Chapter 115: Out Of Service
“I have to admit, this isn’t as creepy as I thought,” Astral said.
“Aside from things following us?”
“Ok, aside from that.”
The strange, root-like maze had directed them off the usual path. Meandering through the remains of the office, a few supply rooms, and now finally back towards the stairwell towards a lower level. Whatever was following the Thestrals hadn’t shown itself, but there were at least three. They stayed out of sight, simply keeping pace with them.
The glowing blue fruits illuminated their way, the roots occasionally showcasing nests of the small fireflies as white leaves sprouted off of smaller vines. It was a rather ethereal place if Astral was being honest. The overgrowth was complete; the only signs of prior business-related activities were the top of a desk occasionally poking out of the grass or roots.
“Astral. Don’t move,” Sassi said, the other Thestral freezing. “Our new friends are checking us out. Eleven-o-clock and one-o-clock.”
Astral angled his eyes upwards to try and spot the new creatures. Odd, triangular faces peered through the roots on the ceiling, bright blue eyes examining them.
The creatures that emerged were oddly normal. They maintained the same, similar appearance to the horror that had appeared before the Zeeps; long limbs and torso, and knotted muscle under their skin. Yet unlike that mutant, their faces were rounder, similar to a Minotaur, and the eyes held genuine curiosity. Instead of mutated, exposed muscles and teeth from a clearly-modified pony corpse, these creatures looked almost natural. Their skin was smooth, only marked with a few bumpy protrusions that were wood-like in appearance.
“Warning. Electromagnetic fields detected. Radiation matches Limbo realm probe recordings and portals. Long-term exposure not advised.”
“Limbo?” Astral whispered. “Hey, Sas? Maybe is that where these things are from? Joro’s realm? Like, a non-freaky mutant version?”
The three creatures continued to examine them. Their stubby, claw-less fingers held tightly to the roots, the newcomers not venturing too close to the Thestrals. Their heads tilted from side to side, the creatures looking them over.
“Not a bad thought. Maybe they came through that portal we shut down?”
One of the larger creatures let out a strange, sing-song-like hum. The smaller one abruptly walked into the roots, a blue portal snapping into existence in front of it, and then vanishing.
“Or…maybe they can create their own,” the mare added. “Huh.”
The creatures sang to themselves, but something made them pause. The larger one looked back at the hall behind Astral and Sassi, and then looked at the pair.
It made a hum, a specific set of tones as it backed away. It looked at them again, as if trying to tell them something. It repeated the hum, waving its hands at them repeatedly as if urging them onwards. It then franticly dashed into the ceiling roots, a portal igniting as it dove in.
“It doesn’t like something behind us. I don’t have to speak their language to understand that,” Astral growled, the flamethrower pilot light snapping on.
“And I think they were speaking to us. They were actually intelligent. That’s…a bit odd. After so many mutants, finding a creature that appears smart feels off,” Sassi said.
“Off in a good way, at least for me.”
Sassi nodded in agreement, the two of them slowly backing deeper into the hallway. The roots grew bigger, spreading out along the walls. The plant-like material was easily as thick as a table was wide, arching over and appearing like a scaled-up mangrove.
A series of harsh, scratching impacts began to echo around the tunnel. They paused, a familiar scream filling the darkness of the tunnel.
Zeeps.
“The roots. Astral! Here!”
The two of them dove into a large space under the nearest tree, Astral killing the flamethrower light. The wood material blocked almost all of their view of the hallway, hiding the Thestrals even with their armor and weapons.
The motion tracker abruptly lit up, four contacts moving together. The scratching grew louder, the enemies slowing down as they got closer.
Ragged breathing filled the tunnel, the newcomers slowly spreading out and meandering down the hall. One of them passed by their hiding place, and Sassi got a glimpse of part of them.
The scratching sound wasn’t claws, but the broken parts of the pony’s hooves dragging across the tiled floor. From the brief look she got, the creature looked like a Zeep-
She carefully moved her head back as it turned to look at her, the mare carefully controlling her breathing. It almost had looked at her, but thankfully had simply passed on by.
The former ponies looked like their zombie-like cousins, but their eyes glowed a malevolent crimson. Their faces were more streamlined, a familiar, dark bark-like substance starting to plate over their cheeks and forehead.
Their teeth, unfortunately, were still needle-like and exposed. Constantly bared and parted, the mutated Zeeps filled the tunnel with their breathing as they looked around.
How did they know we were here? Did they even know?
Sassi felt movement next to her, and the mare’s heart immediately was hit with a pang of worry. Astral was trying his best to stay still, but his vitals were quickly climbing into the warning zones. His breathing alone was borderline hyperventilating.
With a careful shift of her forelimb, Sassi wrapped his hoof up in hers, scooting over to let him lean on her shoulder as well.
If not for the relief flooding over their link, the mare would have found it rather amusing at how quickly his vitals stabilized. It did make her rather proud that a simple touch was able to have such a positive effect. Even if they were being stalked by mutant zomponies.
Astral’s shaking forelimb pulled against hers a bit tighter as the mutants slowly moved past them. The creatures found nothing, then retreated the way they came. The mare wasn’t too worried; the miniguns alone could handle this group. But firing them and alerting who-knows-what could lead to an avalanche of problems.
So, they waited.
As the mutated Zeeps moves away, a rustle of movement behind Sassi nearly made her jump. Carefully turning her head, a previously-overgrown air vent was pushed open. A familiar, curious face carefully poked its head out. The creature looked at the two Thestrals, and then at the retreating Zeeps and bared its teeth in a snarl. Its eyes then looked back to Sassi…
Wait, was it smiling?
The air vent was replaced, and the two ponies stared in shock.
“Did we just make a new friend?” Astral whispered, the motion tracker now reading clear.
“Maybe. The enemy of my enemy and all that,” Sassi agreed, the two of them venturing out of their hiding spot. Reluctantly letting go of Sassi’s hoof, Astral sat down and took a few deep breaths.
“I hope they can escape when we blow this place then. They seem interested in us.”
“What should we call them?”
Her question caused Astral to let out a thoughtful hum, the two slowly moving forward.
“Well, they’re curious, right? What about Curies?”
“That’s kind of cute. Curies it is.”
After a few minutes, they came to the stairway. Where the metal was corroded and worn away, roots had overgrown it and provided a sturdy, if not slightly slippery, path down to the next floor.
“One down, three to go,” Astral muttered, carefully stepping off the roots. The door to the floor was missing, and a bright, blue light illuminated the entrance.
“Whoa.”
Astral could only nod in agreement as they took a few steps into the doorway, blue grass shimmering under their armored hooves.
A large, stadium-like area spread out in front of them. Massive trees loomed over them like willows, dark-grey leaves contrasting with the glowing teal bulbs, vines, and fireflies that zipped this way and that.
“Is this what Joro’s realm is like? A portion of Limbo?” Sassi wondered.
“Warning. Unknown radiation levels with Limbo signature are increasing beyond the armor’s shielding capacity. Recommended action: activate armor shielding systems.
If shields remain inactive, unsafe expose levels will be reached within three minutes.”
“Activate it.”
Their armor hummed, a magical shield wrapping around their forms as the AI chimed.
“Shielding systems activated. Warning: Energy distribution network reaching saturation. Shields must be deactivated within thirty minutes to avoid damage to the reactor.”
“Well. It’s better than nothing,” Astral said as they walked. The fireflies around them didn’t seem to mind the shields, thankfully.
“Half an hour. Astral, the shields on this suit are powerful, as are the anti-radiation measures. If it’s getting saturated, this place is glowing. And I don’t mean just visually.”
“Yeah, I picked up on that. Let’s not dilly-dally.”
The new forest was, in a word, beautiful. Unfortunately, the constant radiation was a bit of a buzzkill.
“The trees are hot. Pity they’re so dangerous,” Sassi remarked as if echoing Astral’s thoughts. “Heads up. Big roots here.”
Even with her warning, Astral nearly tripped over the grassy bumps. Sassi caught him, as she always did.
There was an unspoken thanks; a warm hum in the back of his mind that was acknowledged by the mare. A new, if not pleasant way of conversing in their little hive mind.
“Sas, look up there. New friends.”
What could only be described as light blue jellyfish were “swimming” in the air above the pair. For all intents and purposes, the head-sized creatures were acting as if the air was a liquid, slowly meandering across the ceiling.
“Wow,” his special somepony whispered, watching as they swam by a large pink flower. “They’re-”
As soon as the flower was touched, it abruptly ejected a cupful of clear liquid. Missing the Thestrals by a hair, it melted into the grass and burned a hole clear through the metal floor underneath.
“…beautiful,” the mare finished with a sour grunt.
“Acid flowers?”
“Acid flowers. Eyes up and avoid them. Look at the vines. Something is changing.”
Astral nodded in agreement as he looked around. Sassi was right. The previously healthy trees and vines now took on a darker hue. Instead of a blue, energetic glow, a dull grey color pulsed from the plants. Odd fungal growths began to jut from the wood, and the ambient light began to fade as they pushed onwards.
Even the fireflies seemed to change. They were larger, and their previously cheerful glow began to shift into a dull, malevolent maroon.
“Why does red have to be bad?” Astral whispered. “It’s a nice color.”
“You have a point. I guess we can add that to the list of things to bring up at therapy.”
They crept onwards, Astral then speaking up again.
“Shouldn’t be too hard,” he remarked. “You turn very red at the drop of a hat when I mention even implied saucy things. It’s a nice reminder that the color can be quite beautiful.”
“I do not!” Sassi hissed, Astral smirking from behind the visor.
“Oh, you very much do.”
“Do. Not.”
“We’re building our own shower. That means we can make sure it’s big enough for exercise. And we can install hoof holds. We’d put them to good use.”
Astral had to stop himself from cackling as a squeak echoed over the radio.
“AI? What’s the surface temperature of Sassi’s cheeks? Normal? Elevated?”
“Not fair!”
“Significantly elevated.”
“…betrayed by my own suit.”
Astral laughed to himself softly, then coughed as the stallion’s limbs refused to respond. He managed to catch himself from tripping, but barely.
“Worth it,” he gasped.
“Fine. You win this round. But eyes up, lover-colt. Those jellyfish don’t look so friendly.”
The creatures were now clearly following them, their hue changing with the fireflies to a more malevolent crimson. A soft buzz began to fill the room. They slowly circled above the pair-
And stopped.
“Astral…” Sassi began, the jellyfish abruptly jetting forwards and aiming at the pair. “RUN!”
The two Thestrals tore through the grass, ducking the creatures as they swarmed. The RASP armor sparked angrily as small bolts of energy licked across it, the jellyfish’s tentacles being repelled by the defensive systems.
“Warning. Unable to sustain countermeasures. T-minus one minute until forced shutdown of all RASP shielding systems.”
There wasn’t any exterior light now, only a red glow from the jellyfish as they chased the Thestrals into a dark tunnel. The wood covering the walls and ceiling was black, dead, and burned. The hallway seemed never-ending. An endless spiral of roots and branches. They rounded a sharp corner-
“There!”
Sassi nearly yanked Astral off his feet as the mare forced a door open with a crash. She barely had time to haphazardly place the metal across the ruined frame before the jellyfish sped past angrily.
Astral was gasping, sides heaving as he tried to catch his breath.
“That was abrupt,” he panted.
“Very. I’m not sure what provoked them. Maybe us going deeper into the forest?”
He shrugged, the armor’s systems running various diagnostic subroutines.
“Radiation levels now within acceptable limits. Time until unsafe exposure: 24 hours.”
“Well, that’s good,” Sassi sighed, then fell silent as their jellyfish friends returned, heading back to their forest home.
“At least they’re gone.” The stallion at her side took a tentative step, swaying on his feet.
Nodding in agreement, Sassi was at Astral’s side just in case. They pushed out into the hallway, creeping forwards as the mare spoke up softly.
“Not too much of a detour. We can still get to the stairs from here. Just two floors until the primary controls.”
They walked in silence, the roots fading to disturbingly familiar fleshy tendrils. They pulsed and jiggled every so often, starting to blanket the walls and ceiling. The floor was oddly clear.
“New recording crystal detected in an adjacent room. Download and play?”
“Only as long as there’s nothing on the motion tracker.”
Astral could only nod in agreement to that.
“….ording number…I don’t know anymore,” a tired voice said. “Something is wrong. Horribly wrong. I don’t have long. I don’t understand why we’re dabbling with Limbo energy. It’s corrupted here. Our magic-our world doesn’t interface with it!” The stallion on the other end took a few terrified breaths, the sound of keys tapping in the background. “But that’s the new direction we’re going. Still developing cures, but something changed with the leadership. The owner. Why are we building prison cells, more Silos, and reactors? This wasn’t what I signed up for. This isn’t what I-wait. No. NO!”
“Please come with us.”
The recording then ended. Sassi let out a long, sad sigh.
“Well. There’s that question answered,” she said sadly. “Something changed.”
“I don’t know why, but it’s nice to know at least the company didn’t start as a mass-murdering regime of psychopaths.”
Sassi couldn’t help but snort, reaching over to bump Astral’s shoulder with her own.
“Weirdly, it does make me feel a bit better.”
“Stop.”
Freezing at the sound of Astral’s voice, the mare saw her stallion’s vitals spiking into the red.
“To our right. The a-air vent. It’s looking at us.” the Thestral’s voice trembled, and Sassi began to edge her weapons over.
“Back up, Astral. Slowly,” she hissed.
The metal air vent let out a screech as a bulky figure tried to push through, but it was held fast by the reinforced plating and fleshy tendrils. The flesh was burned in coloration, but fresh, raw, muscle and bone protruded from the mass; the creature’s shoulders. A circular, squat head then surfaced again, the size of a conference table. Two red eyes glared at the Thestrals, brimming with hatred and insatiable hunger.
The pair continued to back up as a long, clawed appendage reached from the opposite air vent, digits scratching the tile floor angrily as the creature remained wedged.
It didn’t roar, but the creature staring at them abruptly smiled. Its white teeth drew back in a mouth far too large for its face as a tentacle-like tongue licked its lips. The flickering of an emergency light illuminated a carved, scar-like number on the creature’s forehead.
2
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Wait I contributed to this? How? What did I say?
Honestly I don't remember what my suggestion was but thank you for taking it into account
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A good 25+ chapters ago, I believe both of you mentioned having recordings/fleshing out a "lived in" space of the Silos to give more background into them- not sure who mentioned what, but both of you contributed. That's what I recall at least and wrote in my notes!
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Well for that you get a hug 🤗
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Hope you are doing ok, and thank you again for the chapter.
Oh, he's a number 2 alright...
Piece of sh-
HEY IT'S A KIDS SHOW!!
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Most welcome- and thank you! Doing good here!
And they are radioactive, too
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Glad somebody picked up on it!
At first, I thought that was "friend" and I got a bit confused. But then I read it again.
And I agree. Fiend is a much more appropriate title for their constant stalker.
I imagine the Curies just look like normal humans.
To us, they wouldn’t look so strange, but to horse creatures that haven’t seen them before, humans (or any human like beings) would be incredibly odd.
I don’t know if it was intended, but that’s the visual I got from the descriptions.
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The goal is to describe them humanoid, yes. Something that isn't an obvious monkey, but "different."
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*Half Life 2 Vibes Intensify*
I found a meestake. Just a lil typo.
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DOH!
There's always one....thank you!
Did they just find Etecoons