nothing left of their face and lower body. 042 was disgusted but she was able to keep her lunch down. Buck, however, looked like he was considering throwing up right then and there, but he knew better than to puke in his helmet.

"You ok?" 042 asked him, as he still stared at the half eaten body.

"I'll be fine." He stated, but she could tell he was just putting off what he really felt. She felt for him, it wasn't easy seeing this sort of thing and it always left a mark on everyone that saw it.

She just nodded to him and then pointed into the room. They moved in slowly and looked around. What met them was nothing but an empty living room, expect for the dead bodies. Blood was splattered on all the walls and many of the dead were missing body parts and other internals that painted the walls. 042 aimed her pistol around the room, eyeing the bodies in shock.

Some of them still had blood dripping out of them, hell, some were even still twitching and it made her stomach turn. She was used to seeing death in all its indignity but there was just something about the looks of frozen horror on the dead's faces that sent a chill up her spine. Her boot bumped one of them and she looked down to see the dull gaze of a dead Mare, looking up at her. The body was missing its lower half and its mouth hung open slightly. The tears in those dead eyes, were still fresh and 042 bent down with a heavy heart and closed the dead Mare's eyes.

"No contact." Buck said, as he aimed this way and that. "Boomer, you sure it didn't run off?"

Boomstick came over the com and sounded annoyed. "Look, this scope can only see so much. Its not bloody xray vision."

"Boomer, cut it out." 042 growled, as her aim shifted suddenly to another door. This one was cracked open, and was the only other door into this room so, maybe the tango had doubled back. She pointed two fingers at her visor and then at the door. Buck nodded and moved for it, slowly pushing it open as he peered on the other side.

As he did this, 042 got the unnerving feeling of being watched and looked around again. She looked at the floor that was covered in thick red blood, but there was also something else in the blood. It was black and it left a dotten trail all the way up to where 042 was standing and she frowned at that.

Something dripped down on her outstretched arm and when she looked, her eyes widened. It stained the grey white surface of her vambrace black and that's when she realized it was blood. Another droplet hit her arm and that's when a sinking feeling hit her gut. With wide eyes, she looked up and saw a shadowy cloaked figure in the rafters and it was aiming some sort of big, twin barreled weapon for Buck's back.

Shouting wouldn't help and she was too far from him to push him out the way, so she did the only thing she could do to save him. She aimed up at the weapon in the stranger's pale, gloved and clawed hand, and fired a white bolt of magic. The shot hit the wielder's arm, and made it flinch just as it pulled the trigger of its weapon and molten hot spikes shot out. Two of them missed Buck completely, but the third grazed his left arm and breached his suit as the spike burned right through it.

Buck growled in pain and anger as he spun around and fired bolts up at their attacker. As the bolts peppered its shadowed form, it jumped down with a heavy landing and with blinding speed, backhanded 042 in the face plate. The blow was so powerful it sent her flying head over heels off her hooves and into the far wall near the door they had come through.

The impact of the wall made stars burst into 042's vision and she lay there slumped against the wall completely paralyzed, helpless to aid Buck, as he engaged the figure in CQC. It swung its weapon one handed on Buck and fired another burst of spikes at him, but he quickly stepped forward and slapped the muzzle of its gun out the way.

The spikes shot off in a different direction, and he brought his own weapon up and tried to shoot it in the gut. But it gripped his weapon's barrel at the last second with its free hand and pointed it up, making his shot go into and through the roof. It then yanked his gun out his grasp and tried to hit him with it, but Buck ducked it time and it missed. Then in the same fluid movement, he pulled out his side arm and fired several shots into its body. The shots didn't seem to effect it, when he realized it was wearing some sort of black metal armour under its cloak that reflected the bolts off of it.

While he fired his weapon in vein, the hooded figure smacked his Arch 12 out his hold again with it own weapon. This did little to slow him down, as he spun on his hoof and with a heel kick, he knocked the figure's weapon out their grasp, and sent it sliding over to 042. She was still too dazed to move, while Buck pulled out a knife and went to stab their attacker in the throat. But it parried his attack with a quick swipe of its gloved right arm, and in the same instance, it made a chopping motion with its left hand and struck Buck in his own throat.

He coughed, as he staggered back gripping his jugular with his off hoof, while blocking another chopping strike that was going for his head. He countered with a few well placed cuts to its exposed pale skin, all the while, ducking and batting its own attacks away. He tucked his body in all of a sudden, when it tried to punch him for his gut and his armoured limbs blocked it. He then countered with a fast upper cut to its chin and when its head snapped back from the blow, he saw his chance and stabbed it right in its exposed throat.

It bit in deep and he was sure he had done it, he had killed the son of a nag. But it suddenly grabbed his arm and with bone breaking pressure, it crushed his vambrace. Buck cried out in pain, but it was cut off when the hooded creature headed butted him right in his visor and cracked it. He staggered back, shocked and in pain, as he cradled his broken arm. Then the creature pulled his knife out of its throat and suddenly threw it at him. It struck him so hard that the blade sunk into his chest plate and got stuck in the resin.

He tried to kick it in its gut, but it grabbed Buck's out stretched boot, and brought its left elbow down hard on his knee. Buck howled in agony, as 042 heard a popping sound when his leg bent in the wrong direction. Then, as it let him go to hobble on his one good leg, It then backhanded Buck right in the side of his head, sending him spinning off his hooves.

His armoured body smashed into an old oak table and sent dust up in the air. 042 was just starting to get feeling back in her limbs, when the hooded figure loomed over Buck and began kicking, punching and clawing at him, while he lay there on the ground, completely helpless. It was relentless, as it savagely tore at his armour, cutting deep grooves in his Cami-Flex plating, making the fibers rip and unravel. Thankfully it didn't seem to be able to get past his under layer, as its claws failed to part the padding. But this only made it more determined, as It then grabbed him by the throat and hauled him up in the air, one handed.

Buck coughed and thrashed in the things grasp, as it began choking the life out of him. It even punched him a few times in the ribs, as if trying to force the air out of him faster. 042 had finally regained her ability to move, as feeling came back to her and she sucked in as much air as she could, before she flopped herself onto the figures weapon and grabbed it. It was heavy, with a massive drum attached under its barrels and long curved pistol grip with a lever like trigger.

She had to hold the damn thing in both hooves just to aim it, and when she had the hooded figure in its crude sights, she pulled the trigger.

White hot spikes shot out the weapon with such force knocked her onto her back. But she had managed to score a direct hit on the figure, as it roared in pain when the spike dug into its back. It turned its head at her and that's when she got a good look at its face. She couldn't really see its face, since it wore some sort of metal mask, with old jaw bones attached to its chin. But its eyes, they were like that of a predator's, glowing red with slit pupils that glared at her with hunger and rage.

Undeterred, 042 managed to roll back up on one knee and leveled the weapon for the figure's head. It's eyes narrowed at this and with startling speed, it spun its whole body and threw Buck at her. His limp and bulky form struck her hard, sending her back against the wall, as the figure made a dash for the exit. 042 still had its weapon, and she fired it at the thing, as she rolled Buck off herself. Molten spikes struck it in its back, a leg and a shoulder, but it didn't slow down, as it bolted to the other side of the fort, where Whimcy was.

042's heart almost skipped a beat when she realized this and called Boomstick and Whimcy over team com. "Boomer, you got a visual on the contact?!"

"Yeah. Damn that thing is moving fast! But , Cap, what happened? Where's.."

"Shoot it, Boomer! Its heading for Whimcy!" 042 shouted, as Buck suddenly coughed. "Buck?" She looked at his bio reading and it looked bad.

"Go, Cap.." Buck gasped, as he lifted himself up, "Don't waste time on me, GO!"

042 knew better than to argue with him, so she nodded, bent down and picked up her fallen pistol. She offered it to him, and the moment he took it, she sprinted after the hostile.

The sound of her breathing filled the inside of her helmet, as she ran two legged down the hallway and saw the figure just start to run over the bridge. "Shoot it Boomer!" 042 barked, and a second later, a blue ball of energy burst threw the wall ahead and completely destroyed the bridge, just as the figure was about to cross. The resulting blast sent the figure flying back and slammed into a far wall.

This seemed to do little to keep it down, as it was starting to stand just as 042 rounded the corner and aimed the double barreled weapon at it. It let out a snarl, as it rolled out the way, just when 042 fired more spikes at it. They all sunk into the wall, and the figure landed in a low crouch, one hand on placed on the floor. Its head snapped in her direction and for a moment, neither of them moved.

Then 042 pulled the trigger and was met with a low, CLICK. It was empty and 042 looked at the weapon in shock, just as the thing in front of her giggled at her. It rose to its full height, standing a few centimeters taller than she was and it began to move slowly toward her. Its red eyes burned with hate and animal hunger as it approached her, but then it stopped. Its eyes suddenly went wide and it back stepped just as another ball of energy blasted through the wall next to it and then cut a hole in the floor.

042 had no idea how it was able to react so fast to a AFB shot, but it provided 042 the time she needed to act. She threw the heavy, empty weapon at the thing, and it struck its head. It let out a pained grunt, as it staggered back from the blow and was unable to stop her from unslining her TB-AMR from her back and aiming at its chest.

She fired and a metal slug punched right through its body with a splash of black blood on the wall behind it. Its glowing red eyes widened in shock, as it looked down at the bleeding hole in its body and seemed to loose all power to stand, as it stumbled to the side and slumped to the floor.

042 breathed steadily, as she chambered another slug with the pull of the charging handle and aimed at the things still form. She was sure she shot it in the heart, there was no way it was still alive. Still she was careful as she approached the body, not taking her eyes off it.

"What the hell is happenin' down there?!" Whimcy suddenly came over the coms, and she sounded startled. "Was that Boomer's weapon shaking the building?"

"Yes, it was." 042 answered, as she got right up close to the body and kicked it onto its back. She was completely shocked at what she was looking at. It looked like a Pony, but its body shape was all off, like reshaped to suit an upright posture. Its arms and legs were vaguely still Pony shaped, but its hooves were cloven like a goat's and it had hands, three fingers and a thumb, all tipped with talon like claws.

"Cap, I'm looking at Buck's bio readings." Whimcy stated and she was rightfully alarmed. "He's got internal bleeding, dozens of fractures and broken bones. What the fuck happened down there?"

"Never mind that, he needs medical attention, right now." 042 stated, as she lowered herself down and placed a hoof on the body's face.

"But, but Shada, I can't just.."

"Is she stable?" 042 snapped, as she found a strap on the body's mask and began to tug at it.

"Stable enough since I got the spike out, but Captain... I can't just.."

"You know medical protocol. Patch up, stabilize and move onto the next. Do I make myself clear?" 042 barked, but regained her composure with a deep breath. Her team were good, but they were still fresh behind the ears and she had to double down on them when things got really rough. "You'll need to find another way to get to him. Boomer seemed to completely destroy the bridge leading here."

"Hey, you said shoot, so I shot." Boomstick said over coms, sounding disgruntaled. "Your welcome by the way."

There was a pause, but then Whimcy said, with reluctance. "Yes, Ma'am. I'm on it." 042 shook her head and huffed.

She finally managed to get the strap on the mask to unclip and then gripped the face plate. "Ok, lets see what you look like."

She pulled the mask off ans was stunned by what she saw, making her back up a bit. It looked like it had been a Pony at one time, but that time had long since past. Its face, was completely devoid of any fur, and its skin was a pale sickly blue, like all the life had been sucked out of it. Black veins spread out under its clammy skin like a tumorous growth, and it looked to have a second pare of nostrils at the back of its short snout, near its half closed eyes.

It looked almost like a female, but 042 wasn't sure. She'd never seen a creature like this before, she wasn't even sure it was native to this land. She put a metal finger to its upper lip and pushed up to see its teeth and they were sharp, curving inward and looked good for shredding flesh.

Just then, her coms burst with static and she jumped. "Cap, did you take the tango out?" It was Boomstick and 042 sighed.

"Yes, that's affirmative, it's dead."

"You sure?" Boomstick questioned and that made 042 frown.

"I shot it straight through the heart, it's deader than Stars whirl the Bearded."

"Well, I think you gotta shoot it again, 'cause that thing still has a heat sig, Cap."

042's eyes widened and she turned to look at the body. But it wasn't laying on the ground anymore, as its mutated face was right up in her visor and she gasped in fright. She tried to level her weapon and the creature smacked it out of her grasp with blinding speed, shot a hand out and grabbed her by the throat. Her eyes bulged from behind her visor, as air was cut off to her and she began to choke.

It was un Ponily strong, as it pressed a thumb right in her windpipe and lifted her up off the floor. It let out a growling sigh of pleasure, as it grinned a full set of those razor like teeth at her, and glared at her wide eyed. 042 kicked her legs weakly and punched the creature's arm, but its muscles were like solid steel.

"You seem like a tough bag of meat." It suddenly spoke, and it definitely sounded like a female, but its voice was all rough and gravely. It liked its lips with a long thin black tong and its smile widened. "Grow tired of dinning on these pitiful soft skins. I wonder if you will sate my hunger."

She had no intention of letting any of her get chewed on and reached behind her back. she gripped the knife that was sheathed there and in one swift motion, she pulled it out and rammed it in this mutant's neck. Black blood ran out of the seams and out its mouth as it coughed in shock and surprise, splattering 042's visor in the thick substance. It let her go and she gasped as air was allowed in her lungs once more and she collapsed to the floor.

She wretched hard, as her airway painfully cleared itself, while the mutant, yanked the knife out its throat and growled in anger. "You'll pay for that!" It shouted, its voice becoming more gravely.

It grabbed 042 again, this time at the back of her neck and hauled her up. It then jammed her own knife in her ribs and she exhaled violently as the air was knocked out of her again. Luckily, her suit stopped the blade from actually penetrating her body, but the force in which this thing jabbed her with it, was enough to crack one of her ribs.

The creature was confused, when it found the knife hadn't gone in, and snarled at 042. "Impressive, but there is more than one way to crack an egg." It stated, and with both hands it grabbed her belt while still holding onto her neck and to 042's shock and horror, it picked her up and threw her. Her body smashed threw a window on the bridge and out onto the courtyard, where she struck the ground hard and rolled couple of meters, before skidding to a halt.

She was in a world of hurt right now, as she found it hard to breathe properly with her busted up rib, and just moved sluggishly on the ground. Then the mutant came vaulting out through the window, its cloven hooves crunching on the shattered glass as it walked up to 042.

It snarled again but this time in smug satisfaction as it kicked her in the gut. Helpless to stop it, she could only cover her soft spots as best she could, as the mutant violently kept kicking her. Even with the gel layer of her suit, this hurt like being punch by a Wolven that was also a body builder, wielding a sledge hammer. It laughed at her helplessness, enjoyed seeing her curl up into a fetal ball, and flinch with every blow.

It then swiftly booted her in her visor and it cracked under the impact, making her HUD flash and flicker, as the software glitched out. "Pathetic!" The mutant howled in glee, as it picked her up again and held her by the back of her neck again. "I really thought you were more than these simple soft skins. But it seems under all this fancy tech, you're just like all the rest. WEAK, and PITIFUL!"

It then hurled her again and this time, she landed by the well. Every bone in her body ached, her ribs more than anything, along with her head feeling like a swarm of angry bees, jabbing at her brain, as she tried to stand once more. "Captain, can you hear me?"

That sounded like Whimcy, but her coms were all messed up from the beating she'd been taking. "Whim? Wh..where are you?" 042 asked, her mind fuzzy. Luckily the Mutant couldn't hear her talking from inside her helmet, as it didn't take notice to her casual conversation.

042 lifted her head, only to get a fist in her face plate, sending her back to the cold dirt. "I have a visual on your position. Boomer is on stand by to fire on your go. He just needs a clear shot, Cap."

"Oh, how wonderful.." 042 grumbled, as she was yanked back up and pressed against the edge of the well. "I..I might be..unable to give the order..in time.."

She felt her brain start to waver, as it got harder to think and her vision got really blurry. The mutant had her by the throat again and was putting just enough pressure on her windpipe to stop her from recovering in any helpful amount of time. It laughed again, seeming to savor her suffering as it held her there.

"What you going to do now, MEAT!" It asked her, licking its blood dripping chops again. It pulled out what looked like a metal hook attached to a chain and it waved it in her face plate. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy peeling you open and seeing what you're really made of."

Something suddenly struck the mutant's back with a blast of energy and it spun around to find Whimcy, firing her Arch 22 at it. "No, Whimcy..stay back!" 042 shouted, but the mutant slammed her head against the wall of the well and she blacked out.

She slumped to the ground with a plasticy thud from her resin armour plates and didn't move, as the creature glared at Whimcy and she suddenly felt like this had been a terrible idea. "Oh shitty tail feathers!" She swore, as she leveled her rifle and fired lightning bolts at the thing, as it slowly approached.

The bolts struck its body, but they seemed to do little damage to it, as it just kept advancing. What the hell was this thing? How was it taking so much punishment? Whimcy didn't have time to think, as she kept firing, taking a step back each time, but with each shot, the creature seemed to quicken its pace.

It then threw a metal hook attached to a chain at her and it hooked her weapon. With a violent yank, it pulled her weapon free from her grasp, but Whimcy's combat training came flooding in, as she quickly pulled out her Arck 12, quickly turned it into a F,A,W, set the power to max and held down the trigger.

White hot bolts of kinetic energy rained down on the beast and for a moment, she thought she might actually beat this thing, as her bolts ripped bits of its flesh away and chipped away at its armour. But then it suddenly lunged forward and kicked her weapon out of her hooves and tried to snag her with its hook weapon.

Whimcy back stepped the swing and with practiced motion, she pulled out her knife and just to give herself some breathing room, she quickly turned her back to the creature and bucked it hard in its chin. She then rolled forward with the momentum her kick gave her and sprang back up right. Whimcy then got in her CQC fighting stance and breathed softly, as she watched the creature rub its chin.

It seemed more amused than angry, as it flexed the joints of its jaw and with a sickening crack, it popped its bone back into place and smiled at her. "Yes." It sighed, ghostly mists of air leaving its grinning maw. It spat some black blood out and spread its arms in a welcoming gesture, as if it was asking for her to come over and give it a big old hug. "You got fire. I like that, makes what comes next, much the sweeter."

Whimcy flipped her knife in her hoof glove and held it facing downward. "Just try it, fuck face. But Ah must warn ye, Ah got a P,H,D, in really screwing up your respiratory system."

The mutant laughed, a hearty chuckle as it came closer. "Oh, I think you might just prove to be my main course."

It then suddenly came at her with the hook as a melee weapon and it would have snagged her right in the gut, if Whimcy didn't do something it wasn't expecting. She tucked in her stomach, letting the hook skim past her belly by inches. Then, with her free hoof, she grabbed its right shoulder to brace herself and with her knife, she cut a deep gash right across its forehead, just above the eyes.

Then with the hoof she had on its shoulder, she pushed herself away from it, as it tried to grab her and now she stood waiting, as the creature suddenly started blinking frantically. The cut she had made, was sending blood right down into the mutants eyes, and now it was having a hard time seeing. "What, what did you do to me?"

It growled, as it rubbed its eyes, trying to clean them, but this only seemed to make it worse, as more blood coated its face. Whimcy smirked from behind her helmet and flipped her knife again. "Oh, just the right kind of cut, just above the eyes. The kind that bleeds."

She then suddenly came in and carved her knife deep in the soft spot of its left armpit, severing the tendons beneath. It howled in anger as it tried to take a swipe at her, but found its arm flopped weakly and bounced off Whimcy with little to no impact. She countered with a swift jab with her free hoof right to the mutant's Tricia and it coughed loudly.

She then delivered a flurry of cuts, kicks and more jabs to its joints and soft spots on its body, till to stumbled back, falling flat on its flank. She had surgically severed many of its tendons and made some of its nerve bundles lock up, making it hard to move. "Impossible!" The mutant crocked, wheezing and coughing, as its limbs bled heavily. "You, you're a weakling, inferior compared to me!"

"No." Whimcy snapped, as she kicked it in the face. "Ye just don't get it. Y'all think just 'cause ye got a better body that ye can just bend the rules? Oh no, honey, I've cut up enough bodies in my time to know everything's got a weak spot, an' yer no different."

"Stupid soft skin!" The mutant shouted, as it suddenly began to be able to move again. "There are some things your mind will never grasp."

Whimcy suddenly realized she'd made a mistake. When instead of mocking the creature, she should have finished it off, when she saw to her horror the wounds had suddenly healed and while on the ground, it had picked up her Arck 22 and aimed it at her.

She threw herself for a low wall, just as a lightning bolt missed her spine by mere inches, and she crashed on the other side of the wall. "You can not hope, to defeat me!" The mutant roared, still firing at where Whimcy hid, blasting chunks of the wall away. "I am your salvation, I am your evolution, I, AM, YOUR FUTURE!!"

Suddenly, the side of its face was blasted apart, when a slug round punched right through its chin. Whimcy heard this and looked up over the wall to see half its face was missing, and it howled in agony, dropping the Arck 22 as it covered it horrific wound. Then, another round punched through its right knee and it fell to the ground, roaring in anger.

Whimcy followed where the shot had come from and she was shocked to see Buck, up on the bridge, holding himself up on the destroyed window and he was using 042's TB-AMR. He aimed down the scope of the weapon and fired a third shot in the mutant's back and made it scream.

Just then, something else snagged the thing in its throat and pulled back hard, impaling its windpipe. "Oh yeah?!" A voice sounded from behind the mutant and Whimcy looked to see 042 standing once more, with the hook chain tied in a knot around the wooden frame of the well. "Well you can keep all that to your fucking self. Boomer, NOW!!"

Suddenly there was a flash of red magic and Boomstick appeared beside Whimcy. Her eyes widened, when he lifted the massive AFB and aimed its huge barrel at the Mutant. "Dodge this, you slack jaw, two bit nothing, titty sucking..."

"Boomer, fucking shoot it already!" Whimcy shouted and he shut up, as the barrel of the AFB began to glow.

042 rolled for cover, as the creature tugged on the chain, but it was too late. It only managed to let out an enraged scream, before its torso was suddenly blasted apart in a shower of black blood, guts and limbs. 042, carefully poked her head out of the cover she had been hiding behind and looked on at the bloody mess that was left in the AFB's wake.

"That has to kill it." 042 said to herself, as she limped over to the well and sat down, leaning against the well's stone frame. "Sound off. Guys, you ok?"

"I'm still breathing." Whimcy huffed, as she stood up from her own cover and looked around in dazed amazement. "Wow, that AFB really did a number on that thing. So glad we have it now."

"You're most welcome." Boomstick mused, as he stood there, covered from head to hoof in black gore, his AFB smoking red hot. "I mean, I, Aim, to please."

There was a chuckle from Whimcy and she shook her head. "Never use that pun again, or I'll have to give you an early check up." She said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Is that your way of saying you want to undress me?" He gestured to his gore drenched suit. "I mean, I got no problem with that."

"In your dreams, buck'o." Whimcy retorted, as she vaulted over the low wall and looked at what was left of the mutant. It was nothing but a stump and a per of legs, that still moved. "Oh gods, not even the body parts no when to quit." She picked up her Arck 12-M and fired a few bolts into the legs. They finally stopped moving and lay very still. She then holstered it and got back her Arck 22 and it was coated in black slime. "Uha, gross."

042 hugged her ribs, coughing hard as she found it hard to catch her breath. "How..how's Buck? Buck, you there?" 042 weakly asked, as pain burned in her chest.

There was a shaky breath over the com and Buck sounded like he was sucking in liquid. "I'v...been better.." He gasped. "I..I think I'm going...to need some of the first aid...right about now." Then they heard him hit the floor and then the com went dead.

"Boomer, get to him." Whimcy ordered him and he nodded, putting down his AFB and sprinted on all fours for Buck's location.

Whimcy then fixed her attention on 042 and she sounded concerned. "Cap, Cap can you hear me?"

042 coughed and that made new fresh pain stab at her lungs. "I hear you. Shouldn't you go see to Buck? Not me."

"Boomer may not look it, but he got the same medical training as I did. He may not be a doctor like me, but I trust him enough to know how to stabilize someone." Whimcy stated, as she got out her medkit and began prodding at her sides.

"And, what about the Mare?" 042 gasped, tasting a little blood in her mouth and more pain clawed at her ribs as Whimcy touched the spot that thing had jammed the knife into.

"She's alive and I managed to get the spike out with no further problems. As long as she gets some rest and doesn't rip her stitches, she'll make a full recovery."

"Good to hear." 042 sighed, as her lungs begged for air. "You, you did well Whim. Very impressive how you took that thing on."

"Stop talking, you got a bruised rib and some minor internal bleeding." Whimcy stated, getting out a needle and inserting it in an injection slot in her neck plate. She felt the tiny sting of the needle and then pure bliss suddenly flooded her system.

"Wow, that stuff works fast." 042 mused, as she giggled a little.

"I gave ye a good dose of pain killer. It's going to make ye feel bubbly inside and a little derpy, but it's better than the alternative." She patted 042 down and then got out a decontamination kit. She held out a hose and then sprayed a jet of sterilizing chemical fluid over 042 and washed off all the blood and grim from her suit.

"Oh, that actually feels nice. Like rain hitting a roof top." 042 giggled again, but coughed when her breath got stuck in her throat.

Whimcy was soon done and then put a hoof on 042's helmeted head. "Ok, your lung is also a little banged up but luckily, Ah won't have to drain yours. Buck on the other hoof, might need to." 042 came back to her senses just a little, to really think about that. This day had been a rough one, and it had only been day three. She was getting sloppy, she had to do better. Not just for her, but for her team.

"I buggered up, I buggered it good, didn't I?" 042 gasped, cringing as some of the pain loomed on the edges of her mind.

"We had no way of knowing. You can't expect to be prepared for everything." Whimcy said, as she opened her face plate and smiled at her.

"Whimcy, contact! Contact on the roof!" That was Boomstick and Whimcy and 042 looked up to the top of one of the towers and saw another hooded figure.

It looked a little different from the one they had just taken out, for this one had horns sticking out its hooded head. Even from here, 042 saw it wore a skull mask over its face but its glowing purple eyes burned from behind that mask. It just stood there, on the roof of the tower, looking down on them with those predatory eyes, cap blowing softly in the wind and holding some sort of long wooden staff.

"I don't got a clear shot. Whim, use the AFB, SHOOT IT!" Boomstick shouted and Whimcy came to her senses and picked up the massive weapon. It was heavy and awkward to hold, but she managed to line up the scope with the creature up on the tower and was about to fire, when it did something they weren't expecting. It raised its staff up above its head and in a flash of purple magic, it vanished.

Whimcy still fired the AFB and the ball of energy shot out and zipped past the tower, continuing on in the dimming evening sky. Whimcy put the smoking weapon down and just stared at where the creature had last been. "Where'd it go?!" She asked in shock, with a little fear in her tone.

"We can't help that right now." 042 stated, her voice sore and completely spent. "Let's just get our wounded and get out of here, quick.. before more show up."

Whimcy looked to be thinking about this and then nodded quickly. She closed her helmet again and spoke over team com. "Boomer, grab Buck, we're making an E,M,J out of here. You know the place, that old home stead we scoped out."

"Roger, emergency magic jumping now." There was a flash of red magic in the bridge and Whimcy knew he had jumped to the location she mentioned.

"Right, now let's get Shada and jump to the safe house." Whimcy stated, helping 042 up and slinging her arm over neck. She then picked up Boomstick's AFB and then they teleported to Shada and then after that, jumped to the safe house, leaving the wreck of the fort behind.