XVII. Reassess (unedited)
“That was the fifth aerial scout in the last two hours. Perhaps that explosion was too much but against a windigo I couldn't see anything else working out well enough.” Hurricane both chided and praised the event that had occurred.
I couldn't exactly blame him. I had to carve out more out of our hiding spot since I misjudged how much room we actually had. The multitude of troops had made this a bit dangerous since everyone was crammed in akin to sardines. I also noted that there were very few mares in the soldiers. I knew sometimes that males were a bit more expendable… something I didn't like at all.
“I'm just glad there was enough room to gather. The sun is still another hour away and I'd rather not keep walking around with a hole in my gut.” I joked as I managed to actually place a hand through said hole and wave at the ponies behind me.
There were a few chuckles but the macabre wasn't too heavily appreciated. I was certain a few ponies were just freaked out though in a more subdued manner. Concerto giggled like a filly which made a few more soldiers join in if for nothing more than to not offend royalty. It was a tough crowd to say the least.
“I think that was a miss.” Platinum deadpanned groaning when I waved at her too. It was true but there was little levity with the odds against us.
“Let's just go over the plan for now. We need to make certain we got everything set up right.” Puddinghead pushed my hand out of the hole bringing me over to the small huddle where Hurricane headed.
“Ok listen up troops. We have one shot at this and I'd like to make certain we come back home to our families. The moment night falls three teams will be issued out to strike at the opposition. Second Stand will control Team Featherstrike and take the farther route attacking from the west. Granite Striker you’ll control Team Power Stone and head in from the east. I'll be taking control of Team Ivory Barb and strike from the south.” Hurricane commanded determining the best course of action.
“What about X?” Concerto brought up.
“I told him that this will be won by ponies. Whatever X does he does so of his own volition. Also he is injured and a liability right now.” Hurricane answered evenly. I could have sworn there was worry in his voice.
“I'll be enacting my own plan before yours. Don't worry about it.” I glibly replied. I would be striking first taking out as much as I could before they could attack. I just needed to repair with the rising of the sun.
“Your plan? What plan could you possibly think of doing?” A random voice called out from somewhere in the crowd.
“Distraction and probably taking out all the golems I see.” I simply stated as I took a step out into the tundra. I was lucky that the sun was still climbing over the horizon. The cloud covering made it difficult to see the sky. There would have been a chance that the sun wouldn't have been able to pierce through.
“Makes sense to me!” Another voice called out clearly happy about not fighting golems.
“What about me?” Concerto whispered in my ear or the closest place it was located at. Audio receptors I guessed the term was.
“Staying with Platinum. She might be able to get your horn back up to top form. She would need time to handle it.” I informed my diminutive backpack and looked her in the eyes since I needed to make sure she understood why she needed to stay behind.
“But I could help…” Concerto groused… though it slowly broke off as she tried to look at the cracks still in her horn.
It had healed a bit over the trip and managed to not be as blatant. It didn't change the fact though that she couldn't cast anything grander than levitation spells.
“Get better then you can help me better.” I answered immediately stopping her from going into anymore self deprecating acts. I knew she could help… but where I was going would be mostly crystallized enemies to fight.
“Okay…” Concerto poured as she hopped off my back and walked over to Platinum.
“Master X, we are still reporting several fliers in the area. Your regeneration is proceeding smoothly enough and internal batteries have been restored to tolerable levels.” Harpuia explained. Nana and Fefnir were busy looking over the data of the golems I had faced. Fefnir had plenty of data detailing battle strategies to fight against any enemy.
‘What's tolerable?’ I asked internally since I didn't always keep track of the number… especially in dire situations. Logic would stop me from pushing myself.
“Seventy percent filled capacity and rising. We are hoping it will reach full capacity before we head out to assault the city. Nana has been pushing for more caution. While we might not run into the golems that resembled our own models we created for Neo Arcadia, it seems prudent not to falter now. Thanks to us awakening we have extended your sensor range and we can safely say that Discord still hasn't been sighted.” Harpuia proudly stated.
There were several gasps and sounds of awe coming from behind me. Apparently watching my body repair itself in the sunlight was a bit too… ethereal for them to comprehend. When I looked into my body I noticed several of the wires and sections that had been pierced through were slowly connecting once again. The wires once frayed were weaved back into place. The metal plates had taken on a small glow as the metal heated back into shape. The only reason I noticed the heat was because internal temperatures spiked… if only for less than a millisecond. The self repair systems seemed to do all the internal review faster than could be processed by an organic mind… though for a section be I also noted that the thaumic sensor had also spiked for a moment.
The gouges and burn marks were now non existent and the armor where I had been stabbed was closed, buffed and even polished back to a pristine shine.
“Internal reserves are now at one hundred percent sir. We are ready for mission debriefing and infiltration of the Crystal Empire.” Nana mentally saluted which equated to sending a small spark above my brow.
“Maybe I should rethink my plans now…” Hurricane muttered behind me as he examined where my wound was.
“Don't. You have a good plan. I'm just gonna raise survival rates up by destroying all the golems I see.” I answered back looking down towards his eyes.
“You can't get all of them before night falls.” Hurricane chided, his wings seeming to flip in tiny circles which the Suffering Circuit identified as agitation.
“I know… that's why I'm hoping you could handle any golems that manage to escape the hunt. You and your ponies can handle any golem, right?” I questioned him noticing his bristling as the thought of being underestimated. It actually tapered off from indignation to worry.
“They can handle a few but I'll have to reorganize the squads out. I don't have many unicorns with shattering spells. The only reason we're out here is because you managed to push their lines back.” Hurricane hissed out keeping his voice down so only Concerto and I could hear him. “As much bravado as I put on this plan I made it hinges on you taking out as many as possible. This was going to be a war of attrition which many of our more militant upcomers were trying to push for. I'm leading it because I'm the only one who knows how to keep the casualties to a minimum. When you decided to go off on your own those militant ponies were outraged that it wasn't by our own powers that the Crystal Empire would be saved. So here we are taking a risk because those damn nobles schmucks decided that they wanted that glory.” Hurricane growled out clearly lost to the turmoil of his duty to his ponies and keeping the act of war from killing everyone under his command.
“So don't miss any. If I do though… how many could you handle.” I cautioned… a sentiment that he and I knew would be more prudent to take because there were no absolutes in war. Him, better than me.
“Twenty… at most.” Hurricane looked away towards his ponies. Most were getting ready… a few were trotting in place trying not to think. There was the odd one that was fighting back fear and tears but would be comforted by another.
“Okay… I'll get as many as I can.” I answered and switched to green. It was time to use Chameleon Sting’s specialty to get into the Empire.
“Green? Why’s he green?” The mutterings of the peanut gallery continued as I charged up my buster. I didn't have a lot of time with this weapon in particular. Even with archive five now open to me I needed to save those weapons in case the fighting got overwhelming.
“Concerto… go with Princess Platinum, now.” I ordered which the little mare reluctantly did so.
“Master X, I've modified the light projection of the weapon. We'll appear invisible to the pony eye. It's a two minute dash towards the city… for you. For the ponies to get in position they'll need two hours and an extra hour for the eastern and western teams.” Fefnir explained as he seemed to have wires attached to his buster arm which seemed to be connected to my arm. Luckily, it was more in my mental space than elsewhere.
‘How is it two minutes for me to dash?’ I questioned when I prepared to get out.
“The pegasi patrols have been getting too close to finding us so we have elected to be bait and drag the opposition back to the Crystal Empire. The intangibility of Chameleon Sting is being augmented through Fenrir’s Cyber Elf abilities. It will make you invisible until we have reached a safe distance and by chance also underneath those patrols to lead them into an all out response. It’s best we deal with everything that dwells in that city.” Nana smirked as small holographic file played in my mind showcasing the plan.
‘Understood.’ I bluntly stated realizing that I was about to do something stupid. They, the leaders, were all looking at me like I was crazy. It could have been worry since every time I started to glow I would fire giants heated balls of concentrated plasma made from the energy of the sun.
“Well… I'll be off.” I chuckled as I fired Chameleon Sting instantly escaping from their sight. The only noticeable thing about my departure was the skidding of ice being kicked up by my dash. That eventually faded into nothingness as my trail joined the rest of the windswept tundras leaving everyone a bit more terrified now.
“Permission to speak, sir?” Second Stand immediately brought up. Hurricane thought about it for a moment, really chewed over his thoughts.
“No. Get the troops ready for tonight. We will take advantage of his blitz and capture the Crystal Empire by tomorrow morning.” Hurricane commanded.
“Yes sir.” Stand muttered as he began gathering his troops and Platinum spread out those unicorns with shattering spells.
I was nervous. I knew I could handle a lot and I even managed to walk off a hole being torn into my gut. I was lucky that I turned off pain receptors as soon as I got into combat. It was the only reason I didn't go into shock since the disconnect would have been traumatizing enough to kill me. The human part of my mind was still trying to rationalize what happened. It did finally accept that I was different now… stronger, faster, even jump-ier than I once was.
It still left me contemplating a lot of the time. Regardless of how much I did the thoughts of what happened back home were swirling thoroughly through my mind on a constant loop of uncertainty and sheer mental instability.
The questions always ranged from how I managed to be put into this world to how powerful was I able to get. I even meandered over the thought of modifying my body if only to actually have an identifiable way to tell I was male. There was even the possibility that I did actually have something beneath my armor… but there were no actual records of how Dr. Light actually built X. I wasn't a Carbon like the people in the Legends series of games who were actually very human like robots and not actual human beings since they all died out with the last true human living on the moon.
A spear flew near my foot as I kept dashing through the snow. Several pegasi guards were now circling me firing both spears and the odd arrow here and there as me. The moment a few hit me they shattered on impact as I raced right for the city. I would have to rationalize later since now that they could see me there was no time to waste.
I came upon the first landmark on my city tour of two large crystal pillars that held a small guard station which was already scrambling to get ready. I switched to Electric Spark charging up and releasing the field around me stopping any pony guards in their tracks. It didn't take me long to make it into the city proper.
Lining the crystalline streets were several golems watching vigil, all the same model I first fought. The egg shaped golems all activated as I charged up my buster. Without Discord powering them I began my extermination mission.
The first couple came without fanfare as they immediately wielded their crystal claws attempting to swat at me. They stumbled into each other striking each other as I jumped on top of the pile of golems and fired down. I had to limit my buster partially since the first shot I fired didn't dissipate for almost one hundred meters.
Apparently my buster had a range setting as well allowing the plasma within to shape to a certain volume. It allowed the shots to reach near sniper rifle capacity. I wondered how that was actually accomplished though it wasn't the best time to ask questions.
I left the pile of slagged golems behind as I charged through the next set. While the golems were poorly programmed to only charge mindlessly into battle I was still being scratched at by the odd golem out. It wasn't enough to tax my repair systems.
When I had reached the city I noted a large hole in the clouds letting the sun shine through. That made things far easier as I kept firing odd shots out towards the city from time to time. The Crystal Guard had mobilized at this point keeping out of range as I blasted golems down.
“Stop that golem!” A random pegasus voice called out as more golems started to pour out on the streets.
I switched over to Boomerang Cutter firing off a few ceratanium blades towards the golems. Luckily, I aimed low swiping off several of the legs from each golem. As the blades returned to me I grabbed the last one out of mid air and began using it like a knuckle duster, holding the rounded part in my left hand.
Switching back to my regular buster, I alternated using the blade to slice through any golem that got too close and my buster to disable any pony that had taken up an archer nest. While the arrows didn’t really do much to me I didn’t need to telegraph that to my opponents so easily. The golem bodies that had piled up made perfect cover as I kept working my way down the main stretch of the city.
Even then it was slow progress. The first golems while not weak still fell pretty easily to the ceratanium blade of the Boomerang Cutter. At this point I had used the vast array of the first games arsenal to great effect and I still hadn’t utilized the fifth except for Ground Fire. There seemed to be no end to the horde of golems that continuously poured out of the castle in the center of the city. At the very end of the first street over eighty golems had been shattered and melted to slag by my buster alone.
Those that had been sliced apart by the Boomerang Cutter had kept fighting through their injuries. They joined the piles of slag as the others while the ponies who were part of the Crystal Guard used them as cover for their assault against me. My buster had actually started to release heated air from just how much I had used it.
“Get the Assassin Unit out here now!” Another voice called out as the rest of the regular golems kept racing to their destruction.
“General Diode, a golem has started attacking our forces wiping out most of our shock troop golems in less than an hour. Our pony troops are starting to falter unable to harm it.” A guard shouted out in front of the General.
“What!? Why haven’t you initialized the honor guard golems yet! What are you even doing here!? Get to it and get Flint on the job now!” Diode screamed as he smacked the pony guard out of the room fuming to himself.
As soon as the guard rushed out of the room Diode immediately went back into the testing room. Corundum was busy testing a new pony… the sudden blood curdling scream was slowly stopped as the blade drew down the sternum.
“Now, now my dear pony. Calm down and I will make you better.” Corundum slowly drew his hoof down the pony’s cheek as the tears flowed around the blood covered hoof.
“Sir.” Diode interrupted.
“Not now… I’m making perfection right now.” Corundum cut him off as he immediately shoved a large blood red gem into the now cut open pony.
Within seconds the pony was writhing in pain as the gem fractured open and started to send small pulses of magic into the pony on the table. The shards of the fractured gem wriggled through the body growing at certain sections. The silent screams while the gems lodged in his throat finally worked through tearing into the flesh inch by inch.
“Okay… there we go. A new golem is made.” Corundum giggled as he released the pony from the straps.
The stallion stood back up from the table now covered in crystal plates as a new assassin golem stood before the two. Corundum happily danced in place as he smiled over his newest creation. The primed crystal resonator had done its job perfectly.
“Isn’t it lovely, Diode? This… this is perfection in all its glory. My father never knew just how great this form truly is and because of that… he’s gone. If I had been told that all I needed to make my vision come true was killing the one thing standing in my I would have called that pony crazy. Now look at this. I’m finally living my dream and in the seat of power of one of the most powerful places in Equus. Nothing, and I mean, nothing could go wrong at this point. I’m truly happy that this is how my life is going.” Corundum smiled as he ran a hoof down the now transformed stallion. “Now what did you need to say?”
“A golem has been destroying everything you created. From the reports it is the same one that Flint ran into. It has decimated from our reports one hundred of our regular shock trooper golems. The Assassin golems have been mobilized but the soldiers aren’t expecting much from them at all.” Diode stated… keeping his eyes downward and away from Corundum’s eyes.
“You know… as soon as I said my words I could feel that something was bound to go wrong. Have Flint get on it. You! Golem, get out there and strike down that blasted golem that dares to malfunction.” Corundum patted the newly minted golem on the back sending it on its way.
“You’re… certainly calm about this sir.” Diode cautiously stated making certain that he wasn’t standing anywhere near Corundum’s bloody hooves.
“I always had a feeling that somepony would figure out how to make another golem. But one this powerful? It’s… intriguing is what it is. Think Diode… I finally have reason to start my plan and maybe even figure out true perfection. A golem this powerful. It’s more than just coincidence.” Corundum giggled once again as he did when he had finished his project.
“More than coincidence, sir?” Diode mumbled uncertain of the direction that his… ruler was going.
In the time that Diode had known Corundum, he had come to understand him as a madpony. Joining him was the most sensible idea at the time because it meant that he was alive. The moment that he appeared with several golems in tow made it clear that following the crazy was the only survivable option. He had seen what happened to those who didn’t follow.
“It’s destiny. A true golem messiah for me to control. I just need to get ready for anything. Tell me Diode… has Crystal Shears been delivered…?” Corundum smiled as he trotted for the next door.
“Yes sir. In the last few hours. She’s waiting for you in your… special room.” Diode cringed.
“Excellent. Make certain that this… what did Flint call him? X, right?” Corundum asked before getting a nod from Diode. “Right. Make certain that this X doesn’t reach the castle for the next couple of hours. By any means possible. In fact, use Experiment G4N7H3R on that golem.”
“Yes King Corundum.” Diode bowed before being relieved from the room.
With Diode away, Corundum entered the stairwell hidden in his experiment room and trotted down towards his next project.
“Help! Help me! Sweet Faust help me!” Crystal Shears bellowed as she struggles against the chains that held her against the table as she heard the echoing steps of Corundum slowly traipsing down the stairs.
“Don't worry my dear. Your savior is coming. I shall make you perfect.” Corundum sneered as Shears began screaming louder and louder.
My progress had been slowly stopped as the assassin golems finally rolled in. In truth they were fast enough to keep up with my dash that I had to switch over to Homing Torpedo just to keep track of them.
The tiny explosives barely phased the golems unless I used anywhere from three to four torpedoes. It didn't help that I was sometimes blocked from using the Boomerang Cutter still in my free hand by their crystal claws. What had looked to be a quick mission soon turned into a long grind. Even charging my buster up to the pink level only managed to cut through three golems before the plasma dissipated into regular heat.
It got to the point where I was forced to climb the buildings dodging the pegasi that were throwing spears or firing arrows at my feet in hopes of tripping me up. While the assassin golems had managed to scratch my armor I didn't know if they could pierce it as well. It was something I didn't really want to test out even if I knew at this point that I would survive a hole in my body. I preferred not to resemble swiss cheese anymore.
As I made it to the roof I noticed how many things were after me. The only ponies after me were pegasi since the streets were overwhelmed by golems racing towards my position. The golems had begun scaling the walls of nearby buildings in hot pursuit.
The first few were easy enough to deal with. I had charged Electric Spark several times using the field to knock them off the roof and into the ones still climbing after me. My charged shots took around eight seconds whenever a special weapon was used. The Electric Spark could only go for so long. At only fourteen shots I was pushing how close they would get. At most I could only get twenty of them on the roof before I fired off a shot and the roof itself blocked the wave from striking the ones still climbing up.
My buster clicked as it ran out of weapon energy. I switched to Chameleon Sting charging it up and firing. Since Fefnir had stopped being attached to my buster it only made me intangible for those few seconds as I rushed over other rooftops towards the large crystal citadel in the center of town.
As my feet touched the next roof an explosion rocked the building sending it straight up smashing things into debris as I was forced to the streets once again, my intangibility running its course.
Switching back to my buster I scanned the area for the mad bomber. I hoped no one was inside the building… and from the lack of corpses falling from the sky my hopes had probably been answered. The assassin golems that were still following after me had taken a more defensive approach. It was strange enough that they were acting more cautiously.
“So we meet again… you pile of scrap… no, X. It's time you stop trying to play hero. There are no heroes in this world. All there is is power. The power to change the world.” Flint bellowed as he jumped from the top of another building… only he was different.
All around him was a large shell of a pony made entirely out of crystal. It seemed to have both unicorn and pegasus parts with static crystal wings and a crystal horn atop the forehead. Flint was within the chest area in what appeared to be a cockpit. He didn’t appear to be in the best of shape considering the dark circles under his eyes and the small amount of blood seeping from his lips.
“What happened to you…?” I grimaced as I took in the extent of his injuries. They were bad… but not as bad as they could have been. Most of the damage looked superficial.
“It’s the price I paid for not taking you alive back then. A mistake I plan to rectify… I have to.” Flint muttered under his breath as his hooves seemed to grip the controls tighter making the entire golem shell tense up.
“You could walk away… I’ve only destroyed the golems in my way and none of the ponies were harmed. I am willing to forgive you for when you ordered those bombs to be set. What you do now… well I can’t be held responsible for what will happen to you should we do this.” I answered back raising my voice enough to make it reach him.
“I… I can’t do that. X, I... I will be the pony to defeat you. There is no other way!” Flint yelled as the pony golem immediately took its stance.
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8774990
Maybe even worse than that.
Hey are you going to add the giga armor? It not in any game but the armor is obviously aerial combat type that can combine with a new model of rush to form a Ride Chaser. Doesn't look a summon type Looks more like an overlay type I am guessing it transfers from rush to X. Here the link Giga Armor
8783957
I've looked over it and it certainly looked cool. Only problem is that the Second Armor is considered Giga Armor, at least in my head. It's the first armor with a Giga Attack so it fits the Giga title well.
The armor I see in the picture is really cool though. I'll think about it but until then I'll sit on the idea. Not sure if adding a version of Rush that looked like Velgauder from the first game is okay. It was the dog boss before you fight Sigma at the end of the first game.
That's the name on the box and the second armor was called the giga armor by fans. really you can give it any name you want. That Rush is just a support unit the armor and that rush don't look like there made by doctor Light.
The attack in MMX2 is the giga crush
8784341
I know. I'm thinking about it. There are some things that need to be thought out about. For now it's on the back burner.