Infiltration
Dark Veil and Shadow Shroud carefully descended down the mesa, jumping to every foothold they could see before they reached the ground. Once at the foot of the mesa, they quickly hid behind a pile of sandstone boulders that were just in front it and facing the fortress. The long stretch of sand between them and the fortress walls was occupied by more than a few robots patrolling the area, but the sun was passing over the sky in such a way that the mesa’s shadow began casting over it all. The two ninjas used that opportunity to quietly hurry over to the fortress wall. As they did, they caught the sight of a sewage pipe that looked just low enough for them to climb into and stopped right under it; there was thankfully nothing draining out, and their midnight cloaks made them practically invisible to the robots.
Reaching into his cloak, Dark Veil pulled out a kusarigama and threw the hooked blade into the pipe. When it latched onto something, he pulled himself up by the chain, letting Shadow Shroud follow him. He pulled the rest of his tool up and removed the blade from the catwalk it had hooked onto.
“Hmm… If there’s a walkway here, that probably means that someone comes down here.” Shadow Shroud said.
“Probably a maintenance drone, if I had to guess. We should keep our senses sharp.” Dark Veil said as he sheathed his kusarigama.
“Don’t need to tell me twice.” Shroud said.
“Right then. Fillies first.” Dark Veil said.
Shadow Shroud kept a good ways ahead of her partner, scouting every turn before motioning for him to follow. From the looks of it, this particular tunnel didn’t seem to be functioning at all right now, likely due to the lack of resources and activity on Skadi’s part. The only noise to be heard was the light footsteps of the cloaked duo as they navigated through the darkness. However, that didn’t stop a couple security drones from passing through here. They were strikingly similar to the orb that Bullseye had seized, and Shadow Shroud and Dark Veil quickly hid themselves as soon as they heard one and didn’t move until it had vanished from their range of perception. Eventually, they felt a breeze blow through, and when they turned the corner, there was a vent covered by grate that led to the outside. They peered through it find that they were just below one of the ‘streets’ of this enigmatic place. Scanning around, they determined that it pretty empty, but they couldn’t find a way to get the grate off as it was bolted tighter than they thought possible.
“Damn… Heck of an engineer this place had.” Dark Veil commented.
“There has to be a way to the surface from down here.” Shroud said. Just before she could turn away to scout ahead again, she caught the glimpse of something moving in the distance. She gasped when she could make out what it was. “Skadi!” Sure enough, it was the malicious hen being followed by Quantum Tech and a captive Zebota and Shrapnel along with her seized mech suit. “Oh no…” She observed her for a moment and watched as she was scanned by a fan of red light that emitted from a door to a large facility before it opened, and they disappeared into the darkness it revealed.
“Guess we have a place of interest already.” Dark Veil said.
“Now it’s just a matter of getting there.” Shroud said.
Just as they continued making their way down the tunnel, they heard metal footsteps clanging on the catwalk, and they hid under it without a moment’s hesitation. Moments later, a foot soldier approached until it was just above them and stopped. It started looking around as though it suspected their presence, and just as it started to look down, Dark Veil took action; he leapt onto the catwalk, threw the robot to the floor judo-style and jammed two kunai into its head all in one swift motion, rendering it impotent before it could take any action.
Shadow Shroud joined him up there. “You’re promoted.” She teased.
Dark Veil rolled his eyes. “What a thing for you to say.” The two worked quickly to hide the ‘body’ under the catwalk before resuming their venture.
There were thankfully no more sentries to speak of until they reached what looked like a small blast door that said something in an indecipherable language neither of them had seen before. In…teresting…” Shroud said.
Dark Veil examined the door. “This probably our ticket out, but….how to open it.” Suddenly a fan of red light emitted from a red bulb in the door that panned downward from the ceiling, and they jumped out of the way before it could pass over them. It then disappeared as quickly as it appeared. “Hmm… Just like with Mother Goose.”
“So perhaps…” Shadow Shroud listened in the darkness as she could hear the distinct humming of one of the floating security orbs approaching. She nodded to Dark Veil before going under the catwalk, and Dark Veil jumped up and hung from the ceiling with his kusarigama drawn. As the security drone passed over, Shadow Shroud struck the catwalk with her kunai, causing the bot to stop where it was and look below it. That’s when Dark Veil swung the blade end of his kusarigama down at it, hooking it onto the blade as it short circuited. Shadow Shroud then quickly ran in front of the door, which prompted its scanning light to activate just after she was able to hide under the cat walk again. It passed over the hanging drone, and the door began opening. The two ninjas seized their opportunity. Dark Veil fell back down to the ground and threw the destroyed drone below the catwalk where Shroud emerged from, and they both jumped through the door before it could begin to close.
It closed behind them, and they took a sigh of relief. “Good thinking.” Dark Veil said.
“I have my moments.” Shroud said. She looked around and saw that they had entered a short hallway. They snuck along opposite walls and peered out to see that they had stumbled across a room filled with foot soldiers, mecha lions and a few other varieties of mechs lined across the floor in packs according to their model. Some resembled more insectoid beings while others were bigger foot soldiers and avians. “Are they…awake?”
“I don’t think so.” Dark Veil whispered. “Still, we should move quietly.”
They shuffled around the dark room, watching the robots closely for any signs of life as they searched for a vantage point to look outside. Beyond them was an enormous door that no doubt led outside, but they knew they’d blow their cover if they made such a grand entrance, so they searched for anything akin to a personnel door. However, the massive door suddenly began opening, and the two ducked for cover behind some supply crates. They peeked around to see that it was the giant mecha python that had captured the Battle Foals. Shroud gritted her teeth at the very sight of it. It slithered into the hangar, careful not to knock over its smaller siblings as it eventually reached a bizarre looking structure that resembled a weird hybrid of a pipe organ and a furnace. It opened its mouth as it bent down to the machine, and it began absorbing red energy from it.
“So that’s how it feeds, huh?” Shroud whispered.
“So it’s how we’re gonna weaken it.” Dark Veil said. He tried to crawl to another box of crates to get a closer look, but one of his kunai accidently dropped out of his cloak and hit the floor, the clang loudly echoing throughout the hangar. He quickly picked it up and leapt behind a crate just before the python could look his way, only to look intently in that direction for nothing for a tense moment. Shadow Shroud nearly had a heart attack until the python decided that it was nothing and slithered out of the hangar, the door closing behind it.
Shroud shuffled over to her partner. “You’re demoted.” She scoffed.
Dark Veil rolled his eyes. “Enough of that. I want to see if we can do anything with that feeding bowl.”
Shroud nodded. “Without further delay….or mistakes preferably.” She said. Dark Veil just blew off her joked as they snuck towards the futuristic feeder. Upon reaching it, they examined it only to find more messages in the odd language written around it, and they couldn’t discern how exactly it functioned or even what exactly it did apart from generate food energy for the robots.
“Tch. Figures…” Dark Veil muttered.
“We really should find my friend, Quantum Tech. She’d at least have an idea of what to do.” Shroud said. She then noticed that within the ‘furnace’ part that the python fed out of, there was a large crystal floating that was being held aloft by whatever ‘magic’ was used by the machine. “And I might have an idea of what to ask her about.”
“I bet she’d know where your other friends are being held too.” Dark Veil said.
“I suppose I’d better find her then, shouldn’t I?” Shroud said.
“What? You can’t really be thinking about going solo.” Dark Veil said.
“Bigger numbers means we can be detected more easily. Plus, we’ve already located a key area for Skadi’s forces to fall back to. One of us needs to stay here and maintain the strategic position.” Shroud said.
Dark Veil shook his head. “No. It’s too dangerous. Plus, I can’t let you out of my sight and get away.”
“Ugh… Can you swallow your pride and forget about my so called ‘treason’ for even a moment? We’re fairly occupied at the moment.” Shroud said.
Dark Veil gritted his teeth, frustrated that she had a point that he’d have to concede to given the situation. “Rrgh… Alright, fine. I’ll keep a low profile, but don’t come crying back to me if there’s a horde of those sentries blasting at your flank.”
“Because you’d come to my aid anyway, correct?” Shroud asked.
Dark Veil sighed. “Whether I like or not, prodigy.”
Shroud rolled her eyes. “There’s that word again. Whatever. Be careful.”
Dark Veil nodded. “You too.” With that, Shadow Shroud found a maintenance door that looked like it had been weathered open and was ever so slightly ajar, allowing to sneak out undetected when she was satisfied that the coast was clear. When she disappeared, Dark Veil sighed and shook his head in disappointment. “Mistress Demosia must’ve had such high hopes for you, kid.”
*****
With a spiral of fear and frustration churning in her heart, Quantum Tech reluctantly followed Skadi as she strutted down the hallway of whatever facility this was with the captive Zebota and Shrapnel and her mech suit in tow. She had discreetly turned her glasses back on, and she was able to analyze her surroundings even better with data retrieved from the orb they’d captured before when she analyzed it prior. They were being supplied with some kind of artificially produced radiation that could be contained with crystals for storage and were connected to some network that Skadi no doubt controlled. However, much of the codes and data were written in a bizarre language that even she couldn’t even begin to decipher, much less recognize. She noticed that messages written in the language were written over doors and windows to dark offices.
“If I may be so bold, Skadi…” she started.
“Yes?” Skadi lengthily asked, as if to show impatience with a slave.
“What is this odd language I’m observing? Are you able to read it?” Quantum asked.
“The language spoken by whoever first constructed this fortress, obviously.” Skadi answered. “Though I’m not actually able to read it, I did gain something of an affinity for it over time as I studied this place and became more attuned to its technology.”
“I-I see…” Quantum stammered.
Skadi chuckled. “Pardon me if I’m a tad….disappointed, Quantum Tech.”
Quantum’s eyes widened. “Wh-Why’s that?”
Skadi deviously eyed her. “As a fellow enthusiast of science in all of its forms, I was expecting that you’d be far more excited at the prospect of a place such as this existing. It’s practically a gold mine for you and I.”
“W-Well…it is, but…” Quantum stammered. She looked over at Zebota and Shrapnel. Both of them just floated in their cages in defeat. She knew they were a humble duo, so she had faith that they were merely biding their time.
“But what?” Skadi growled.
Quantum flinched. “W-Well, it’s just…. I-I suppose it’s so unfamiliar that it…..it honestly frightens me.”
Skadi stared at her for a brief, tense moment before creasing a smile. “I suppose it’s only natural to fear what we don’t understand.” She chuckled. “Not to worry, child. You’ll have plenty of time to assimilate yourself to this unique environment.” She said as they walk through double doors leading to a large room. It appeared to be a command center filled with monitors and control tables. On the monitors, there were images of an outdoor field that reminded Quantum Tech of a stadium. She suspected it was something else long before until sandstorms filled it with sand.
“My word…” Quantum muttered to herself, trembling at just what kind of a place this could’ve been.
Skadi turned to one of her guards. “Take these two out into the arena.” The robot soldiers bowed to her and took custody of the mystic duo. As they were escorted out of a doorway on the other side of the room, Zebota looked back at Quantum, eyeing her with that same mellow determination he’s always exuded. Feelings a little more hopeful, she nodded at him before the doors closed.
Skadi chuckled. “How sweet.” She tauntingly cooed. “Though I fail to see how you’d find it in yourself to have any sort of care for savages.” Quantum glared at her for saying that. “I’m going to have collect data as it presents itself during some…‘experiments’ while I oversee their procedures.” She directed her towards one of the control consoles.
Quantum reluctantly took a seat at the computer presented to her. “Very well…” she lowly growled.
Skadi lowly cackled, feeling victorious. “I suppose I should instruct on how to operate this device. It’s actually quite simple, for ones such as you an eye anyway.”
Quantum listened intently as she was taught what keys meant what and when and why to press them, all child’s play to her despite the foreign nature of the technology and language. Skadi briefly excused herself to check on a computer that seemed to be experiencing an error, and that’s when Quantum felt a familiar presence looming around her. She looked around and caught a glimpse of a pair of amethyst eyes gleaming in a dark corner staring right at her. She gasped when she realized who it could only be. The eyes disappeared when Skadi started making her way back.
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This chapter screams "Mark of the Ninja".
...I'm not liking Dark Veil. Like, I get that Shadow could be considered a traitor, even though she's done a ton of work for Equestria, but the character is so....wishy-washy. Eh, I'm just not into those kind of characters.
Spacing error:
Also, I tried the other story but....even though I'm a pokemon and Flurry fan...I couldn't get into it. Sorry.
Edit: You're being featured.
8664322
Sorry to hear that about my Flurry story. I really did it just for fun, but I did try to make it a little enjoyable nonetheless.
Also, thanks for catching the error.
Another great chapter as always. Though I am a little concerned if Dark Viel decides to turn traitor for whatever reason. Those types of twists I can't stand.
Also, which Pokemon gen. are you making a crossover of? Red and Blue? Silver and Gold? Pearl and Diamond? X and Y? Sun and Moon?
8664442
It's already done, and it's a little mash of each generation thus far.
8664452
Oh Ok. So like each chapter will feature a different gen Pokemon? Kind of similar to this story or not so much?
8664510
No. It's really more of a coming-of-age story about Flurry Heart that involves Pokémon. The first one she happens upon is a Gen 3 Pokémon; I won't spoil which. Check it out if you'd like!
8665081
Ok. Thanks.
Shadow shroud A.K.A Solid Snake