Fallout Equestria: The Ranger of Seamane

Chapter 26: Nonsense

“I have NO IDEA!”

        I let out a long breath before inhaling deeply. I was focusing on keeping myself calm as the once mannequins now monsters continued to slowly ooze and change. It was if they were trying to figure out what form was best suited for messing with my mind and to fight me with. However, they did stay away, unmoving and annoyingly quite beyond the occasional popping and groaning of wood.

        I had said I was being my counter attack, but, when I did they started to morph and a deep sense of dread had overtaken me. Now I was biding my time, more so since my magic in a limited manner had returned. Whatever warranted the return of my magic I was pleased with it. As I now could manipulate things without moving I had safely tucked Rose away behind the desk which I slide to face a wall. She would have no trouble freeing herself, but, out of sight and far behind me with a nice thick wood desk I doubted I could accidentally hurt her.

        “So what are you going to do, just stand here all day oozing at me?” I asked narrowing my eyes at the mannequins. “Is that all this is, just to keep us from 'getting away'. News flash for you, the world is gone you stupid automatons your priorities are moot, it has been two hundred years nopony owns this place.”

        At that the head of one of the things exploded showering the area round it with rotten wood and ooze. What replaced its head was a gaunt looking equine head with thick black chitin, its the hollows of its eye sockets glowed with a green light like what resided within a feral ghoul's as well as that orb.

        “Of course, I should have guessed, the orb is the reason for all this fuckery, why wouldn't it be some strange magical artifact...” I sighed as the groaning of stressed wood increased. “So... I guess you aren't going to be pulling any punches now that we have reached this point. Well time to have a healthy dose of violence, after all it always makes me sleep better.”

        With that I shot the first pony thing's head that had emerged from its mannequins cocoon. It's head satisfyingly exploded with the aid of the explosive twelve gauge rounds in my combat shotgun. The further three shots tore open the rest of the cocoon and ripped apart it's front. The ones around it didn't move as the remains of their ally pooled around their hooves.

        “Frailer than I thought.” I mused as I fired another three round burst into a cocoon. The first two rounds were required to crack its shell, the third blasting apart the head of the thing inside of it. “That's two.”

        I winced as the remaining cocoons shattered and I was charged, I had already emptied half of the magazine into these things. I moved to sweep them with the remaining rounds to only catch two before the shotgun was knocked from my grasp and I was knocked back. I pulled my knife from its sheath on my chest and firmly planted it at the base of the skull of the one that had charged me as I felt it attempting to bite through the softer armor padding on my leg.

        As I stood up I drew out Rose's Assault Carbine and started firing into the creatures as they closed upon me. I noticed in the corner of my sight a few had chosen to go to my sides and possible behind me. I felt something stab into my shoulder and turned to see a piece of chitin sticking out of my shoulder between the layers of armor plating. I coughed as I felt another impact hit my chest. I rose to my hind legs as I drew out my pistol hovering it in front of my left foreleg as I held the assault carbine in my magic by my right. I downed another two before I swung my left foreleg as I turned right slamming it into the jaw of one of these things.

        As the creature staggered away from the blow I noticed it had mimicked me and took the form of Doubt as it carried a knife. I fired the forty five into it's skull and turned left swinging my right fore hoof into the skull of another of these things. Then I got kicked square in the chest by one that rushed as I had turned to strike its friend. My magic broke and I fell on my back. I felt blood trickling down my forehead as I struggled to get upright. I looked around me to see twisted visions of Rose and myself closing around me all brandishing blades of some sort. The one to my right raised up their hoof held blade and I gave a upper cut to them with what strength I had left, it staggered back. As that one staggered back another leapt at me and I countered with giving it a shove with both of my hind legs, as I did I felt something pinch in my left hind leg and winced in pain. From the left another came and I had managed to get my magic around my pistol again. I fired and put a round through it making it halt I turned right as my vision filled with red to that side. I saw the right fore hoof of the creature having sprouted a blade of chitin as it slammed through a crack in my armor, slicing through my ribs and burying itself in my lung. The pain was brief before a creeping warm numbness started to wash over me. I coughed as I wrapped my left hoof around the limb and tried to bash it with my powerhoof. The blow barely was more than a gentle caress to the creatures limb as I felt my muscles go limp.

        “I hate blacking out...” I coughed tasting copper on my breath as the darkness crept into my sight. One of the creatures figured I wasn't done in enough and removed the armor on my throat and bite me bringing more numbness and warmth. “Bastards...”

        In my fading senses I heard what sounded like the desk moving and my shotgun firing. I felt something wet and sticky fall on top of me and then felt something start to drag me by my mane. I saw more flashes as my vision tunneled. I watched as my attackers fell and a fore leg enter my vision, one that seemed so familiar...

        I woke up laying in something fleshy. That was not a pleasant way to wake up to say the least. I gasped for breath and felt something thick and slimy pass through my throat instead of air. I immediately tried to push it out out of instinct. I tried to force it out only to find there was no way to. I opened my eyes to be greeted with only darkness. I closed my eyes remembering the fact I was in something that probably would make my eyes sting like hell. I focused on my magic and attempted to just cast a simple light spell. I instead felt a tight pressure around the base of my horn the more I attempted to cast it. It was like an inhibitor ring all over again.

        'Great, I am without sight, possibly going to drown in slime, and I can't do magic.' I huffed in my mind, forgoing an attempt at speaking. I then noticed I hadn't stopped myself from breathing through my nose and felt the very sickening sensation of the slime moving back and forth through my system. 'Well now, if this isn't a fucking personal hell...'

        I attempted moving to find it hard at best. It was as if my body was still asleep beyond my eyes and ears. As for my ears, well they told me I was upside down wherever I was and I was curled up in this goo. Thank you body position senses. Anyways, I didn't have a bucking clue what to do.

        'So... what to do? I can't move which limits a lot, my magic is also gone which means I can't do anything but float here and pray that I get set free at some point and can shoot my way out or something.' I frowned, finding my facial muscles being free of their paralysis. 'Maybe in time I will have full movement again, if that is the case I can at least try to find a edge or something. Hell that would give me a good idea of what I am in.'

        I felt a slight vibration roll through the slime I was suspended in. 'What was that? I mean with how viscus this stuff is... uh... ow my brain.' I mentally whimpered as I attempted to do math, which was not a smart idea apparently while in this stuff or after just getting your flank beat solidly.

        'Well how about we focus on trying to move more.' I let out a sigh signaling the return of control over my breathing. I continued trying to move or find parts that would respond to my command. Instead slowly I felt less and less of myself. The sounds of my heart faded, the sensations of fluid moving through my nose and mouth ended. I could no longer tell if my eyes were open or closed. Lost to me was my sensation of orientation, of even having a body. Something about this place had stripped me down to being just a mind. I was nothing but my collection of memories and thoughts.

        'Wow...' I muttered. 'I never thought I would be this boring when given the chance to completely focus on thinking.'

        I felt as if a current was pulling at me and I saw lights ahead of me. I heard the sounds of life and saw the harsh light of Celestia's sun.

        “Well... this is better than nothing.” I chuckled as I fell a few feet and landed on the familiar top deck of the Saint Clover.

        I looked around taking note of the fact I wasn't in present Seamane and was what looked to be in the past. “Alright, I'm home, sort of.”

        I checked myself over to find I had nothing, not even the powerhoof fused to my right foreleg. Even my horn was back to normal. “Okay, so... this would be my mental projection of myself, I think.”

        I took a deep breath of the air and smelled the familiar smell of the ocean. It calmed me far more than I had thought it would. I sat on my haunches as I watched us sailing into the port of Seamane. A place I knew well, two hundred years from now. So why was I here? A mental playground while I was trapped in a hopeless situation? I sharp pain like a needle slammed itself into my mind and I shook my head fiercely trying to get it to go away.

        “Okay, no unhappy thoughts, I guess.” I said while watching the skyline of Seamane with the mountain in the background painting them in a way I had never seen them. “Okay, that is beautiful...”

        The ship docked and I glided my way off the ship into the clean port. I wandered around until I found myself in a parking lot with some automatic carriages.

        “Well, it is a dream, what could it hurt?” I laughed as I hopped into one that didn't have a roof. I turned on the radio to hear oddly DJ Pon3. “Inconsistency... Whatever, it is music from then with news from now.”

        I was riding down the highway in my Chrysalis Highwaypony listening to a wider selection of music than I remember the good DJ having. Actually listening to more of it I think I might have been actually listening to the prewar DJ Pon3's original music. “Don't know how the buck I know this is yours DJ, but, it is a nice change.”

        I tapped my hoof on side of the carriage's door as I cruised through the vacant downtown of Seamane. I didn't know why I was headed this way, part of me said it was to pull on whatever latent memories were here. As it was nothing seemed to want to stick in my head for the names of streets, or buildings. I guessed however it was that I was here, it wasn't enough to give me accurate memories.

        As time wore on I found myself passing through Dune City then northward towards the unbound. A feeling of familiarity started to him me as I stopped within view of the hills that lay between Oakmare, Colt, and Dune City.

        I grabbed a saddlebag I hadn't even noticed having from the car and began to trot towards them. The entire time I was keeping an eye out for anyone or anything else around me.

        “You know... I have had hallucinations before, but, never this vivid.” I said as I walked on the loose dirt on a trail into the woods that covered the hills I had stopped at.

        I marveled at the green trees, a mix of evergreens and leaf droppers. Shoot me for not knowing the name of trees that drop their leaves because trees had never been of a real interest to me. Still though I marveled at their beauty. I even ate a few leaves. Oddly they had flavor, bland, but good for the most part. Then again hay, oats, flours, eggs, and milk were prewar staples, not tree leaves for a reason.

        I continued my way into the hills the leafy trees falling away as I ascended, soon I was left with just ferns and evergreens. The quiet was slightly unnerving, but, then again I didn't really have the sounds that a forest would have in my memory so why would I have the natural sounds of the forest in this place? Whatever the case the dirt and lack of clean grey walls helped keep my nerves in check.

        I stopped at a turn on the trail where I got a good view of Seamane again. I took a deep breath of the cool crisp air as dusk began to settle in and the sky began to turn orange.

        “Well... I have to admit this is far nicer than sitting in darkness until somepony saves me or I die.” I chuckled as I viewed the night fall upon my home, the lights of Seamane winking into existence as something willed them to turn on. I turned back to the trail and climbed to the top of one of the hills. As I got there the stars had come out in full force and I gazed upon the majesty of Luna's night.

        As I lay there I heard the soft sounds of hooves on the rocky outcropping. I just simply patted the area next to me on the outcropping. If something or someone was here to communicate with me I wanted to be as open as possible to it. I mean really if this wasn't a product of my mind, which I was starting to doubt due to the details being here that I didn't know myself, then it had some sort of purpose. I, for one, wanted to find out the purpose of my imprisonment and most likely having my mind examined with a fine tooth comb. The fact that something else was now here with me meant that likely I had been found of some worth. Otherwise I would suspect I would have woken up by now, or be dead instead of this limbo.

        “Hi Moony.” Rose said as she lay down next to me, I did a double take.

        “Hi Rose. I didn't expect you to be here.” I managed after blinking at her a few times in sheer confusion.

        Rose regarded me for a moment. “Why didn't you expect to see me here?”

        “Um...” I stopped to think, what if this was whatever was holding me, having her here as a test. “Well, just doesn't seem like the easiest of places to get to.”

        Rose thought over my answer as we lay there, I turned my attention back to Seamane itself, hallucination or not I loved the view from here.

        “Want to go there?” Rose asked and I turned to face her, she was pointing a hoof to Seamane.

        “Why not, I wasn't doing anything other than admiring the view.” I said, still looking at her, then blushing at how cheesy sound that was, and how it was completely unintentional. Rose just smiled at me, and further confused me on if it was her or a hallucination.

        We walked back down the trail, Rose having taken the lead as I followed. My mind feeling more sluggish as time went on. I was still uncertain what in Tartarus was going on, at this point I was wondering if maybe I was actually dead as things still just didn't make sense to me. Once we reached the Highwaypony I climbed in the drivers seat, Rose frowned at me as I did.

        “Since when did you know how to drive?” Rose asked as she got in as well.

        I frowned as I realized I didn't know how to drive, as I started the vehicle and got us going back towards Seamane. “Don't know, I just kind of can.” I shrugged.

        “Well whatever the case, I am glad you're back in Seamane, Moonlight.” Rose said as we rode down the empty highway. “You just can't seem to stay around all that.”

        I smiled as Rose laughed, it was true, I hadn't been able to stay around Seamane all that well for the past few months. Now though... Now I was back in Seamane, or was, I was really uncertain about what this all was, and already things were going oddly. Hopefully though, soon, I would be back on course. Though I was also rethinking a lot of my goals. I wanted to settle things down in the region. I didn't want to rule, I didn't want to be a beacon to guide everyone towards a better tomorrow. That just was a bad plan. No, maybe lay the foundation of recovery and keep the path clean for everyone else. I also wanted to clear things up so no more bounty hunters would be coming for me. Clear things up with Red Eye's folks so I don't have anyone really after me for anything beyond personal reasons.

        I took us off the highway and we were now driving down the heart of Seamane's business district. There were shadows of ponies moving about. Maybe shadows weren't the best name for them, but, they weren't clear images of ponies, just the form with no details to them, as if they only existed for background.

        “Pull over here.” Rose said and I complied, parking our vehicle. She climbed on out and stared at a restaurant as I put the keys in my saddlebag. “How about some dinner?”

        “Sure, it has been a while since I ate.” I smiled as I joined her. “Who doesn't love hay fries and burgers?”

        “Just as unrefined as when I met you I see.” Rose laughed as we entered the place. It didn't take long as the hour was late to get our food. When done with our food I frowned wishing I had something to actually do.

        “Well, as much as I want to spend the rest of the night with you, I need to head home.” Rose said, it caused me to blink in confusion then give her a nod as she took off. I did note she too our vehicle.

        A while later I had ate another meal and left. I was now walking the rather empty streets of Seamane. Having nothing better to do I wandered towards Ministry Row. Once there I saw the six buildings each painted after their respective Ministry's style. I kept walking and got to the fort. I walked past the front gate where somepony should have been watching guard, if this had really been in the past that is, and onto the base. I walked towards administration as I did something caught my eyes, three ponies I knew well, my family.

        “There you are, finally we can get this done.” Mom said as she hugged me.

        “Get what done?” I asked.

        Thud.

        I squirmed and tried to look around. I found that I couldn't as I heard a chorus of gunfire about me. I tried to speak only to have some sort of green slime pour out of my nose and mouth leaving me feel horribly ill. I tried to move more only to be forcefully held down. All I could feel was more or less the position I was in and that I felt horrible as well as numb. With more coughing the viscous fluid vacated my lungs and I felt like I had sneezed the mother of all sneezes.

        I started to feel myself again, as I did I felt a pressure remove itself from my back and I was dragged by my tail. I still couldn't see, and my limbs felt like jelly. My tongue felt like it had swollen up several times it size. I also felt rather sore and burnt out for some reason.

        The return of my sense of touch we heralded by the feeling of being naked and dragged over dirt. I grunted as a rock hit my rubs. My ears twitched as I heard more gunfire, as well as horrible equine screams of fury. From the sounds of it someone had started a party without me. I was roughly thrown behind an upturned table, or I assumed table by the feeling of wood against my back and legs of a table under my forelegs.

        I also could make out gibberish of what was likely my friends talking. As it was, I couldn't understand them. I would bet my right fore hoof that it was due to whatever I had been in. I coughed again and was surprised as more of what had filled my lungs came up. I blinked and was greeted with darkness as whatever was working its way out of my system had left me blind for now. I tried to move again only to find I was still terribly weak, and I felt as if something had been pulled out of me leaving me feeling empty. As I got my hooves under me I was shoved to my side again and pushed down. I wheezed in pain as two hooves stood firmly planted on me as the chatter of gunfire continued.

        After a few more minutes, I think minutes, time was still feeling weird and without sight I couldn't even hope to check my EFS. I slowly made out the sounds of my friends talking again, their voices this time a bit easier to understand than before. I also now realized the reason I couldn't understand them earlier was due to my hearing was only hearing rather loud things, like unsuppressed guns, so dialog wouldn't be easy to hear even in the best situations.

        The voices trailed off before I managed to pick anything out and a healing potion, at least I assumed it was a healing potion, was applied to my lips. I drank it down in accordance to how they were supposed to be administered when given orally. I coughed up the potion and didn't enjoy the feelings it gave me. However, on a positive note I could see a rather worn looking Rose staring at me intently.

        I tried to speak, instead I blathered and flailed my tongue around my mouth as I couldn't properly manipulate it, like most of my other muscles.

        “She’s back again, though by the sounds of it, and looks, most of her strength and muscle control are gone.” Rose explained to my other two companions who looked equally worn and bloody. “I don't think she is going to be any use for now, other than maybe a distraction.”

        I was taken aback by that comment, though, she was right, at the moment I was nothing more than a sack of meat taking up resources that they clearly needed. I tried my magic to feel it working slightly, I used it to gently tug at Rose's mane. She regarded me once more as I used my magic to write in the dirt.

        “I need a weapon.” Rose read aloud. “Sorry no can do, you tried to kill us.”

        I blinked at her confused by this statement, and frustrated at my inability to communicate beyond resorting to chicken scratches in the dirt. It then hit me that we were underground. I wrote further.

        “Why did I try to kill you?” I asked and Rose read. “We don't know why you did, but, we need to get out of here as soon as we can. Though we aren't taking you. Sorry love, but, we won't make it out if we try to take you with us. We will stash some equipment for you, these things seem to ignore when we drop stuff, so once you are able to try to make your way out.”

        I wrote again. “That is quite possibly the stupidest plan I have heard.” Rose read for me, then looked away.

        I sighed as they left, leaving nothing behind except for an incapacitated me.

        'Just peachy' I huffed in my mind. 'Did they forget the whole thing of things get worse when we separate?'

        “Probably.” Doubt replied as I continued working on measuring the control of my body that I had. “At least you have some supplies, now all you have to do is sneak out of here and meet up with them. That shouldn't be too hard should it?”

        'Did you notice the fact we have nothing?' I asked Doubt as I rolled back onto my stomach.

        “Did you forget you have a powerhoof? Also check to see if the pipbuck rebooted yet.” Doubt instructed. I did, slowly, and managed to press the button to turn it back on. It wasn't much help without the ability to really fight, but, I had my pipbuck again. It also wasn't much help seeing as it also never picked up those mimics on EFS. Something that was worrying if I was to sneak out of here.

        'I can't fight in this condition, and I can't see threats that this place has. Unless when mimic's revert to that other form that gives them mobility they show up.' I frowned as best as I could. 'Did they show up when they reverted during that last fight?'

        “I don't know, I know only what you know, and EFS was kind of a moot point in that fight due to their proximity.” Doubt said dryly.

        'Excellent...' I muttered.

        “Oh come on, it isn't like you haven't had to sneak before. It also seems like they didn't want to kill us last time, though... that wasn't fun.” Sighed Doubt.

        'I swear...' I muttered as I finally managed to get to my shaky hooves. 'I am going to get out of this place. When I do... Rose is going to apologize for this horrible plan.'

        “There we go, back on our hooves. Now then, lets show this place who is the boss.” Doubt said happily.

        “Right... yeah the big boss of sneaking...” I wheezed as my voice returned to me and I leaned against the upturned table for support. “Thanks crazy voice in my head...”

        “Not a problem.” Doubt chimed in before I felt a pressure in my skull relieve.

        “That should probably worry me more than it does.” I muttered as I got the hang of walking again. I then noticed how absolutely and stupidly cold I was. As well as I was still coated in some sort of green slime. “I need a towel...”

        I looked around and saw that the path to the hidden study was closed again, though really the only path out was the only exit I knew out of the basement. I then remembered in my earlier fight my EFS had been down due to my pipbuck crashing. “Right... a lot of good that does us.”

        I continued to look around before starting a slow walk towards the stairs out. I kept my head low and checked each of the now open cell doors. Within I found what I could only describe as fleshy sacks. Each one was open, most were dry. One wasn't, and I realized I was staring at where I had been trapped. I looked down at my chest to where I had been impaled to find it healed, coat and all.

        “They want us alive, but, they can take us pretty damn close to death...” I muttered as I sat to catch my breath. I looked at my powerhoof remembering that hours ago it had gotten damaged from being shot by a raider. As I examined it I noticed it had 'healed' which I found both comforting and unsettling that it naturally healed along with me. “Mutant...”

        I returned my focus to the path out and began a slow gait out. As I reached the door out a mimic entered the the door I slid back into the room and pressed myself against wall as it entered. As it passed the threshold I knew I had my one and only shot at taking it down and flashed my right foreleg out. As if it was nothing I smashed its skull with my powerhoof and it fell without a sound. I dragged its body back into the room and gave it a quick once over, finding nothing I turned to leave once again.

        With a quick check of the hallway I saw the coast was clear and began moving towards the staircase out. I peaked into each room though for anything of use. The sight I found was not as horrible as I expected, there were abandoned supplies, bones of small rodents, and more cocoons. Each cocoon was ruptured and long dry.

        “Of course, nothing of use, whatever these cocoons were for their task was completed. Hell I was striped of my gear before being put in one of those.” I frowned as I leaned around a corner. “Though, Rose also said I had tried to kill them so I haven’t a clue how this all went down. Did the time in the cocoon mess me up, or was it after I got taken down while protecting Rose that I turned on them?”

        I shook my mane as I saw the coast was clear and moved up towards the stairwell. “Whatever the case, I have my freedom now. Lets get to the bottom of this place. I can't leave whatever is behind this alone. I have to disable it some how, I can't let whatever it is that is here threaten anyone else.”

        I leaned against the wall at the base of the staircase to catch my breath. “However... this place hasn't caused problems for any other places around here. So I guess it has only harmed those who entered. Rather benign existence, still though, I should deal with it. If I don't someone else will fall into this trap like we did. Hell, I don't even know if we can escape until I stop whatever is here.”

        I looked up the stairs and pushed myself on. “Lets see what is in store for us on the first floor.”

        After having to stop several times to catch my breath I made it to the top of the stairs. Once I had I stared into the kitchen. The place was ruined and showed of signs of a prolonged firefight. From the positioning of the tables and ammo showed they had to use the makeshift cover both coming in and going out of the room. From the smell of gunpowder in the air I could tell it hadn't been too long since they come through here.

        I checked the pantry to find a few bits of food I had missed before. My stomach growled at me and I ate my fill. I knew it had been too long since I ate and I didn't think what had happened in the hallucination counted. I also didn't want to think about the fact I had probably been 'fed' while in that cocoon. I shuddered remembering the feeling I had experienced suspended in that darkness when I first awoke.

        'Alright, we need to avoid fights until I get something that will give me more than one shot at taking down these things.' I poked my head out of the pantry to check the kitchen again to see two of the mimic's having shown up again. 'Company, pleasant.'

        I tossed the empty box into the stairwell back down, the clatter drew the attention of the mimics and I waited a few moments for them to slowly make their way to the stairwell. Once they vanished down I proceeded into the side hall that connected to the foyer. I carefully avoided stepping on any spent rounds as to not make noise I didn't want to generate. I wasn't certain exactly how well these things could hear, and until I had at least a gun I didn't want to find out.

        I heard hoof steps and quickly dashed into closet and closed it. I listened to them pass me by, as I opened the door I saw another mimic walking down the hall from the kitchen, as I did I saw the two that had been in the kitchen return from down stairs and begin patrolling the kitchen again. 'Great, they are smart enough to patrol...'

        Once the one that had passed by me turned towards the dining room I exited the closet and took up position next to the doorway to the foyer.

        I looked into the Foyer to see a few more of the mimic's walking about, if my companions had come through here they were long gone. Which didn't surprise me, but, it did make me feel a pang of sorrow knowing I had to do this alone. I shook my head again to banish the thoughts before I let them swell and consume me. I had something to do here, I needed to find the source of these things, or at least take them all out. Only problem with either plan was I had no idea of their numbers or source.

        'Alright... well lets visit the lab after I hit up that hidden room again. It seemed to have information that would help me figure out what is causing these things. After all they did mention turning robots into other things. Though... this seems a bit far beyond the scope of what the experiments were set for.' I kept to the shadows as I crept the parameter of the foyer towards the living room. 'No matter, if I find how it was done I can at least better know how bad this situation is. Figure out the problem, your known's, and then list what is known that you need to find out. The basis for good problem solving.'

        I managed to make it into the living room without alerting the mimics to find the living room a mess. Obviously there had been some more serious combat, likely Foresight and Anabel rushing to me when I had first fought the mimic's with my shotgun, as it was rather hard to ignore the sounds of a twelve gauge shotgun with explosive rounds going off.

        There were a few corpses left in this room. Thankfully they were not my friends, given the state of things I was fairly certain they had just booked it out the front door. I was thankful for that as well. With them out of the house it meant anything still inside was something that I could kill without worry. Which was a rather dark way of looking at it, but, it was no less true. A part of me called to just find a place to hold up and unleash a fire spell and flash fry the whole place then go into the underground areas and fill every corner with hot death.

        Logic said while it would work, it only would work if I didn't get interrupted. Since the mimic's were patrolling I highly doubted that I could get away with powering a spell up before they noticed something was up. So it was still stealth instead of offense. I went down the secret passage in the living room to the other lab to find it trashed worse than I remembered. Most of what I had hoped to read was burnt away, what was still here had blue flames eating away at it. I let out a sigh knowing this had been my hoof work.

        “Damn it, well lets hope that there is a weapon here at least.” I muttered as I pushed past the burnt corpses of mimics.

        Several minutes later I found my pistol, under a corpse, behind a table. “There you are.”

        I ejected the magazine and pulled the slide back. I had nine rounds total. “Well... better than nothing.”

        I reloaded the pistol and racked a round before setting the pistol in my mouth as I searched for something to wear and a holster. I sighed as I gave up finding anything to wear beyond a saddlebag that had survived, I shoved the few bits of supplies I has scavenged into it.

        I turned to see mimics enter the room. I sighed as the spotted me and I lined up my shots to make them count. I was thankful that the forty five caliber rounds seemed to do the trick for putting them down. Thanks to having such limited ammo I also was very conservative with firing and ended up in close combat after downing only two of them. The third tackled me and I batted away the blade that was extending from his foreleg before bucking him off of me. I felt pin pricks of pain then numbness spider across my chest to see another mimic firing spines of some sort from their body.

        “You fuckers just can't fight fair can you?!” I shouted as I fired the pistol as I grabbed it with my magic. The round chipped away some of its natural armor on its head as I fired a second round to put an end to it. As that one fell the one I bucked charged me, at the last moment bringing its legs up with its chitin made blades extending over its fore hooves. I rolled to the side and sprung back towards the wall. As the mimic landed and recovered from its failed charge I fired a round into its eye and saw it go limp in death.

        “Next.” I ordered as two more mimic's began to charge me. I tripped the first with my magic and used them to jump off of as I wheeled myself through the air and fired a shot that did little more than scratch the armor of the other mimic. I felt something stab into my back and turned to see myself stabbing me with my knife.

        “I was wondering where my knife went, thank you for returning it!” I laughed as I bucked the copy of me in the throat to hear a crack and send the double flying away. I grabbed the knife out of my shoulder and held it in my mouth. I needed to finish these things off so I could find something to patch myself up with, or at least use my magic to attempt some healing.

        “Alright, I want to finish this quickly, so come and get me!” I barked as the three remaining foes stood once more and turned to face me again.

        Two charged directly at me the other dashed off to the side. I focused on the two rushing me and shifted my weight to my back hooves as the neared. I focused my magic into my hooves willing the fire into existence. With a flash of heat and the hiss of evaporating blood around me I leveled my gaze at my attackers who were moving too fast to stop before they got to me. I leapt forward my fore hooves leveled at the center of their chests, burning bright with blue flame. We collided and I cut through them. I landed flat on my stomach as the two fell beside me bathed in blue flame. I heard a hiss and looked to see the final mimic, the one being my doppelganger, mid pounce their fore legs turned into great scything talons.

        My horn flashed and I felt searing heat bathe me and I felt myself fall a short distance. I opened my eyes to find myself a few feet away the mimic slashing at the air while on its hind legs.

        “Got you!” I shouted as I tackled the remaining mimic with my flaming hooves. It took only a few additional blows to end its life and I stood in the room while the scattered blue flames flickered bathing me in the unnatural light of my magic.

        “Well, guess I can still teleport.” I laughed as I ripped the scything talons off of the mimic and slung them over my back. “Well I think these count as swords.”

        I heard something shift and I swung myself around, to face the entrance as I saw Rose peek her head in.

        “I thought you were escaping the house, what are you still doing in here?” I asked as I eyed her.

        “I, wait, what do you mean escaping the house? We've been looking for you for hours. You vanished in the middle of a fight with us.” Rose countered.

        “You said you fought me and knocked me out when I came to in front of the secret room under the kitchen.” I frowned.

        “No... we fought you here, then you vanished.” Rose said slowly.

        “But... mimics don't talk.” I said tilting my head at her.

        “Mimics? That is what you are calling these things. I will say, sounds better than what I would expect you to come up with.” Rose giggled as I walked up to Rose.

        “Anyways, where is everyone else?” I asked looking behind her and checking my ammo again, four rounds, they wouldn't last me much longer.

        “We got separated... The place has stopped making sense at times.” Rose answered, I looked up at her and saw in her tired eyes she wasn't going to be of help much longer.

        “Come on, lets get you outside, you need rest, and this house is not the place for that.” I said as I pushed past her into the passage back to the living room. As I looked at Rose she looked like she was going to argue, but, just nodded her head.

        Passing through the living room was easy, I had apparently taken care of the mimic's who would have been in here. Once to the foyer I saw a number of mimic's in their base state cleaning the place up of what looked to be destroyed tables and bodies of their fallen.

        “Alright, Rose, I will distract them if they notice us. You focus on getting out the door.” I whispered as I looked Rose in the eyes after returning from looking around the corner.

        “What are you going to do, take on this place alone?” Rose asked.

        “Yeah, that’s the idea. Though I wouldn't mind having something to stop their damn spines, or some ammo.” I replied as I held the two scything talons in my magic.

        “I have some extra forty fives.” Rose said as she dug out a five more magazines for my pistol. “I would offer my barding, but, well you’re still smaller than me.”

        “Ammo is good, at least I can pick off some targets. Alright, lets get you out of here.” I said as I stuffed the extra ammo into the small saddlebag that I had.

        “Right behind you.” Rose said as she chambered a fresh round into her rifle.

        I moved around the corner and covered Rose as she snuck along the outside wall to the door. It went well until she opened the door and it squeaked causing a few of the mimic's to turn. I charged into the group with the scything talons following me in my magic. With my right hoof alight I crushed the skull of one mimic and got the crowds attention on myself, I spared a glance to the door to see Rose's tail disappear outside before it closed again.

        I spun the blades around me as quickly as I could as I ran to the stairs. I felt more spines slam into my hindquarters which then went numb sending me sprawling face first into the base of the stairs. The scything talons embedded themselves into the wall as I pushed myself over and drew my pistol.

        “Come and get me!” I shouted, hoping that my two remaining companions would hear me as I fired into the crowd.

        I reloaded as I kicked one mimic away with my still functioning hind leg. To my relief a chorus of gunfire opened up heralding the well timed and much beloved return of Foresight and his battle saddle full of firepower. The mimic's quickly scattered as the wooden floor was torn apart along with their bodies.

        I turned my gaze to see Foresight at the top of the stairs covered in wounds, bits of chitin sticking out of the cracks in his armor, and the blood of the mimic's coating him and trailing down his body.

        “Foresight! I fucking love your guns!” I called up to him as I pushed myself onto my stomach and crawled up the stairs.

        “I am glad you aren't trying to kill me this time.” Foresight responded with a grunt of pain.

        “Please tell me you have some healing supplies on you.” I asked once I managed to get my way up to him.

        “A little, Rose has most of what is left. Your stuff is kind of scattered around the place. When did you master teleporting that rapidly?” Foresight asked as he sat catching his breath.

        “My subconscious mastered it, I can't do it unless in a pinch.” I frowned as I pulled out the supplies he had and began to get to work on him. “Where is Anabel?”

        “She... I can't remember. These things keep on knocking me out.” Foresight moaned as I removed a chitin blade from his side.

        “That is fine, at least you didn't get mind controlled by them. Or mind raped, or whatever the hell happened to me.” I muttered as I continued working on Foresight's wounds.

        “Yeah, fighting you wasn't fun. You are a fucking monster.” He laughed before wincing as I removed some spines from his hind.

        “Don't get excited just because my hooves are back here.” I cooed as I patched up where the gaps in his armor had let a lot of spines hit him.

        “Sorry, but, I don't think of you in that way, I was just teasing you earlier.” Foresight said as he groaned.

        “What, am I not pretty enough?” I pouted as I hoofed him a healing potion.

        “I learned how to keep from developing crushes on ponies already taken, also, you aren't really my type. You are a bit too lethal for my tastes.” He laughed before drinking down the healing potion.

        “You don't go for hyper lethal lone wolves?” I giggled.

        “I like merchants more.” He smirked.

        “Ruby?” I asked as I observed his wounds healing up.

        “Once, not anymore.” He said shaking his mane, I looked at his eyes to see not longing, but, a fondness.

        “You two moved on?” I asked.

        “Yeah, it ran it's course, and our kids are nice, but, well us being together just didn't last.” He smiled. “No hard feelings there, we are still good friends. But, we both moved on.”

        “Sounds like you didn't.” I frowned meeting his eyes before turning to keep an eye out for any foes returning.

        “I did, just, haven't found any pony since. Been too busy to find somepony.” He said and I heard him shake his mane again.

        “Well, maybe you should take a break once this adventure is over. Nopony deserves to be alone, after all.” I said as Foresight got to his hooves.

        “I am going to go outside, I'm not stealthy like the rest of our party. Like I have heard you say before, your insides should stay inside. I think blood is included in that.” Foresight laughed before digging out another healing potion for himself. “You keep the rest of the supplies, it isn't much, but, if we haven't heard any explosions Anabel must be in trouble.”

        “Alright, keep Rose safe, if you can find a place to rest up.” I nodded to him before strapping the medical box that Foresight had left me to my side. The drywall still on it told me he had used the manual way of removing it from the wall.

        “Yes ma'am.” Foresight mock saluted before going down stairs and exiting the house.

        “Two down, one to go. Then we can finish this off.” I muttered to myself as I headed towards the arboretum. “I just hope you don't blow me apart when you see me Anabel.”

        I heard chittering from behind me and turned to see something that looked half like a pony and half like a snake.

        “What the fuck?” I asked dumbfounded at what I was seeing. It spread its maw in a way I had never seen anything do before as if it had four independent bones for its mouth. It hissed before spraying the same slime I had coughed up before, at me. I tossed myself through a door with my magic to avoid it. I scrambled to my hooves and dove under the bed in the room. Moments later the thing slithered into the room its fore legs dangling above the floor pressed close to its body.

        It smashed the closet that was in the room and then began trashing the rest of the furniture. I figured whatever these things were I had awoken a hive of them, and they were not pleased by their inability to contain us to the point they were willing to trash the place to get their hooves on us. More worrying was the fact they seemed to want to capture us. I didn't want to find out what was the end result for me being in one of those pods again for a long enough time.

        Soon it started for the bed and I worried on how long the bed would protect me as well as how much cover I would have once it started to dig its newly grown set of scything talons into it. I got my answer pretty quickly, the answer was no time at all and no cover. In a fury of slashes the bed was torn to shreds and it hissed upon seeing me and spat its slime upon me. As it touched my coat I felt my thoughts start to become more fuzzy it wrapped its tail around me as I tried to fight it off only to find my attacks weak beyond use.

        “Damn it! Just let me kill all of you!” I cried as I tried to bite its tail. The thing stopped its slithering and brought me to to eye level with it. “Yeah lets go-”

        I was cut off by probably the most disgusting thing I could have imagined it doing at that point. It for the lack of a better term kissed me, with lots of tongues. The slime it was producing prevented me from being able to quickly react and as such it wasn't long until I felt with exhaustion and my mind slowed to the crawl of a glacier. We slithered on towards the nursery, a part of my mind remembering what had been in there before, and also terrified at the possible connotations.

        Once in the room I found it mercifully bare of what had once adorned it. Instead there was a sack like the ones downstairs, however, this one held Rose in it. My mind chugged along as it came to the conclusion this was the real Rose in all likelihood and the others I had seen, or at least the one I had let out was fake. Which meant mimic's could talk. Which lead me to a moment of realizing I had no way of figuring out which were fakes and which were my friends other than beating them to within an inch of their lives. Or maybe I could do some sort of memory or loyalty test. I would figure something out when the time came and my brain wasn't currently in a haze like I had gone one too many rounds with Rose.

        Focusing on the feeling I was getting it was disturbingly along the lines of post orgasm high. I guessed it was to to further disable captives with a feeling of euphoria. Which really was a rather horrifying adaptation or intentional design feature of these creatures. Whoever or whatever was behind their existence was cruel. So either somepony was rather twisted or the world with out Luna and Celestia's order was just that bad. I was inclined to believe the world without those two guiding it let the rest of the universe in and the rest of the universe was just that horrible.

        To further my idea that the universe as a whole was just horrible the serpentine monster that held me kissed me again pushing what thoughts I still had to the far corners of my mind and leaving me more or less a doll as it put me into the same cocoon as Rose. Once inside I felt the same sensations as when I had first woken up. Every sense eventually fell off and I was once more bound in darkness without a sense of my own self.

        With a wet smack I landed on the floor and looked up at a very angry Rose holding my fire sword to my throat.

        I tried to talk only to remember the fact my system was currently filled with slime, again. A few minutes of coughing later I was breathing air instead of that stuff.

        “Where is everyone else, Moonlight.” Rose demanded.

        “Foresight is outside, with another you.” I coughed looking to see a copy of Rose missing most of its throat, the chitin that the mimics normally had showing clearly on top of its coat. “Can I get my equipment back and go find Anabel while you go wait outside?”

        Rose punched me, rolled me over and choked me out. So much for diplomacy.

        Coming to again my equipment was on the floor, below me. I had been put back into the cocoon this time with another copy of Rose rather intimately entangled with me. At least I figured it was a copy of her due to the one I had just encountered was tough enough to keep going. I punched the wall of the cocoon and broke through it. Soon the rest of it gave way and left the two of us laying of the floor.

        “Come on wake up so I know what to do with you.” I muttered as I pulled on my equipment while staring at the Rose that had been with me. I gave a flick of my black blade as I familiarized myself with its heft once again.

        With a groan that sounded halfway pleasure induced Rose awoke. I stood over her with my sword to her throat as she lay on her back.

        “What do you remember.” I asked.

        “You went down while protecting me... Then I tried to protect you and... I remember Foresight and Anabel showing up. Then you started throwing fire at us, the things here fighting on your side. We almost got you, but, then you vanished.” Rose answered before groaning as she looked at my sword.

        “And after that?” I asked.

        “We got separated, something got me. Then some weird dream and now I am here.” Rose replied.

        “Great, so there are three of you running around now.” I muttered as I sheathed my sword.

        “What do you mean three of me?” Rose asked as she started to move to get to her hooves. I stood atop her and shook my head. “What is it, you aren't wanting to do it here in the middle of all this are you?”

        “No.” I said as I laid down pulling out my pistol in my magic. “My EFS is tracking several hostiles moving towards us and I want to keep you safe.”

        Rose blushed and stopped moving.

        “Honestly though, I had wanted a good few rounds with you when we first got here. Sadly, looks like that is going to have to wait for a while longer.” I frowned as I lined the sights up over my right eye.

        “How about tomorrow night? Lets just leave here as soon as we can, who cares about what is here, it seemed plenty happy not to spread before we came here.” Rose offered, I contemplated blocking the door and asking for us not to wait. I also blamed the slime for messing with my thoughts.

        “We have to find... the real you and the other you's so we can get your equipment back and figure that out at least. Though I am not certain how it is going to work out if all three of you are real. I don't think I could handle three marefriends as skilled as you at the same time.” I giggled then shook my head as I focused on the inbound threat. “I am going to get you outside, and go out with you to deal with the one out there. Then I am getting Anabel and we are going to leave this place one way or another.”

        “Okay, just, please figure out which one of us is real without shooting me.” Rose pleaded from beneath me.

        “I hope it doesn't come to that.” I said as I gave her a quick peck on her muzzle. “I really hope it doesn't come to that.”

        The head of what I assumed to be a mimic masquerading as Rose peaked its head around the corner of the doorway.

        “Oh come on...” I muttered as it turned blue.

        “Moonlight! Finally I found you?” The second Rose trailed off looking at me laying atop the first Rose. “Should I come back or join in?”

        “Okay, today is fucking weird.” I sighed as I holstered my pistol. “What do you know?”

        “Uh we were working together on clearing the house, we went down stairs after trying to find Foresight and Anabel. Found a secret staircase in the kitchen, went down, I felt spooked, you opened a wall, and there was something inside of there. After that I remember Anabel freeing me from a cocoon.” The second Rose answered.

        “Well... shit this is going to get more complicated than I expected.” I sighed. “I really hope we don't find a copy of me wandering around here because that is just going to get annoying.”

        “I just fought a copy of myself on the stairs.” The second Rose explained. “She bleed green, so I think it is safe to assume those ones are fake since I bleed red before.”

        I nodded. “I’m sorry you two, I have to test this out to see which one of you is real. Though, you aren't hostile so I am not going to kill you or anything.”

        They both nodded in agreement as I pulled out my knife to cut them. With a simple slice on both I saw the first Rose was bleeding Red, the second was bleeding green. “Sorry number two, but, I don't know what to do with you.”

        She seemed frustrated and on the verge of tears. “I... but... everything I remember. What am I if my memories aren't mine?”

        “Rose...” I muttered as I walked up and nuzzled her.

        Then she bit me. Of course she bit me, the last copy strangled me and shoved me into the cocoon. Her head then exploded leaving me with fangs stuck in my throat as I fell over clutching the punctured flesh of my throat. I tried to cry out, but, instead I only emitted a gargling sound. Rose rushed over to me and stripped the copy's equipment to get access to our medical supplies. As she did I noticed more red bars moving towards us. I also noticed her pipbuck was still on her fore leg and was a perfect indicator of she was the original. I would have facehoofed except for I didn't want to interfere with Rose trying to prevent me from bleeding out or becoming a mute.

        I grabbed the rare smg out of my saddlebags, I slide home a magazine as I flipped off the safety and then racked the first round. Around the corner came more of the regular mimic's. I tapped the trigger for small quick bursts, the rounds ripping through their armor and flesh, the smg also eating through my ammo for it quite quickly. More and more came and I eventually managed to get my shotgun out and lay out its magazines for ease of reloading as more poured through the door. It was funny, I was once again fighting essentially a last stand against waves of enemies. I would have laughed if not for my throat having gotten a free series of piercings.

        Rose, once she had finished putting a patch over my wounds, joined in my chorus of fire upon our foes. The red bars quickly stopped increasing in numbers and eventually broke then vanished from my view. Once they had retreated enough I pulled out a healing potion and gave Rose a tap with my magic.

        “Yes, drink, it should close your throat up, Thankfully I don't think it hit your vocal cords.” Rose said as she finished packing and reloading. I drank two potions and felt my throat feel less raw.

        “Yeah, that did the trick.” I said, then noticed how scratchy my voice sounded. “Let me drink a few more, I don't fancy sounding like a ghoul.”

        “Not the worst voice I have had to be around.” Rose snickered as she hoofed me two more potions. I drank them greedily and sighed sounding far more normal afterwards.

        “I am not surprised. Alright, I have a idea where Anabel is. Right where I woke up, well behind a wall down there. Seems the most logical place for her to be held up. After we get her we will take care of the copy of you outside if Foresight hasn't already.” I explained as I stood up.

        “Mind if I just shoot her?” Rose asked. “Last one seemed to wait until it had a chance to disable you.”

        “And the one before that. I think once found out they try to disable. Fucked up method of infiltration though. We need to kill them all, which means I need Anabel to bring this place down with explosives. Even though that means burying the research here.” I sighed as I walked up to the door. “Mind if I loot the other room?”

        “For what? Books, miniatures, or do you mean push me on the bed and relax a bit?” Rose teased. “Yeah go ahead, if we are bringing the place down might as well grab some little things that are rare.”

        I smiled at her as we exited the room and and I quickly looted what I wanted, and did not 'loot' my real Rose of what I wanted. There was a time and a place for that, and the middle of an active battlefield was not the place, ever, well almost never. Maybe it was just a bit of an unusual thing to happen on a battlefield. Whatever the case I managed to keep myself from going into heat for no reasonable reason around her.

        “Moonlight, I think I remember more of what happened to me... I'm sorry that I went nuts on you.” Rose said to me, I turned to see her eyes downcast. I walked up to her and raised her chin slightly then kissed her. Oh by the sisters did it feel good to kiss her again, though for some reason I was disappointed at the lack of fangs. She broke the kiss after a few moments. “You're not starting to go like I was down stairs are you?”

        I blinked a few times batting away the bliss that was forcing its way into my mind. “Huh? Uh... sort of, lets get this done quickly...”

        I sighed as I turned back towards the stairs. “Why did I want her to have fangs of all things?”

        “Moonlight, you just said that out loud.” Rose snickered from behind me.

        “Tease me about it later, come on lets get Anabel and level this place. Oh though first check to make certain the Foresight outside is real, then level the place.” I said as we made our way down the stairs. “Honestly, it has only been four hours and this place has been extremely frustrating to deal with.”

        Rose giggled softly as we entered the dining room and I saw it was clear, like the rest of the floor with regards to my EFS. “You are cute when you get frustrated like that.”

        “I also get deadly, unless that is what you find cute about me is how deadly I can be.” I said as I shook my head.

        “That and a few other things make me like you. It is nice to know your marefriend has a lot of protection for every situation.” Rose said as we got to the kitchen to find the staircase open still.

        “Right, come on, lets do this.” I said as I walked into the staircase, then used my telekinesis to make it a slide for myself, Rose followed my example and we slide out the base of the staircase into the dirt tunnel. A few bars were on my EFS here and I nodded to Rose to take one side of the tunnel and begin clearing rooms.

        It didn't take long before we had cleared the remaining mimic's as well as a few copies. I found one that was of myself in a corner with one of Rose. They were doing what we had hoped to have done earlier tonight. I put an end to both of them and was glad I had as I realized I didn't want to see if these things could reproduce in any way.

        Rose and I met back up at the overturned table where I had woken up.

        “Looks like we need to find a switch.” I commented staring at the destroyed terminal.

        “Yeah it does. You didn't happen to come across copies of us... doing things did you?” Rose said, oddly coyly.

        “I did, only one pair though.” I answered as I ran my hoof over the stone around where the hidden door was.

        “You didn't join in on the fun with any of them did you?” Rose asked.

        “No, I put them down, I didn't want to see if they could reproduce that way. Also I was worried about what I was seeing in another sense of the wish fulfillment I was seeing.” I replied as I frowned remembering the additional bits they had.

        “Okay then.” Rose sighed as she sat down. “Just was worried with how you were acting, and how you look.”

        “How I look?” I said as I turned to look at Rose over my shoulder. “How so?”

        “Calmer, just I remembered I didn't calm down at all while under that spell or whatever it was.” Rose answered.

        “Oh that, yeah guess that wore off. I think that was only due to waking up so close to you and the weird slime that those things keep force feeding me.” I said as I returned my focus finding the secret door's release.

        “Oh, okay I am glad that isn't something that lasted longer.” Rose sighed then trotted up to me. “Because it is hard to keep from pouncing on you for too long.”

        I looked at her and moved to nuzzled her as she stood beside me. “I will take that as a compliment. Feel free to help look for the-”

        Rose pressed a stone and the wall opened.

        “-button.” I trailed off. “Come on lets get inside, I see Anabel.”

        We ducked under the door as it opened as I made it a bit further in I felt something hit my shoulder making me fall forward, as I did I felt something fly past my horn and ears behind me. I continued on to flat on my face and roll forward landing on my back. The door closed and I heard two grenades detonate outside.

        I heard the click of Rose's gun switching off of safe. Then a blinding flash filled my sight and a deafening ringing filled my hearing. I felt something scratch against my fore leg as sight returned to me and I hissed in pain as the cut burned slightly.

        “Okay, you both bleed red, that is good.” Anabel said once my hearing had returned.

        “I can't blame you for doing that, I still want to though. You have put the research in here on your pipbuck? Because we need to blow this place.” I said as I got to my hooves again while pulling on some bandages over the cut on my leg.

        “Actually, explosives already planted. We were just waiting for you two to find your way to us.” Anabel explained as I saw Foresight sitting in the room with us. I also saw a wound upon him still bleeding read upon his face.

        “Right, then lets get the fuck out of here.” I muttered as I turned to the wall out.

        “So what about finding a place to sleep.” Foresight asked.

        “I think the walls of the grounds will be enough and the fire of the house will keep us warm. Now lets go.” I demanded as I hit the release for the door. I was greeted with what were probably the few remaining mimic's.

        I didn't even get the chance to shout to my companions to open up fire before my eardrums practically burst from the eruption of firepower around me. I ended up on the floor with blood leaking from my ears and nose as the last of the mimic's fell. Rose set me on her back and we made our escape.

        A few minutes later we had dealt with the two copies of my companions that had been waiting outside for us. With a quick cut a we confirmed they were copies, they attacked, they died, we tossed their bodies onto the burning remains of the mansion. Rose treated my injuries that I had sustained from our escape. Since I had been on her back while we ran out I took most of the attacks from the mimic's behind and above us once we had hit the foyer. I was particularly numb and Rose kept close to me as we fell asleep. We all needed sleep and we had the turrets to protect us as well as some mines that Anabel had kept.

        Getting to actually properly sleep was nice.

Footnote: Quest Perk Added, Twenty Seven percent to next level.

New Perk: Last Stand. Through participating in last stands repeatedly you have managed to learn how to perform a last stand better. While normally one simply does not get enough time to practice doing last stands, you somehow have managed not to die each time. So as the saying “practice makes perfect” dictates you are now far more adept at defending a place. You now have a bonus to Damage Threshold of ten and you do a bonus five damage while standing still. While this doesn't always work with your method of combat it will help when cornered or otherwise immobilized.