Dead Space 1.5, A Forgotten Tail

by shadowpheon

Identity Crisis

(Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, my informative portion took longer than expected. Remember, if you see anything wrong, or you have a suggestion, don't be afraid to leave a comment with it. EDIT: The chapter was brought back to one, since I forgot how close the chapter end was from the point I left off. Chapter 5 is currently in progress.)

Twilight sat on one of the seats inside the tram. The three could hear Vandal hulking around on the roof, making all kinds of noises as he no doubt ably fought off hordes as they went down the lines. Twilight slid off her modified helmet, surprised to how foul the air was. Her armor had been modified by Vandal from an adult suit, the arms and legs being shortened, and an extra pair of boots being set for her with its toes removed.

Apple Jack and Rainbow Dash shared similar armors. The only difference being the lights from their visors. Vandal had changed the lights to match their fur. The other difference was that Vandal had taken the time to copy their cutie marks onto the flanks of the armor. “So now what?” The question almost startled Twilight, who had become accustom to the dragging silence, save for Vandal’s thundering around.

“Well… We go with him. All the way to the end. He said that once we get to the seal, and fix it, we can go to the Public Sector and be safe. Once there, I’m sure I can do our spell, and get us out of here.” Twilight told them. She put her helmet back on, becoming completely covered now. Somehow Vandal had attached a cone thing to her helmet, allowing for her horn to sit protected.

He had tried the same thing with Rainbow Dash’s suit, so it could accommodate her wings, but in the end, despite her refusals, Vandal had just fused an armored pack to her back, hollowing it out. This gave room for her wings, but encased them, protecting them. Rainbow Dash was not happy about it, but as Vandal had said, “The moment you try to fly with that suit on, you’re going to go down like a rock on a gas planet.”

The tram at that moment screeched to a stop, and a loud thudding noise was heard from above as the three braced themselves on the seats. “Fuck!” Came the groan from the radio. The tram stopped, and the door opened, revealing a platform, and a slightly tipsy Vandal. He was rubbing his helmet, straitening it back out as the three stepped onto the platform with him.
* * *

Celestia stood, eyes glued to the orbs. The others had filed out, hunger getting the best of them. She watched as her student elaborated a faulty plan to her friends in the tram car. She was also impressed at the work the human had gone through to provide the protection, and honor of each of the ponies with him. Fabricating the suits to custom fit each pony was a feat alone, but to change the visor color, and pain their cutie marks on, that was honorable.

‘Hmm…’ Celestia thought, ‘I should have to remember to thank him, if he lives.’ She watched the tram stop and the human tumble across the roof in one orb. She chuckled slightly, amused with how quickly he went down, and then got right back up.

“Dear sister?” The voice almost caused Celestia to jump, not hearing the approach of her lunar sister.

“Yes Luna?” She turned to face her.

“Come, eat with us. I’m sure Twilight and her friends will be fine while you take a break. Besides, you’ve exhausted yourself and are giving your body no time to regain its energy. Look, you can hardly stand!”

Celestia stopped for a moment and noticed how she had been wobbling, and how she had recently been supporting herself on a statue. “Alright. I shall join you.” She finally agreed to her. With the lunar princess’s help, Celestia strode from the room, off to rest.

With the absence of the solar goddess, Shining Armor stepped into the room, and up to the orbs. He sighed, and took out the object he had brought with him. Three photos. One of Twilight and her friends, one of her family, and one of Celestia. He was reluctant with the last item, but he knew it meant a lot to her. He then took a familiar pair of Wonderbolt goggles, and a Stetson hat, setting them in a neat circle in front of the orbs.

He made sure he was alone, then he used his magic to lock in on the signal of the three, and send the objects to them. He sighed once he was done, sure Celestia would disapprove of his actions. But he wanted to give them all a reminder of what they were doing. Give them a reason to fight out of there and return home. Shining Armor turned, knowing he would be noticed if he stayed out much longer. “Good luck little sis. I know you can do it.” He uttered as he left.
* * *

“Now entering, Mines” The automated voice informed the group. Vandal looked to the three, proud in his handy work. They returned the look, and he for once, could not tell their emotions.

“Alright. That ride drained me of most my ammo. Keep watch while I buy some more.” Vandal told them as he walked up to the store on the platform. He activated it once he got three nods of acknowledgment. The three looked to each other, and spoke.

“So, now we’re bulky, and Twilight’s really the only one of us who can still fight properly.” Rainbow Dash uttered in her famous annoyed tone.

“Well, not entirely.” Vandal said from the store.

“What do you mean?” She turned to face him. He walked over, finishing his purchases.

“I can attach the ripper to your pack, and wire it to be fired from a nerve trigger in your Rig. That way you have a weapon.” Vandal explained. Rainbow lifted a hoof and tapped her non-existent chin on her helmet.

“Alright. Sounds like a plan.” She nodded. Vandal walked over to another bench and patted on it. Rainbow got the memo, and with Vandal’s strength, and Twilight’s magic, she leapt onto the workbench. Vandal quickly worked, welding the deadly ripper to her pack, and connecting the wires to her Rig. As soon as he was done, he let her down. There was a body in the corner of the room.

“Now, just imagine you’re pulling its trigger. And it should fire.” Vandal instructed. Rainbow aimed the blue aiming light at the body, and did as she was told. The revving sounds, along with the grinding sounds followed as the blade shot from the contraption, tearing into the body, which tried to leap up at them, but was impacted and cut to shreds.

Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly from her helmet. “Oops…” The others shared a small laugh, before something new caught their attention. A swirling blue light began in the middle of the platform. It grew, and spun faster before it flashed, leaving some objects on the floor. The group approached the objects. They each picked up what was sent to them, removing their helmets in disbelief. Vandal stood nearby, before noticing a note floating towards him.

“This is for you. At least it’s addressed to you.” Twilight told him as she smiled, looking over the pictures she was sent. Vandal took the note, and opened it.

‘Vandal, I have something of high importance to say to you. I am the great princess Celestia, ruler of the ponies you are currently in care for. We are watching your progress from our lands. Now, I know you may be upset to learn this, but understand. This is a test for my student, Twilight Sparkle. I request that you not tell her of what I have told you. I will be waiting for you at the Public Sector, and once you arrive, I will return my ponies to our lands.’ Vandal stared at the note.

“What’s it say?” Twilight asked, snapping him out of his trance. Vandal neatly folded the note, and slipped it into a pocket on his armor.

“Who is princess Celestia?” Vandal asked her.

Twilight only beamed and held up a picture, the white alicorn clearly shown. “This is her. She’s our loving ruler.”
Vandal only nodded. “I see. Listen, she sent me that note. She tells me of her love for you all, and how she is doing everything in her power to get you back.” Vandal made up the lie without breaking pace. He then was interrupted.

“Um, Vandal? Ponies? We kinda have a job to get done… So if it’s not too much to ask, could ‘ya get the rocks out of your asses and get moving?” Tyler’s annoyed voice came from all their radios.

“Right. Sorry. Forgot.” Vandal apologized, walking to the door. Another creature jumped him, but was quickly disposed of. The group entered the room, and the infamous voice called out and locked the room. A large amount of monsters poured out, and Vandal spotted a bright red container filled with volatile gases.

“Twilight! The container!” Vandal cried out, and Twilight used her magic to pick it up. Vandal wasted no time running to the floating container, kicking it squarely, causing it to leak as it flung free at the monsters. The container impact the wall of rotting flesh, and sparked, blowing up in the faces of the monsters. Vandal sighed as the lockdown lifted. “Nice job.” He commented as they went to leave the room.
* * *

Celestia smiled to herself as she watched Shining Armor try to slip from the room. He made it away, not noticing her gaze. She was glad he had done what he did. It gave her the opportunity to merge her transport with his, being able to give a note to the human. Once she saw him disappear, she turned and made her way to the dining hall.
* * *

“Whoa… That’s a big drop…” Apple Jack commented as the group walked along the catwalks of the massive mine shaft. The three ponies looked over the edge into the seemingly bottomless pit. Vandal ignored them, approaching an elevator. It was deactivated, and Vandal was at a loss. He activated his locator, and to his surprise, it led to a different elevator which went further down.

“Come on. This way” He told them. He got to the elevator with the three on his heels, to see it was at the bottom of the shaft. He activated the pad, and a few growls came out. Vandal turned, and saw two creatures coming at them. Rainbow Dash jumped in front of him, and spun up her ripper, tearing the two down in a heap of shredded flesh.

The elevator arrived behind the group, and they boarded it without haste. Vandal sent them on their way down, noticing they were coming down to a service area, with nine terminals. ‘Must be power.’ Vandal thought as the elevator stopped. He saw three that were off. “Stay here. I’m only going right over there.” Vandal told the three. Three slow nods sent him on his way.

He activated all three no problem. He began back, as a monster separate him from the ponies. Rainbow Dash acted quick along with Twilight. Rainbow’s blade cut apart the monster, but Twilight’s magical blast flew through the body, and impact Vandal square in his chest. Vandal flew backwards into one of the power consoles. Luckily for him, his armor took most of the blast. He slowly stood, the three ponies rushing to him. “Vandal! Are you ok? I’m sorry!” Twilight exclaimed, her helmet was lying on the floor of the elevator.

“Gh… I… Don’t know. Tell me what my Rig says…” He grunted. Twilight’s face explained it all.

“Red!” She called out. Vandal groaned and sat for a moment. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No. Just give me some time. My Rig’s auto injector will fix me up…” True to his words, the three noticed the bar slowly climbing back up, the color changing back to its bright green. Vandal stood, brushing his scorched chest plates. “That was a bit to close.” He muttered.

The group returned to the elevator, and began back up. Once they got to the top, a new monster showed. It made a terrible screech, followed by a moaning sound as it showed its thin framed body. Though, its left arm was a giant glowing orange sack. Vandal took one shot at the sack on a hunch, and the creature cried out in a dying gurgle before the sack exploded violently. The four quickly took note of this, and continued on. They came to their first elevator, and started it, heading higher into the mines.

Vandal led the way down the catwalks, coming to a door as another monster crawled up. This one was not alone though. About six little fleshy things were crawling towards them. Twilight quickly disposed of the monster, as the things jumped on Vandal. “Fuck!” He yelled as they crawled all over him, trying to slip into his armor. He brushed them off, and stomped them into the ground.

“What were those?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“No clue. But make sure you keep them away from you.” Vandal told them as he opened the door and led the way in. They came to a locked door.

“Vandal, that doors part of the quarantine lock. You’ll have to backtrack about 300 meters, take a right through the utility area, get over the mine shaft…” Tyler laughed a bit. “I’m just screwing with you all. Try it now, it’s open.” A collective sigh came from the four. The door clicked unlocked, and they passed through it. They were in a large mine tunnel.
* * *

The group had returned from their meal and continued to watch the orbs. The ponies and Vandal were in a large mine tunnel, but something was wrong. Vandal stopped. He looked at his own arms, and they were bloodied, bladed, flesh torn weapons. He looked down, and his stomach was torn open with two smaller arms sticking out.

He roared in an unusual fashion, and began hobbling down the tunnel. “That can’t be right…” Celestia spoke, looking at the other orb. Twilight’s vision showed Vandal slowly stumbling down the tunnel, his weapon lowered and him mumbling to himself.

“Vandal?” They heard her ask. Vandal turned to face her once he got to the end of the tunnel, and they saw in his eyes, that she looked barren of her armor.

Vandal’s voice gurgled out, “MEAT!” As he glared them down. His vision blacked out quickly, and he saw his armored body fine and normal. He shook his head, and looked around confused. “What the fuck is going on?” He asked.
* * *

“Vandal? Are you ok there?” Twilight asked him. Vandal stood by the door.

“I… I don’t know Twilight. I keep having visions… They are getting worse…” He sighed. “Never mind that though, let’s continue moving.” Vandal opened the door, and walked through without another word. The door shut behind him, and the ponies looked at each other.

“Twalight. Are ‘ya shur we can be trustin’ him? He seems like he got whacked by an Apple during bucking season.” Apple Jack input, removing her helmet.

“Ya Twi. He doesn’t seem all right in the head. How do we know he won’t turn on us?” Rainbow Dash added.
“I… I don’t… But what other choice do we have? Until the princess can find a way to help us, we have to stay with him. It’s not like we know how to get to the Public Sector.” Twilight sighed. The three now stood together without helmets on, breathing in the strange smells of the rocks. At that moment, Vandal re opened the door, and poked his head through.

“Hey! We gotta go! Don’t just sit around!” He took his head back, and the three donned their helmets, following him off. Vandal led the three through a room and hallway where the made quick work of the whole two monsters that stood in their way. He finally led them into a large, long room. Vandal walked down to the end of the room where the console was he needed to activate. He did such, and another lockdown followed. Obviously, these monsters did not want the group to get to the seal.
* * *

“Oh, I hope my decision will not be regretted…” Celestia spoke after watching the human be smacked and sent flying backwards by one of the glowing orange arms.

“Don’t worry princess! We’re the ponies, and nothing too bad ever happens to us!” The pink mare tried to reassure her. As they began to force a smile, a loud scream was heard.
* * *

“GAH!” Vandal heard Twilight’s scream as he noticed one of the bladed monsters had impaled her leg. Forgetting all safety concerns, Vandal shot a ball of stasis, slowing down time on Twilight and the monster. He yanked out his plasma saw as he ran, smashing himself into the monster, the saw quickly hacking the arm apart from the blade before it could do any more damage.

“Die you piece of shit!” Vandal screamed as he slammed the saw into the chest of the slowed hostile, ripping the blade up, then slamming it down, cutting the creature in half vertically. The stasis effect ended, and the body fell over. The lockdown lifted, and Vandal walked over to a whimpering Twilight.

“Shit…” He mumbled as he looked at the massive blade that had passed through her left hind leg. He touched it, and got a pained whine in response. Twilight had removed her helmet, and her eyes displayed all the fear and pain possible. Vandal pulled out his saw, spinning it up.

“What are you going to do?” Twilight asked, almost leaping away.

“I’m cutting the blade… We need to move, and that blade will cause problems. Plus, we can’t exactly remove it until we find a bench or store…” Vandal told her. As gently as he could, vandal cut the blade ends as close to her leg as possible. She whimpered and whined, but he had nothing to do for her. After he finished, he asked, “Can you walk.”

An all to quick shake of the head was his response. Vandal sighed. “Alright. I’m gonna carry you then. You’ll have to do the fighting for me though.” He told her as he grabbed her, hoisting her onto his back. Her head was just higher than his, giving her a clear line of sight. He noticed the other two standing nearby in shock.

“Let’s move.” He said to them, exiting the room. The passed the hallway, and came out onto another catwalk. This was a short one, and they entered the room they had first shown up in. A collective sigh came as they walked back onto the tram platform. Vandal set Twilight on the bench now, and walked to the store. He quickly bought a medkit, bringing it to Twilight.

“This might hurt…” He warned her. Before she could respond, Vandal grabbed what was left of the blade, and yanked it out of her leg. A pain filled scream echoed down the empty tram tunnels. Vandal used the med kit to bandage her leg, using everything and anything to fill the hole. Once he finished, he lifted her back on his back. “Sorry…” They left the tram, and exited the only door not opened by them.

Coming to an elevator, they activated it, and continued up.
* * *

Celestia stared in horror. As did the rest. The pink mare’s claims were quickly disregarded as they witnessed the horrible scene of Twilight’s treatment. “I’m sorry… I thought she would be fine…” The mare sighed. Her form was dull and ashamed.

“It’s alright Pinkie dear… No pony could have predicted that…” The white unicorn comforted her. The three elements embraced in a hug.

Celestia leaned over to Luna, and whispered, “I’ve made a mistake. This was a terrible Idea.”

Luna whispered back, “Then bring her back. Before she and her friends meet their demise.”

Celestia only sighed. “I wish I could… But I cannot endanger myself or others going to get her back. She will have to fight on… And we can only hope for the best.”

Comments

[shapeshiftingpedro]

MEAT!

[shadowpheon]

@ shapeshiftingpedro
"Oh the meat... Tender fingers, and toes, and noses..."

[Zepher2]

one problem i have with this... u dont put out enough chapters i need my fill very good keep it going

[PoptartCat400]

2218887 You got an Xbox or PS3? I just made it to that side mission.

[shadowpheon]

@Zepher2
Yeah, I tried, but a combination of work, school, and just flat out irritation for certain people kept me from getting around to this. Hopefully more updates will be out at a more frequent rate.
@PoptartCat400
Xbox. I laughed when I listened to that log.