Risk Of Epic

Chapters

The Commando
The Enforcer
The Bandit
The Huntress
HAN-D
The Miner
The Sniper
Acrid
The Engineer

The Commando

The doors to the royal throne room violently swung open. Four royal guards trotted in, escorting their captive. A unicorn guard held a black crate filled with odd and mysterious items in the grip of his magic. The final guard stood behind the captive, prodding him along with a spear, although it didn’t seem to matter much against the orange armor of the stranger.

Princess Celestia and Luna sat upon their thrones, surrounded by droves of guards. Celestia’s face remained resolute, and yet, a twinkle of doubt could be seen in her eyes. Luna looked upon the bound stranger with disgust and malice, her face contorted in subtle anger.

The guards shoved the prisoner forward forcefully, sending him onto his knees. The orange armor of the captive was weathered and dented in various places. The carapace bore several deep gashes, and certain places showed signs of scorch marks. Even one part of the chest plate seemed semi-melted, corroded by acid.

The prisoner’s face was obscured by a bulbous helmet, colored a lighter, yet opaque orange. The visor was cracked in several places, showing signs of combat long past. Underneath all the armor, the captive wore a simple black jumpsuit, scratched and scarred just as badly as the rest of his armor.

Celestia looked over to Luna pleadingly, trying to convince her to place a lesser punishment upon the stranger. Luna looked away, holding firm. Her sister let out a sigh, knowing Luna would stand her ground on the matter.

“Speak your name, foul creature,” Luna ordered, stomping her hoof into the ground making her demand all the more intimidating.

The stranger was looking down into the floor. the front of his visor obscured from sight. Celestia glanced nervously at the guards around the prisoner, trying to beckon them to back away with her eyes, fearing the worst. After several moments in silence, just as Luna was about to stamp her hoof into her throne’s floor the figure looked up, tilting his head ever so slightly.

“They call me the Commando …”, uttered the captive in a ragged, gravelly voice.

“So then, Commando, you have been charged with the murder of thirty seven citizens of Canterlot, along with the theft of numerous possessions of your victims. On these grounds, I find the only acceptable punishment swift, and decisive death,” Luna spoke firmly, staring the Commando down. He remained unflinching, not intimidated in the slightest by the threat of death.

The Commando just knelt there, staring down the judge, jury, and executioner. Luna nudged Celestia lightly with her hoof, prompting Celestia to speak.

“While I wish there was some other way, my sister is right, you have been found guilty on all accounts of murder, and theft,” Celestia looked uncomfortable, almost sad that she would have to carry out what was to come. She always performed executions with a heavy heart. Luna rose from her throne, as the guards stood at attention. She stopped several feet away from the Commando, looking into his reflective visor. Suddenly, the accused spoke.

“Many people speak of the one known as the Commando … “ he said as if retelling a story. Abruptly, the Commando shattered his metal restraints, elbowing the unicorn guard hard in the side. The guard’s concentration broke, the crate’s lid sliding off, and items spilling out midair.

The Commando snatched two small guns out of the air, before fastening a small teddy bear to his armor. With lightning speed, he whipped around, training his weapons on the other two guards before letting loose a squeeze of each trigger.

Projectiles ripped into each of the guards, twisting and contorting their useless armor. The commando continued to fire, bullets whizzing through the air, slamming into the guards behind the fallen captors.

“ … when they spoke of him, they knew that he went through tough times, but that he always prevailed …” continued the Commando, doing a backflip as the pony behind him attempted to run him through. He landed behind the pony, before aiming both guns straight at him, and unleashing a piercing shot. The shot shredded through him, hitting Luna in the right foreleg.

The Princess winced in pain as her magic began to mend the wound. Celestia sat up on her throne, all traces of sympathy gone from her expression. She ordered the rest of her bodyguards to attack, before taking flight and charging a powerful energy beam.

As Celestia prepared to attack, the Commando dashed back towards the crate, scooping up several items as he went. He fastened on a small cylindrical core to the back of his armor hastily, before clutching a small hourglass in his hand, holstering one of his pistols.

The beam impacted the Commando square in the chest plate, sending him flying backwards, smoke billowing from his ragdoll like form. As the guards closed in weapons at the ready, preparing to finish off the warrior, time froze. Slowly, the orange plated figure righted himself, still clutching the hourglass.

“ … when they spoke of him, they marveled at the secrets of time he kept …” he said before clipping the hourglass to his belt, and drawing both guns. He held them steady, directed at the mass of frozen guards.

The Commando let loose a torrent of bullets, overwhelming the numbers of the ponies, each projectile imbedding itself within each unflinching victim. The stream of death coming from the soldier’s guns ceased just as the time lock lifted, and every guard crumpled to the ground in a bloody heap of destroyed muscle and shattered bone. They had been dead the instant the bullets had hit them, suspended for a few moments only by the time lock.

Luna, who had been struck by several more bullets struggled to channel an attack while also trying to mend her wounds. The attack spell vanished as she focused all her efforts on healing herself.

“Guards!” Luna shouted, as several dozen Night Guard unicorns flooded into the room through several side doors, once again surrounding the Commando who made no attempts to move. He simply held his guns by his side, staring at Celestia.

“End him!” cried Luna, the Night Guard’s readying their magical blasts.

The warrior simply stood there, accepting his fate. The spells zoomed towards him, the multicolored lances of bright energy exploding around him, creating a smoke cloud that obscured him. The barrage of magic continued for several seconds before Luna, fully healed, held up a hoof to signal to cease.

At once, the unicorns’ horns lost their bright aura, returning to normal, as the smoke began to settle. Celestia and Luna squinted to try and see the mangled figure of their enemy appear, but what they saw was much more terrifying.

He just stood there, encased in a field of blue energy, his armor giving off the same blue glow. In shock, the guards were paralyzed in a mix of confusion and terrible awe.

“... when they spoke of him, they told of how he could turn aside any blow, repulsing the assaults of lesser creatures …”

The field of energy exploded, streaks of multicolored magic being returned to the respective attacker. The Night Guard were blasted apart, many being sent flying several feet backwards, and others exploding in a shower of gore.

The smell of seared flesh and burning hair pervaded throughout the room. Luna looked to her side, observing the melted armor of one of her valiant guards. Her eyes began to glow bright white, as she ascended into the air, her horn glowing a darker hue of blue than normal.

Again, the Commando made no attempt to avoid the incoming attack. He simply holstered his guns, grabbing the cylindrical object on his back, and flipping open a small hatch at one end of it. He pressed a red button contained within the hatch, a yellow glow wrapping around him.

Luna cared not for whatever tricks he had left to play, for only sheer hatred for this being remained in her heart. With a powerful cry in the Royal Canterlot Voice, an enormous lance of energy spiraled toward the Commando. The beam impacted, but was absorbed by the yellow field of energy. Luna did not relent, calling upon all her magical power to kill the deathless foe.

After several more seconds of the powerful beam, Luna was depleted of her strength, floating back to the ground, Celestia rushing to her side, and throwing up a magical barrier around them, fearing she would suffer the same fate as the Night Guard. But nothing came, the Commando’s yellow glow simply fading after a few moments.

“ … when they speak of him, many thought him invincible, an invisible shield always saving him from even the most powerful of strikes …” continued the Commando. He idly walked towards the black crate, not paying any mind to the sisters cowering inside their shield. He picked up a worn ukulele, gripping it firmly in one hand, and raising a gun towards the sisters with the other.

“ … all of these things are simply legends, told by the people who would never know him. Very few ever met the Commando in person, but those who did …”

He steadied his hand, as Celestia reinforced the barrier, putting all her power into the shield. Electricity began to crackle from the ukulele, shortly spreading to the new executioner’s armor, slinking along the bodysuit and over the damaged plates of carapace, until they finally reached his gun.

“ … spoke of how his music could enchant all those around him. They said he had power over the spectrum of sound …” he squeezed down on the trigger, a bolt of lightning forming inside the barrel of the gun, “ and that his music was electric ... “

The Enforcer

The wall collapsed, fragments of stone crushing the guards beneath it. A hulking figure clad in grey-blue armor emerged from the wreckage. The armor was pristine, only scratched in a couple of places. He wielded an enormous metal shield nearly the size of himself, and the same color as his armor. Each pauldron had a glowing light imbedded into it, as did the collar of the armor. The figure held a shotgun in his other hand, simple, rugged, and reliable.

He turned to his left, facing the single surviving pegasi guard who had begun to claw his way out of the wreckage. With a quick squeeze of the trigger, buckshot flew from the barrel of the gun, eviscerating the face of the desperate pony. The last thing the guard saw before being killed was the wide T-Shaped visor of the helmet the beast wore. The orange of the visor seemed to radiate with an unearthly energy, despite the rest of the helmet being plain.

Leaving the massacre, and continuing down the long hallway of the castle, the Enforcer could hear the crackle of lightning coming from his left, directly through a wall. Backing up as far as he could, and raising his shield in front of him, he braced himself for his charge. With the might of several men his size, he rammed the wall, collapsing it with ease. Dust settled onto the black jumpsuit he wore beneath his armor, as the Enforcer quickly dusted himself off, taking in the scene before him.

A mass of dead guards ponies lay amid the destruction inside the throne room, heaps of them strewn across the floor. Melted armor and massive pools of blood were common sights on every dead being. Standing with a ukulele in his grip was the Commando, pointing the smoking barrel of one of his pistols at the charred corpses of two alicorns.

Slowly lowering his pistol, and slinging the ukulele over his back, the Commando returned to the black box, picking through the other items. The Enforcer walked over to his ally, giving him a slight nod, before the orange clad figure tossed him a teddy bear and a medikit. Quickly dropping his shield, the Enforcer caught the bear, securing it to his armor, and storing the medikit on his belt.

After rummaging through the crate and picking out a few more choice items, the Commando stood up, eyeing his armor clad comrade. Picking up his shield, the two walked towards one of the intricate stain glass windows in the throne room. They both paused, admiring the craftsmanship for a second, and looking at each other, knowing exactly what the other was thinking.

The cries of approaching guards could be heard as the enforcer blasted the window apart, the tiny shards refracting the sunlight in a symphony of beautiful destruction. With one last reassuring glance at each other, the two leaped out of the window, soaring towards the ground below.

The wind cut at the the pair's armor, the visors of both becoming a bit harder to see out of. The enforcer impacted first, the ground rippling around him, the stone of the courtyard easily giving way, forming a semi crater. The Commando followed in suit, hitting the ground with sufficient force to crack the ground, tossing up fragments of the pavement.

Guards ponies could be heard shouting, as the Enforcer looked up to see several pegasi descending from the shattered window. Holding his shield tightly, he let loose a dozen shots from his shotgun, each one hitting with deadly accuracy even at this range. Blood streamed from the hit pegasi in morbid ribbons, before the corpse hit the ground with a splat of the ensuing blood.

Meanwhile, the Commando was making short work of the advancing guards coming from an entrance to the courtyard. A spear wielding pony tried to impale him, but the Commando rolled to the side of the pony before bringing an elbow down upon it's skull. Collapsing in a mound, the guard yelped in pain, just as the Commando squeezed off one final shot, spattering it's brains on the courtyard floor.

As the Commando mopped up the last few guards coming from his side, the Enforcer smacked an incoming pegasi aside like a fly, sending the guard careening into a wall. The snapping of bones could be heard, the enforcer turning to observe the Commando kicking a pony in side of the leg hard. Training his sights on the injured pony, the Enforcer put it out of it's misery, blood pooling around head of the shredded skull.

More and more pegasi streamed down through the broken window, spears at the ready. The Enforcer was about to begin shooting again when the Commando pushed him aside, taking aim at the cluster of guards. Using both pistols, he unleashed a typhoon of bullets, hitting every single target, the ponies slamming into the ground like the useless bags of meat they were.

The Enforcer glared at the Commando who simply shrugged nonchalantly. The Commando could hear the hooves of the incoming guards pounding down the hallway to the courtyard.

Deeming that they had overstayed their welcome, the pair quickly ran to the edge of the courtyard, surveying the ground below. They could quite clearly see that they were above the clouds, and the Enforcer gave his orange friend a skeptical look. The Commando simply shrugged before holstering his weapons and pulling out a small cylinder. Unlatching the end of the cylinder, and pressing down a red button, he leapt off the courtyard, encased in a yellow glow. He disappeared through the cloud cover shortly after, although the Enforcer could still see the subtle glow of the Commando for a moment after.

With a shake of his head the Enforcer clicked a button on his belt, causing two small exhaust vents to appear in the back of his armor. Testing his jetpack for a moment just to be sure, the orange flames licking at his sturdy carapace, he jumped off as well.

The fall was surprisingly short, only a few seconds had passed before he began to quickly approach the ground. With a click of the button one more time, the photon jetpack engaged, slowing his descent substantially. The Enforcer bent down in mid air, placing his shield like a snowboard beneath his scuffed boots.

"Protect and Serve my ass ..." he muttered, bracing himself for the invariably painful landing.

The shockwave of the Enforcers impact blew up the ground around him, sending earth several feet up into the air. Smoke billowed from the crater, as he climbed out of it, painfully gripping the medpack his comrade had given him. Quickly inserting the syringe into a medical port in the left side of his abdomen, he could sense feeling rush back into his body, and feel his wounds mending themselves.

Gripping his wargear once again, he eyed the Commando standing a few feet away, looking down at the sprawled out Enforcer. Quickly righting himself, the juggernaut shot the Commando a look filled with disdain. Simply shaking his cracked helmet, the Commando turned away from the Enforcer, looking for something.

When he found it, he tapped the Enforcer, who was securing his medikit and disengaging his jetpack. Turning to look at what the orange clad warrior had found, the Enforcer beheld several comets burning in through the atmosphere like the strokes of a calligraphy brush dipped in scarlet ink.

Gesturing the Enforcer to follow with his beat up gauntlet, the Commando began to walk towards where the scanner fastened to his shoulder had indicated they would land. The Enforcer began to follow, before quickly glancing back at the castle they had literally just free fell from. It was a near vertical drop, and the cloud cover obscured the top of the fortress.

Regaining his rhythm, the Enforcer fell into line behind the Commando. They walked across the vast field that was present at the base of the mountain for several minutes, the sunlight reflecting off of their orange visors.

But as they continued on their path towards the incoming meteors, the Enforcer sensed something coming. He spun around only to find another squad of pegasi descending from the cloud cover. Hitting a small switch on his shotgun, the enforcer took aim, making sure to lead his targets. With a great explosion of smoke of and sparks, a grenade was propelled out of the barrel of the gun.

The ticking of the grenade was audiblly terrifying as it closed in on its destination. Seeing the incoming projectile two pegasi dashed out of the way at the last second, while the rest of the squad was showered with shrapnel, the force of the blast sending them down in smoking trails of white and crimson.

Two bullets spiraled through the air towards the surviving guards, each one tearing through the skulls of the ponies,devastating the grey matter contained within, death embracing each one. The Enforcer looked over his shoulder to see the commando clipping his smoking pistols to his belt, before continuing on.

"These guys are really starting to get on my nerves," spoke the Enforcer in a gruff southern accent. The Commando acknowledged this, turning his head to look over his shoulder and nodding slightly.

"Who's first on the list then?" the Enforcer asked, keeping pace with his more lightly armored ally. The Commando glanced over at his shoulder mounted scanner before replying in the same tone he always spoke in.

"The Colossus."

The Bandit

The meteorites slammed into the forest floor, rending entire trees apart, splintered wood flying all around. One particular meteorite smashed square into the bark of an enormously resilient tree. The metal object lodged itself inside the thick bark of the tree which had begun to catch fire from the burning hot capsule.

A few moments later, small servo arms shot forth from small ports in the metal transport, spraying the battered pod with liquid nitrogen. The ethereal orange glow that had enveloped the pod during its descent quickly faded, and the servo arms retracted back into their slots. The pod lay dormant, the crackling of the newly formed fires on the tree's bark just beginning to pick up. Objects continued to fall from the sky, though none seemed to disturb the resting pod.

Suddenly the ice encasing the pod shattered around a circular hatch as it was forced open. The man inside had rammed the jammed door a bit too hard, spilling out into the open air. He desperately clawed at the air for anything to grasp, but nothing could be found as he plummeted to the ground below. Smacking the ground with a crunchy thud, the Bandit yelped, surprised by the fall.

Laying there in the soft, moist soil, he felt around for his trusty blaster. The laser gun had fallen with him, having skittered across the ground a few feet from him. With a groan of annoyance the Bandit sat up, readjusting his light blue stetson. The hat was scuffed and worn, but he wouldn't have it any other way, the scars reminding him of all of his pyrrhic victories. Time and time again he managed to come out on top, but it always came at a hefty toll.

The Bandit scuttled over to his rifle, slinging it over his back, and checking his supplies. All of his belts of TNT and his precious smoke bombs remained clipped firmly in place on the belts slung tightly across his chest, crisscrossing each other in an X pattern. He grasped his blaster firmly in one hand, dusting off his indigo pants that were tucked into his boots. He also wore a light tan duster, the collar of it shrouding his face in combination with the angle of his stetson. Through the darkness his face was encompassed in, a blue green orb of light shone through.

Shaking his purple metal boots off, the Bandit looked around, searching for any landmarks, but everything looked the same. Trees as far as he could see.

"Burn ins never get any easier do they ... or safer for that matter ... " the Bandit muttered to himself, gripping his rifle with both hands. The smell of earth hung in the air, while the dust from the impact of his pod began to settle. Quickly glancing down at his cracked position finder in his gauntlet, the Bandit sighed in frustration, making a guess, and beginning to head in that direction.

The forest was immense, row after row of trees coming into view just as the last had faded. Out of the corner of his visor, the Bandit saw the slightest of movements. He whipped around, squeezing the trigger on his rifle as a laser slug flew from the barrel of the gun, smashing into the moving object.

The projectile splintered the wood of the creature, nearly severing its leg entirely. The timberwolf snarled at the Bandit, baring its teeth. With steely determination, the Bandit let loose a hail of slugs, each one ravaging the wooden behemoth. The beast charged, mustering all its strength to move. The Bandit remained in place, aiming at the back legs blowing them clean off.

Unrelenting, the timberwolf crawled forward using its front legs, viciously snapping at the air. The splintered stumps of its hind legs glowed with a green energy, the fragments of wood reforming, slowly repairing the beast. Unphased, the Bandit kept up his assault of strategically placed blasts, two more severing the front legs, the green magic beginning as soon as the limbs came flying off.

Seeing the back legs starting to regain their form, the outlaw lowered his gun, letting the barrel slide down into his left hand, allowing him to free his other. Reaching for a stick of dynamite on his belt, the Bandit pressed the detonator on the top of the device.

Abruptly, the Bandit found himself sprawled out against the ground, both of his arm locked in the claws of the timberwolf that had just entered the fray. The sharpened points dug into his light armor, hidden beneath his duster. The maw of the foul beast drooled in anticipation, the rows of wooden meat grinders inching ever closer to the Bandit's face.

Realizing he still clutched the stick of dynamite in his hand, the Bandit looked over at his pinned hand with determination. Wiggling his legs into position, he performed a powerful kick, shattering some of the underbelly of the creature, and forcing it back several feet. The timberwolf shook its head for a moment, before lunging at the Bandit, but he was prepared.

" 'Ave a snack why don't ya!", he yelled mockingly, bolting up into a sitting position, and ramming the still ticking dynamite into the skull of the beast, shattering several layers of sturdy wood. As soon as the dynamite was thrust in, it detonated, sending the Bandit flying several feet backwards onto his stomach, smoke coming off of his duster.

This time the green glow didn't return, the wrecked remains of the wolf staying strewn across the ground. With a heave, the Bandit pushed himself up, his hand injured from the explosion. Leaving him no time to breathe, the fully reformed original timberwolf pounced upon him. But just as he was forced to the ground once again, the Bandit gripped one of his smoke bombs, twisting the top off, and releasing a plume of grey smoke that surrounded the two.

Suddenly, the wolf fell several inches, the body of his prey no longer there to support him. The beast searched for the escaped meal, trying to claw its way out of the thick smoke.

"Lights out big guy," the Bandit spoke in a smug tone. A blast of incredibly bright purple energy pierced the smoke, exploding upon impact with the timberwolf. The Bandit lowered his gun, the shower of splinters plinking off his armor. With a sigh of relief, he looked for any more threats, and upon finding none continued onwards.

"Last damn time I take orders from that insane Commando ..." he muttered to himself before wincing in pain, stopping in his tracks. He freed one of his hands, reaching it down to touch the area of pain near his stomach. He felt something warm and wet, as the smell of fresh blood entered his nostrils. He grunted before muttering to himself.

"I'm getting too old for this shit ..." He quickly set down his rifle, unclipping a medikit from his belt, and taking out a small syringe. He inhaled deeply, before thrusting the needle into the medical port in the left side of his armor. He had never gotten used to the sudden rush of energy the medicine brought, and his senses were alight, not quite in pain or euphoria, simply overstimulated.

The wounds closed themselves quickly, leaving only bloodstains behind, as a surge of energy reinvigorated the Bandit.

"Then again, some things only get better with age ..." he remarked, trying to justify having agreed to another one of the Commando's forays into deep space. He had been enticed by the lure of of treasure and plunder abound. But he wasn't the spry outlaw he used to be, and looking back at some of the things he did back in the day, he would've slapped his younger self upside the head.

Yet here he was, yet again, on another hostile alien planet, roped into it by his own greed. Even so, he knew why he really did it, for the rush of combat was too much to stay away from for long. As the Bandit picked himself up, marching onwards, he realized something. He was born to be the wild card he was, fighting for whoever offered the greatest adventure. He would probably die some day, amidst the chaos, stranded on some god forsaken planet, and he was determined to enjoy every moment until that time inevitably came

Continuing in the general direction he had been heading before getting ambushed, the Bandit could feel a subtle tremor in the ground. He stopped, paralyzed by the memories of "The Planet". He tried to reason it away as just some freak seismic event, but his hopes were smashed, another pulse of energy resonating through the ground.

"No ... that's not possible!" the Bandit shouted in anger and disbelief, the shaking of the ground getting stronger by the second. Abruptly the periodic shaking stopped, the forest falling silent. The snapping of branches could be heard close by, but not coming from ground level, they were coming from overhead.

Hesitantly the Bandit slowly let his gaze drift upward, shocked, and disturbed by what was there, staring back at him. Two massive hands of stone had pried open a hole in the tree canopy, letting the enormous red eye of the creature stare back down at him. Quickly recomposing himself, and remembering who had won round one, the Bandit shouted at the beast.

"Back for round two then are ya? Alright Colossus, if you insist," The golem didn't move an inch, remaining completely still. A formation of birds, high up in the sky soared past the head of the golem, only furthering to emphasize its dizzying stature.The Bandit raised his gun upwards, taking aim at the unblinking red eye, before making one final comment.

"Ding ding."

The Huntress

The sky remained a gloomy red, space debris continuing to rain down upon Equestria. Most of the meteorites burned up, long before reaching the surface of the planet. But there were those few ones, that despite their tiny size, managed to make it to the planet, more or less intact. This was not by mistake, for their true nature was disguised among the frequent meteor showers.

An oblong metal pod fell at unfathomably high speeds, the hull glowing orange as it streaked downwards ever closer to the ground. Within seconds, it broke through the cloud cover, tearing a hole where it has passed through. The pod almost seemed to set the air around it alight it was moving so fast. The atmosphere grated against the exterior, trying to slow it down, but to no avail.

The capsule smashed into the ground, sending up dust and rock all around, before it began to sink. It had landed in the waters of a murky bog, the serene water cascading up into the air in fountains when the pod had made contact. Servo arms scrambled out of the ports of the pod, trying to cool it down with liquid nitrogen. One such arm got snagged on a branch, the weight of the beat up, sinking pod ripping it off as it sunk. The other three arms quickly sprayed the hull of the vehicle, freezing it in ice, along with the water immediatley surrounding it.

The entombed shell sunk to the bottom of the bog, arms retracting inwards. The pod sat still for several moments, nothing happening as the ice began to ever so slowly dissolve. But then, a beam of cerulean energy ripped through the side of the pod, gouging the hull open, and shattering the ice.

A decidedly female figure burst through the opening, water flooding the pod. She initially was thrown back against the interior of the vehicle from the force of the water, but once it had filled completely with liquid, she was able to force herself out of the opening. Clutching a glowing cerulean compound bow, she swam to the surface of the bog, the thick and dirty water smudging itself onto the curved and semi-form fitting plates of her armor.

With a final stroke, the Huntress thrust her head out of the water, her red helmet slick with the muddy waters of the bog. Scanning the area for shore, she hurriedly pulled herself onto land, the tall grass embracing her battered body. She collapsed onto the grass, still sopping wet. Checking her red and grey armor plates, she set down her bow for a moment checking the scanner in her gauntlet.

The device was scratched and worn, but it was sufficient for the task. It displayed a readout of any potentially threatening biological lifeforms within 1000 meter radius, and oh boy was it lit up like a christmas tree. A splotch of orange tint, normally relegated to defining enemies took up a good chunk of the screen. Her scanner was always malfunctioning, so the Huntress just glossed over the dot. The Huntress sighed, cursing her luck before looking into the murky waters of the lake.

Considering going back for more of her gear inside the wrecked pod, she elected to simply meet up with the Commando as soon as possible. Jumping to her feet, a bit of muck still staining her black jumpsuit, she looked eagerly into the treeline. That's when the scanner let out a high pitched whine.

She looked down at it, quickly grabbing her bow, the scuffed screen reading: IMMINENT THREAT DETECTED. Suddenly the waters of the bog violently exploded upwards, the mass of water being thrown up splattering the Huntress. She observed the surfacing creature angrily, taking her stance, and conjuring an energy arrow the same eery color as her bow into existence.

Four serpentine heads rose out of the water, each one eyeing the humanoid with malicious intent. The jaws of the beasts oozed saliva, as row after row of sword like teeth prepared to grind their new meal to a pulp. The hydra, covered in filthy muck, prepared to strike, each head rearing back in unison.

An energy arrow flew through the air as it did so, spiraling straight into the eye of one of the heads. The arrow seared the flesh around the socket, as the jelly of the eye was vaporized. The arrow didn't stop there though, piercing right through the skull of the head, shattering bone easily, and eviscerating the brain inside. The gray matter and cranial juices shriveled and evaporated from the intensity of the arrow, which had finally lodged itself in the back end of the skull before disintegrating into nothingness.

Howling in utter agony, the beast reeled backwards, nearly falling back into the swamp. But just as quickly as the destruction had been wrought, the creature's wounds began to repair themselves, the eye mending itself, while the flesh grew back into place. With a look of burning desire in their eyes, the heads snapped their maws , in an attempt to frighten the Huntress. She wasn't buying it.

With a sudden lunge, two of the heads thrust themselves at either side of the Huntress, hoping to catch her in the crossfire of two mouths filled with teeth that thirsted for blood. At the last second, she leaped backwards in an arc hanging in the air for a second or two, the pair of heads slamming into each other, dislocating the jaw of one, and tearing the flesh of the other. Blood dripped from the face of the creature, even as the beast began to regenerate and snap the jaw back into place.

The huntress let loose a volley of arrows, each one hitting with deadly accuracy. Two arrows were fired at each head, and invariably each arrow gouged the eyes of each face out. With the smell of burning flesh and cauterized blood reaching the Huntress, she knew it was time for the killing blow as each head lay limp, the long necks of them dangling awkwardly as the behemoth tried to heal itself.

She had seen creatures similar to this one in her travels, and with a flash of bright blue light, she was suddenly atop a tree behind the creature, the vulnerable necks in full view. Gripping her bow in one hand, she grabbed a small disc from her belt, clicking a button in the center as energy sheathed blades sprung outwards.

Homing in on the best point of impact, the Huntress prepared to throw the laser glaive, her arm coiled back, ready to let loose. With a display of astounding power, she hurled the glaive to the right of the outermost right neck, the glaive curving in an arc, spinning straight towards the easy target.

The blades shredded the neck tissue easily, breaking bones without pause, before slicing through the neck completely. Not ceasing, the laser glaive continued to shred through each neck, torrents of blood spewing from the stumps. The water around the hydra began to take on the same shade of red as its blood, the severed heads splashing into the water, sinking.

Curving back around and completing its circular flight path, The Huntress held up her right hand in anticipation. The device's blades retracted, as it landed gently in the owner's hand before she clipped it back onto her belt. Not wasting any time, she drew her bow once again, pointing it towards the base of the necks, where they all joined the body. The flesh had begun to reform, slowly getting longer, but the Huntress was anticipating this.

Snatching a small metal arrow off her belt, she notched the top heavy arrow into her bow, making sure she wouldn't miss. With assurance of hitting, she released the arrow as it barreled towards the beast. In midair, the front of the bulky arrow exploded off, revealing a titanium tip with a small cylindrical bulge behind it. It penetrated deep into the flesh of the base of all the necks, imbedding itself tightly in the sinews and flesh.

The Huntress slung her bow over her back, and in another flash of bright light appeared where she had been earlier on the shore of the bog. She turned away from the creature, walking calmly away from it as the first two heads took shape, regaining motor control. The heads shot the back of her helmet a look that could kill, the snarling mouths of the enraged hydra ready for a revenge they'd never see.

The arrow exploded in a burst of blue energy, incinerating the hydra from within, and utterly hollowing out the insides of the creature, spirit fire engulfing the organs. All of this happened in a split second, the beast thrashing for a moment before limply sliding back into the water. The Huntress didn't pay the beast any mind, not even glancing at the awesome power of the explosion.

She simply walked into the forest nonchalantly, the corpse of the hydra touching the cold floor of the bog's depths. Checking her scanner while heating her armor up a bit to cleanse any filth that still remained attached, she shook it a little. The screen still read: IMMINENT THREAT DETECTED. Frustrated, she rebooted it, but the message still remained.

The orange splotch on the normally black screen only furthered her belief that it was on the fritz again, but as she walked through the forest, a vibration shook the ground. She stopped for a moment, analyzing her scanner as another wave of shocking rocked the ground beneath her her feet. She had been so blind, not even paying the orange tint taking up a fourth of the screen any mind until now.

She readied herself, clutching her glaive in one hand tightly. The orange tint wasn't an indication of faulty technology, oh no it was something much, much worse. Another shock wave rattling her, the Huntress tried not to believe the scanner's reading, telling her that there was a threat of immense size extremely close to her.

Gathering herself, she attempted to push the memories of "The Planet" out of her mind, engaging her teleporter, and blinking instantly atop a tree to get a better view. She shut her eyes when she saw the behemoth, trying to believe it was just a dream, a bad case of PTSD. But as it reached down into the forest canopy, prying the trees apart, the Huntress' eyes bolted open.

She reminded herself that she'd defeated it once, and she wasn't about to lose. She stared up at the side Colossus' head that was arched slightly downward. It was looking at something through the hole in the forest canopy it had made. Sensing the opportunity for the first strike, she began to draw another hefty metal arrow from her belt, but she stopped before she could.

Back when the Huntress had defeated the Colossus, it was only with the aid of the rest of her team, and even then, not everyone made it back. Hesitantly, she plucked the arrow off her belt, trying to convince herself to shoot it. Willing herself to notch to arrow on her bow, she aimed carefully, taking her time, trying to pick out the golem's weakest spot.

A passing flock of birds disrupted her aim, but not for long, as she decided on the spot. Still unsure of what to do, she looked around, frantically searching for any trace of her team. With a sigh of frustration, she steeled herself for the battle ahead.

"Ain't no cavalry comin' big guy, just you, and me," she said nervously. "The way I like it ..."

She lied.

HAN-D

Royal and Night Guards stood around the bloodbath that was the Royal Throne room. Several recruits nearly threw up at the smell alone of the still burning dead, not to mention the twisted and contorted bodies of the dozens of dead ponies. One royal Guard strode over to the two Princesses, who lay in a state of coma, their magic mending them as best it could. The external wounds healed quickly, and the corpses were no longer charred, but the internal injuries were far more devastating and complex. The aura that surrounded the two fallen alicorns kept the guards from touching them, allowing them only to look on in desperate hope that their leaders would recover.

A hole had been torn in the ceiling of the throne room, letting sunlight flood onto the rubble filled ground below. Several ponies had begun to drag the bodies of the dead away, trying to resist the temptation to vomit from the disfigured and foul smelling corpses. Some cadavers even had small sparks of fire still ablaze in their coats.

The smokey room was a hard sight to bear, even for some of the more experienced veterans of the Royal Guard. One recruit looked up through the hole in the roof, training his view on a streak of crimson fire that was barreling down through the sky. He turned his head for a moment, observing some pegasi beginning to shout, some taking flight and leaping out of the shattered window.

The pony returned his gaze just in time to be met with a face full of metal, the capsule pulverizing him into the ground. The pod impacted so hard in fact, that the pony smushed underneath was sent careening down to the floor below, the pod partially penetrating through the thick floor of the castle.

The scratched and scarred grey pod glowed an orange that radiated heat so intense, ponies standing mere feet away were forced away in pain, the air around the pod seemingly engulfed in flames. The stunned ponies stood in shocked silence, mouths slightly agape, waiting for something to happen. The pod just sat there, mocking them with it's strange nature, the metal plates interlocking with each other so perfectly that not a single one had been lost during re entry. Slowly, a unicorn with a bubble of energy encasing him approached the pod, prodding at it with a magical tendril.

"INITIALIZING PRIMARY SYSTEMS," a muffled, robotic voice stated from inside the pod. As if on cue, robotic arms jutted from ports in the pod, spraying the whole shell down with liquid nitrogen, encasing it in a sheet of ice. The unicorn retreated fearfully, the rest of the guards raising their spears preemptively.

"PRIMARY SYSTEMS ONLINE. RUN PROGRAM : HAN-D," the monotone voice called, still audible through the walls of the vehicle and the ice. The floor shook for a moment, as the pod began to slip downwards slightly, the unstable floor crumpling under the immense weight of the foreign object.

Just as the pod slipped completely through the gaping hole in the floor, smashing into the floor below, the front of the pod exploded in smoke, shards of metal showering the fearful guards. They all looked around barking orders to one another, requesting visuals on the intruder. At the same time, a few ponies noticed a thin, wispy trail of black smoke. Allowing their vision to follow the path, they found themselves staring at the hole in the ceiling once again, which had been widened further by the pod.

There, silhouetted by the sun's light, was a humanoid mechanical being, made of lime carapace plates accented with grey. Atop its head sat a small brown janitorial cap, it's single orange eye staring down at the paralyzed ponies. It wielded a massive metal mallet, the same color as its armor, and in a synthesized, yet somehow distinctively organic voice, it spoke.

"Let's rock."

With his simple battle cry uttered, the robot leapt from his perch, his body centering over the bright orb of the sun for a few seconds before he crashed down into the room below. The shock wave knocked every single pony off their feet, some dying from the sheer amount of energy transmitted to their bodies, their internal workings exploding in a a self contained splatter of gore.

HAN-D stood proudly where he had landed, his hammer ready for battle. With a cry of desperate anger, several unicorns let loose a wave of magical bolts, the luminescent colors lighting up the smoky room. The robot, sidestepped several feet in a single bound, the energy blasts slamming into the ponies behind him, vaporizing them as the smell of burnt flesh and burning hair returned to the room.

With a creepy robotic chuckle, he ran at terrifying speed towards the unicorns, hammer held ready to strike an overhand blow. Scrambling and screaming in fear, the group of guards attempted to encase themselves in magic while they made a hasty retreat, yet it was all for naught.

The first victim was smashed into the ground, his barrier splintering into shards as the unstoppable force of the hammer cleaved right through it. The armor of the unicorn did nothing to give the hammer any pause, crumpling under the immense force of the blow. Muscle and sinew ripped and was torn asunder as the barely recognizable heap of meat bled profusely.

HAN-D remained still for several seconds, enjoying the kill. Slowly, he rotated his head to face the unicorns who had stopped, frozen in terror.

"Boo."

The unicorns sprinted away like the possessed, cowering behind the remaining pegasi guards. With a bark to reform, the remaining guards encircled HAN-D hesitantly approaching the robot. Slowly, he rose from where he stood hunched over the guard he had obliterated, looking at the encroaching ponies. Standing at his full height, he looked like a giant to the four legged guards, only furthering their fear of him.

Without warning, a vent in the back of the mechanical menace opened, dozens of floating drones barreling out of HAN-D. Without any look of hesitation in his eye, he charged at the closest pony, hammer gripped in one hand. The pegasi steeled himself, raising his spear, trying to ignore the laser beams that the swarm of freshly deployed drones were spewing.

The shaft of the raised spear broke against the metal form of the berserker as he smacked the pony square in the jaw, sending him flying into the air, his neck torn open from the concussive force of the blow. Whipping back around, servos pulsing with life, HAN-D caught the group of guards that was trying to attack him from behind, off guard.

With a mighty slam of his hammer, the floor shook violently, the elegant tiling of the floor exploding in a cloud of porcelain and smoke. The ponies caught in the blast flew upwards, their mangled limbs twisted into awkward positions, the strike having completely blown apart their bones.

A lance of spiraling energy slammed into the back of HAN-D, leaving a nasty scorch mark where it had hit, and stumbling the robot slightly. The rest of the battered group of unicorns unleashed hell, putting all of their magical essence into the ensuing torrent of blasts. The room resembled a club rave, the widely varying colors of magic smashing into HAN-D. Smoke from the explosive impact of the bolts began to obscure the robot, as the first unicorn fell to the ground, utterly drained of his strength.

More and more guards collapsed to the floor, exhausted, until the assault had ceased. Several other unicorn ponies had, in the meantime, been encasing the drones in a bubble of combined magical energy, struggling to resist the sheer power of the laser weapons the drones attempted to crack the shield with. At last, having gathered up all of the drones, the unicorns condensed the bubble, smashing the attackers into electronic scrap.

The smoke had begun to clear away from where HAN-D was standing before the assault, revealing the robot clutching his chest. He stumbled forward uneasily, dropping to his knees and speaking in his synthesized voice .

" I have been, terminated ... Just ... remember ... " his eye went dark, the squat machine falling forward onto it's face, its grip on the hammer loosening. Several pegasi moved in slowly, while the exhausted unicorns scuttled over to the protected bodies of their leaders.

" Remember ... I'm a really good actor ..." , the robot said in the same defeated tone he had spoke in moments earlier. The scorched robot practically leapt to its feet, its eye glowing with excitement. The horrified pegasi began to turn to run, but HAN-D stopped them in their tracks, as his upper half spun around in a frenzy, his hammer clutched tightly. The guards were sent flying from the force of the impact, blood spewing from the ones that had their heads completely torn off by the strike. The last of the pegasi guard's were defeated by the spinning maelstrom of death, HAN-D refocusing his sights on the unicorns crowding around the recuperating gods of day and night.

HAN-D settled back into his normal stance, slowly walking towards the last dozen or so guards. Sapped of all their strength from unleashing such devastating, but ultimately ineffective magic, they lethargically piled on top of the force field in a last ditch effort to save their rulers. Amused by the display, HAN-D decided to be a good sport, plucking each unicorn off individually, grasping them by the horn, and forcefully tossing them out the shattered window to his left.

When only two guards remained, HAN-D dropped his hammer, firmly grasping the skull of one of the guards. He held the skull in place with one hand, while he yanked on the horn with the other. After several attempts to yank the horn out, the disinterested robot pitched the unicorn out the window, his screams like the crescendo to a good music piece.

The last guard stumbled to his feet clumsily, speaking in a harsh, defiant voice.

"You ... You'll never break the spirit of Equestria ..."

"No, but I am going to break" the robot coiled his arm back "you." HAN-D released the devastating punch, sending the valiant guard smashing through a wall, the structure collapsing and burying the guard. He began to dust his knuckles off, retrieving his hammer, when all of a sudden a sheath of energy surrounded him. Immobilized, HAN-D eyed the large white alicorn previously contained inside the bubble shakily getting to her feet, her horn aglow.

Celestia jerked her head slightly, sending HAN-D flying backwards into a wall, slamming into it, and bouncing off, landing on his face. The machine quickly regained its poise, grasping its mallet in both hands, eyeing the Princess with malicious intent. The two stared each other down, the bloody heaps of bodies strewn around the room only fueling Celestia's rage. Tears streamed from Celestia's fiery expression. HAN-D could sense her anger, and her lust for revenge. He quickly snuck a glance at the other form still resting inside the bubble of magic, before returning his attention to Celestia.

Celestia made the first move, beginning to channel a spell, her horn gathering power.

"If it's a fight you want, you've come to the wrong robot . This isn't a fight ... " HAN-D said in his creepy voice, clutching his hammer in both hands by his side, planting his feet squarely on the ground. The bolt of magic began to swirl around her horn, the princess' eyes turning white from the overload of magic. With a shockwave, the lance of energy came barreling towards HAN-D, who charged right into it, but not before finishing his remark.

" ... It's a slaughter . "

The Miner

The scuttling of powerful paws could be heard within the cave tunnels of the diamond dogs. Large bipedal canines shuffled from side to side of each tunnel, picking away at the veins of valuable minerals and gemstones with sturdy iron picks. Their fur was matted and filthy, having worked in the mines for days on end, the air filled with soot and smoke.

As a diamond dog smashed his pick into a vein of emerald, the ground shook, an explosion rocking the tunnel system. The incredulous canine looked down the dark tunnel for a moment, trying to find the source of the shockwave, before looking back to his pick in confusion. Hesitantly, he retracted the pick, looking it over, searching for anything out of place.

"Mine's bigger," a playfully sadistic voice whispered from behind the diamond dog. Before he could even turn, a massive pick came crashing down on the unsuspecting dog, impaling him through his skull, the curved blade of the pick exiting out around the midsection of the back. Blood began to pour out from the exit wound, as it also began to pool inside the destroyed cranial cavity.

The Miner flipped his pick around, holding up the corpse to his tan welding mask's rectangular vision slot. His armor was utilitarian and boxy in nature, the same color as his face mask. Strapped to the sides of his legs were utility pouches containing his extra wargear. Strapped to his back in an X pattern were two smaller pickaxes to be wielded in both hands simultaneously. The vision slot was tinted a pale yellow, and it was scratched and scuffed all over. It was a wonder he could see out of it at all.

Plucking the cadaver from his pick, much like one would clear leaves from a rake, the body slumped to the ground in a heap. The Miner chuckled slightly, as the pounding of paws could be heard coming from both directions of the long narrow tunnel. It was so very dark, but he had gotten used to it over the years in other mines. He could see the diamond dogs surrounding him, claws out, and pick raised. Several of them even had a simple sword.

He put his pick down for a moment, cracking his knuckles and his neck in anticipation. The diamond dogs’ beady eyes observed him closely, and their ears stood at attention. Several of the canines caught a glimpse of their fallen brother, howling in anger. One particularly bold dog charged furiously out from the crowd, claws extended and teeth bared.

With amazing reaction time, the Miner ducked under the swipe of the creature's claws, before uppercutting him in the gut. But it didn't end there, for the Miner was no mere man. His fist had gone clean through the dog's stomach, the dying creature's mouth agape and his eyes wide in shock as he began to drip blood onto the granite floor of the mine.

Grasping the dog's cheek with his other hand, the Miner rose from his crouched position, looking the fearful beast in the eye, before suddenly turning to the crowd of diamond dogs and speaking smugly.

"Who's next?" He removed the dog from his fist, letting the body crumple to the ground, the viscous blood now streaming out of the gut wound in force. The canine twitched and shook for several seconds before finally going limp, a glossy look overtaking his half lidded eyes, his mouth still agape in anguish.

This time the entire mob of mutts charged, surrounding the Miner as they howled ferociously. Hastily, the Miner recovered his pick, before jumping up as high as he could in the constricted tunnel. As he floated in the air weightlessly he coiled his legs preparing to push off. He slammed his feet into an approaching diamond dog, blasting himself backwards, and shattering the mutt's ribcage.

He soared back over a mob of ravenous creatures, landing several feet behind them. Planting his feet firmly on the chalky floor, the Miner channeled all of his strength, holstering his large pick, and drawing a small box from his utility pouch. He pressed the button on the back of the box, firmly, the box expanding out into a full sized mining drill. Flicking it on and holding it in front of him, the Miner dashed forward in a spiral of devastation. The huge drill literally tore a hole in the crowd, chunks of meat and bone fragments flying to and fro like confetti.

Reaching the end of his drill charge, the Miner remained still, the howls of the ravaged pack echoing through the tunnels. Under his mask he smirked slightly, disabling his drill as it folded back up into an impossibly small box, before he tucked it neatly inside his pouch. He turned slowly to face the mob, or what was left of it at least.

Not a single mutt remained standing, most of them dead amid crimson pools of blood, the dust in the air mixing with the liquid. Chunks of flesh were slowly sliding down the walls of the cave, and bone shards were everywhere, the marrow slowly dribbling out. The ones unfortunate enough to have survived the charge howling and yelping pain as the life drained from their anguished faces.

The Miner strode over to one of the barely alive dogs, towering above the creature. A large chunk of his left torso was gone, splattered somewhere in the room. He whimpered upon seeing the figure eyeing him intently. With a quick and forceful stomp of his boot, the Miner crushed the skull of the canine, as he slowly shook his head, turning to walk away from the scene.

"Stupid mutts don't know when to shut the hell up," he remarked mockingly, continuing down the dark tunnels of the cave, the moans and groans of his victims slowly fading into obscurity. The Miner ran his hand along the wall of the increasingly narrow passage, feeling every groove and indent in the dark grey walls. Eventually the passage became so narrow, only a single worker would be able to fit through.

By this point, the mine was pitch black, the Miner only able to see using the headlight attached to his welding mask. As he took his hand off the wall, he could make out a door up ahead. In a frenzy, he dashed to the door, only to find it was made of a dark black metal, almost blending in with the perpetual darkness. There was no knob attached, and it refused to budge when the Miner crashed into it with the full force of his body.

Grunting slightly, he drew his two small picks, and with one strike, the piercing power of them came to bear down on the strange door. They penetrated it easily, the curved portion of the pick locking in place behind the door as the Miner heaved backwards, unhinging the door and pulling it from its place in the tunnel. Small rocks crumbled as the metal obstruction was removed, more dust filling in the air.

Removing his weapons from the obstacle, the Miner stepped through the narrow passage, and was greeted by a spacious cavern. The walls were lined with fiery torches, their glow giving the room a sense of coziness. The high ceilings were home to sharp stalagmites, some of which dripped water every now and then.

But the real thing he took note of, was the tremendous leader of the diamond dog pack, easily twice the size of even his burly bodyguards. He sat upon a throne of stone, carved into the very cave walls. His eyes glowed with a predatory instinct, and his fur was long and shone a silvery grey. He made no attempt to speak, or even howl at the Miner, simply watching him uneasily, as he lifted a paw, pointing straight at him.

With a war cry that shook the cavern, the dozens of musclebound diamond dogs raised their claws in the air, a few clutching battle axes and swords. They wore ramshackle armor, a few of them having just a small section of battered chainmail, while others had partial suits of dented plate armor. The beady eyes glared at the intruder as they came closer and closer, with a fervor to destroy him in the goriest way possible.

"Oh, you want a fight now, do ya? Heavencracker would like a word with you," the Miner said in his sadistically playful tone, slinging his dual picks on his back, before taking a step backwards and taking out a white colored sphere, he pressed it against his right hand, the solid object seeming to melt and reform along his arm. The liquid slinked along quickly, shaping itself into a large gauntlet, before it spilled over, past the tip of the Miner's fingers, slowly tapering off into a point. The Miner revved up the conical drill, the machine whirring with life, ready to unleash its wrath.

He glanced at his drill eagerly, before taking a wide stance, and thrusting the drill up in the air, the tip spinning rapidly. The diamond dogs continued to sprint across the large room, now only a few yards from the Miner. Focusing his gaze on the incoming canines, he steadied himself, preparing to get stuck in.

"This drill is the drill that will pierce the heavens!" the Miner remarked slyly. " ... And your skulls." he muttered gleefully to himself, before surging forward, Heavencracker just as eager as the Miner was to get to work.

The drillbit glowed white, as the Miner shot straight through a section of guards, cleaving through their midsections with utter disregard. Armor crumpled like paper, the dirty metal getting smashed to pieces. The Miner didn't relent, literally passing through several guards as massive holes in their bodies gushed blood, innards spilling out onto the floor below.

The instant the drill had hit, the drill twisted and contorted their tough flesh, twisting and yanking it from their bodies as the rest of the unrelenting tool carved a hole directly through them, big enough for the Miner to fit through. The drill seemed to propel the Miner forward, until at last, he stopped, well behind the crowd of enraged dogs.

Dozens of bodies lay limp on the floor, their blood seeping in between every groove of the stone floor. Torchlight illuminated the slick and glossy organs that had been eviscerated by Heavencracker. No howls of agony were uttered, for every guard pierced by the drill had died instantaneously.

Smirking beneath his mask, The Miner turned to face the remaining canines, as the drill reformed into a ball within his hand. Quickly placing the sphere into his pouch, the Miner drew his dual pickaxes, clutching them tightly. He glanced over his shoulder, observing the pack leader beginning to rise from his throne.

Knowing he didn't have much time, he zealously ran at the mob, his picks positioned to strike upwards. The first few dogs he encountered, the Miner swung upwards, impaling them on the picks, blood running down the spikes. In a fluid motion, he slammed the dogs back into the ground, the earth rippling and exploding in a line in front of the blow. Rock and dust blew up into the air, as a clump of dogs went flying upwards.

A few dropped backed to the ground, the impact shattering their spines, and for all intents and purposes, killing them instantly. With a grin upon his face, the Miner shot a look up towards the ceiling, relishing in the gorey display of several of the mutts impaled on the stalagmites.

Retrieving his picks from the two mashed and pulverized guards, he hurled one at the last remaining guard. The tool soared through the air, smashing into the dog's head, and sending him flying backwards. With the last of the mob taken care of, the blood in the room morbidly reflecting the torchlight, the Miner attempted to spin around.

A meaty paw grasped the Miner's leg, the powerful leader turning the intruder upside down. He raised the Miner to his face, his vicious maw snarling angrily. The Miner peered into the alpha male's eyes for a moment, before smashing his remaining short pick into the leader's chest.

Shock overtook the dog for a moment, and a moment was all that the Miner needed. Grasping the pick with both hands, he heaved upwards, lifting the mutt off the ground, and over himself in a lightning quick motion. Letting the pick go as the canine plopped down behind him, the Miner hit the ground hard, but quickly regained his poise.

The diamond dog grasped the pick in one paw, angrily yanking it out and tossing it aside, blood pouring from his chest, and washing over his silvery fur. Meanwhile, the Miner gripped his two handed pick firmly, standing over the injured dog, and raising the massive weapon over his head and slightly behind it. The leader knew what was coming, and attempted to roll out of the way, but accounting for this the Miner gored the dog with accuracy, right in his gut.

The canine let loose a howl of pain, the agonizing feeling of the blow wracking him in sensory overload. The Miner gripped the pick tightly, raising the dying diamond dog up to his facemask. He spoke with a deceivingly innocent tone.

"You know where we're going, Fido?" The dog spat at the vision slot in the Miner's mask. Feeling merciful, the Miner decided not to bitch slap the dog's face into next week, instead simply looking up at the ceiling of the cave, and then back to the mutt. He did this several times, letting the dog suffer as gravity slowly pushed the pick's spike deeper into his wounds.

The Miner crouched down slightly, as if he were preparing to jump. An aura of faint energy surrounded him as he answered his own question in a sinister voice.

"To the stars."

The Sniper

Breathe In

The Royal Guard outpost near the Everfree forest was buzzing with activity, the two dozen ponies stationed there sprinting from one end of the walled complex to the other, gathering supplies, donning armor and sharpening weapons. Sparks from the whetstone flew up into the air, drifting upon the gentle wind. They had received word of a massive creature manifesting itself nearby from their scouts out in the Everfree. The air in the camp was filled with the barking of orders from the commanding officer deployed there.

Scope In

One pony stopped for a moment, looking out past the low walls of the outpost. It's funny really. To an experienced sniper, time moves in slow motion even at break neck pace, but when you stop completely, for even a moment ...

Bullet In

... you're as good as dead. The ultrasonic rail rifle round created a sonic boom around itself as it smashed into the head of the unaware guard, the large caliber of it tearing the upper half of the jaw off. The result was the body wobbling uneasily for a moment, before collapsing in a geyser of blood spurting from the lower jaw, flooding out as if it were a monsoon.

A pony nearby yelped in horror. A splitting pain came from his eardrum, the sonic boom having deafened him. The entire camp froze, every single guard stopping for a second, trying to make heads or tails of where the strike had come from.

Breathe In

Suddenly, the frenzied action of the camp returned in full force, with several guards barking orders to the squad of unicorns to throw up a barrier around the small camp. The air began to smell of blood, the waterfall of it gushing from the corpses neck to blame. A medic dashed over to the cadaver, knowing it was too late for him, but wanting to inspect the wound none the less.

Scope In

Two unicorns accompanied the doctor, throwing up another, smaller shield around the three of them, as the medic bent down, trying to locate the projectile. He levitated his instruments, delicately picking away at the utterly ravaged remains of the neck. Bone had been ripped right off, and muscle has been shredded like tissue. Tendons had snapped like cheap rubber bands, and blood continued to envelop the pony. His fur began to soak with the stuff, turning his white coat a crimson red, contrasting morbidly with each other.

Finding the railgun slug lodged deep in the back of the neck, the unicorn plucked it out with his magic, holding up to his eyes, the bullet spread out and crumpled, and caked with sticky flesh, dripping blood. He rotated it, trying to look for something he couldn't quite put his hoof on.

Bullet In

Another ear bleeding wave of sound exploded through the air, causing several ponies to wince in pain, clutching their ears. The bullet spiraled with efficiency towards the medic, the velocity and force of it punching straight through the force field. The round was fired in such a way that it shredded through the heads of all three guards, the first one's head completely exploding in a shower of gore, splattering the other two ponies with grey matter. The medics head was the next target of the impossibly powerful slug, ripping open the side that it entered, the tendons snapping easily, and the bones becoming nothing more than pulverized dust.

The flesh of the head hung awkwardly as the stallion toppled over, his helmet in blood soaked fragments on the ground. The final victim was granted a much less spectacular death, the bullet simply ripping through his eyes, popping them like overfilled water balloons. Overcome by the sheer amount of pain and shock from having the entirety of one of his senses torn away instantly, the final guard slumped to the ground after wobbling uneasily for a moment, gasping for help.

Breathe In

At this point the remaining unicorns were encasing the entire complex in a magical barrier, in an attempt to defend themselves from the unseen threat. Wave after wave of pulsating energy was poured into the shield, the aura of it rippling like that of an aurora borealis.

Scope In

A pegasi sergeant was gathering his squad, ordering them to pile inside the stone armory building. The dozens of guards shouted at each other, some of them on the verge of vomiting upon seeing the mangled remains of their long time friends. A few of the guards called out for forgiveness, while others still prayed to Celestia for protection.

The surge of ponies rapidly disappeared inside the small stone building, with no windows to be seen. The cobblestone was mossy and overgrown with ivy, the smokestack billowing light grey smoke. The sergeant beckoned to the unicorns to hurry up and get inside, waving his hoof frantically, his nervous eyes darting around scanning the tree tops and foliage.

Charge Up

An audible whirring noise could be heard, although it was faint and muffled. The fearful guards dropped their barrier as they rushed back towards the crammed stone building, the sergeant frantically ushering them inside, cold sweat beginning to run down his coat. He noticed something strange for a moment, almost unsure of if it was even there. A slight distortion of light mesmerized him, the last few unicorns dashing inside without a second thought. But the sergeant lingered for a moment too long, tilting his head trying to make sense of the distortion.

And Let Loose

The distortion shimmered slightly, as an energetically charged gauss round swirled toward the entranced pony. A trail of faint purple tailed the round, as it streaked past the guard, impacting just inside the doorway of the armory, the door still wide open. With a bright flash of light, and an ear drum bursting shockwave of sound, the stone building exploded in a shower of destroyed cobblestone and organic matter.

The ponies inside had been completely mutilated, with seared limbs and torsos crashing down amongst the shower of stone and melted armor. Heads of the guards rolled gorily around, some of them being crushed under the falling rocks, splattering their contents onto the soil which hungrily lapped up the blood and bodily fluids of the deceased.

As the dust finally began to settle, the internal aromas of the guards wafting through the air, a group of but three stallions remained.

"I-I ... I don't want to die yet, Audacious ... I ..." one pegasi said, clutching his stomach. It had been torn open by the blast of the shot, his intestines beginning to spill out. He tried to force them back in, but the adrenaline his body provided was far too little to accomplish such an agonizing task. A unicorn, his leg severely mangled, with bits of his femur protruding, spoke in a reassuring, yet pained tone.

"It's .... I ... It'll be fine ... we just, we just gotta ... " His heartbeat quickened as he dragged himself over to his gravely injured friend. " We're gonna make... I promise… promise you're gonna go home. Gonna ... Gonna get you all patched up…” He coughed, the phlegm containing blood and flecks of bone. “...and looking right as rain." The pegasi clutching his stomach winced, another wave of agony wracking his body, his sense on fire.

"Y-Yeah ... I just ... aghhh" He grunted in anguish, the life in his eyes slowly dimming. He resumed the conversation, with a grim and desperate tone, grasping his friend's hoof with his own blood stained one. "Just .... tell, tell Star Gazer ... tell her ..." His hoof went limp, sliding off of Audacious. With his final breath, the dying pony managed to whisper hoarsely " ... I love her ..."

One By One

With that, the pony's heavy eyes fell shut, all color and life draining from his already pale face. Audacious knelt over him, his mouth agape, unable to accept the sudden death. He turned slowly, the other remaining pony who had been whimpering a few moments before, but had since fallen silent. Dragging his crippled body over to the guard, he looked into the glossy eyes of the corpse, his face still contorted in an expression of unbearable pain.

They All Fall

With a somber expression on his face, Audacious gently lifted his hoof over the pony's eyes, closing them quietly, the only sound present, the dim crackling of the purple fires that had begun to smolder. Seared flesh and impossible amounts of blood were strewn across the devastated outpost, the sheer sight of it alone enough to make one vomit, not to mention the horrid smell of burning flesh and organs. Bone shards had impaled themselves in the ground, their marrow oozing steadily out onto the moist, and blood soaked soil.

Until Nothing Is Left Standing

Audacious removed his dented and pierced helmet, cuts on his damaged face leaking blood profusely, matting his pale blue coat. He let the helmet drop to the ground, the piece of wrecked metal sinking in slightly. He tried to stand, barely able to stand uneasily on three legs, letting his mangled leg dangle, still pouring blood, and filling his nostrils with its metallic scent.

"TAKE ME! BUCKIN' TAKE ME DAMN IT!", he screamed in anger and sorrow, tears streaming from his eyes. Everyone he ever knew, or had even been friends with, had been ripped from him in the course of a minute. He pounded his chest angrily, exposing it for a fatal strike.

Nothing At All

A purple blur arced through the air, landing just in front of Audacious, and throwing him off balance. The earth pony stumbled backwards, onto his mutilated leg, twisting the bone even more, the muscle fibers shredding inside his limb.

A tall figure, encased in sleek and pristine purple armor glared down at the enraged guard through his bulbous visor which was tinted a light purple. He tilted his head slightly before responding to Audacious' invitation to kill him.

"No. Death is too good for you," he said, his voice cold and harsh. With a sudden burst of speed, the Sniper bent down low, and launched a punch at Audacious' jaw, the impact knocking him out cold. Blood began to trickle slightly from his mouth, but he would live.

The vox system integrated into the purple figure's helmet began to crackle, the sound of static all that rang through. The man stood up, tapping his helmet, and securing his railgun tightly on his back. Several seconds later, a packet of data was received, the visor automatically displaying it for the user. It read:

From: COMMANDO

We've located the Colossus. Initiate Monsoon Protocol?

With a swift thought, the onboard AI read the humanoid's thoughts, quickly replying with a single word.

From: SNIPER

Proceed.

Acrid

Fire engulfed the area, orange and red flames washing over the hardened scales of the dragon that had braced itself for the assault. The fire heated up the scales slightly, but as the wave of heat subsided, the dragon lowered its arms, a look of fury taking hold of its expression. He eyed the much larger, greed enhanced berserker that towered over him, its nostrils still billowing smoke.

Extending his claws and snarling, his pupils contracted into small slits, his legs tensing up as he prepared for an assault. Leaping from where he stood, the smaller dragon flew into the air, hurtling straight at the berserker's face. As the dragon barreled towards the enormous dragon, a streak of fire arced through the skies above the battlefield, neither combatant paying it any mind.

The berserker raised its arms swiftly, as the smaller foe slashed ferociously upon impact. Its diamond hard claws tearing and rending the scales as best they could. Losing his grip on the grooves between the scales, the smaller dragon slammed into the hard ground below, knocking the air out of him, his purple scales rattling from the force of the fall.

Razor sharp claws extended out from the larger dragon's hands, the sickening screech they made as they were drawn prompting the young dragon to leap to his feet. He backed up a few steps, his battered body trying to stay invigorated, while he focused intently on the berserker, trying to find an opening in the overlapping scales.

Bitch, please. Acrid don't need no opening, Acrid makes one.

With a deafening explosion, a metal case rammed into the berserker's backside, the impossibly fast pod cleaving right through the "impenetrable" carapace of plates, and embedding itself in the ground. The dragon's innards exploded outwards, the shockwave of the impact rupturing it's internal organs, with bone and flesh blasting outwards, coating the ground in a slick film of blood and sticky flesh.

The younger dragon had been shot backwards several feet, slamming into a tree, and bouncing off onto his stomach. His vision blurred as he grasped his head in pain, writhing from the pain and the shock. His claws dug into the ground as righted himself, trying to get his vision to return to acceptable clarity.

From what he could make out through the distorted view, the berserker had toppled over onto its shredded front, its claws still gripping its devastated gut as the final breath left its mouth. Smoke no longer came out in plumes from its nostrils, and it had stopped moving altogether, the distant, glossy, and yet somehow surprised look in its eyes making it apparent it had died instantly.

Poking out from the immense dragon's back was the tip of the foreign object. It was covered in the flesh and blood of the berserker, the liquid gently caressing the hard metal plates as it rolled idly down the sides, like rain on a window pane. The bones within the corpse had been utterly pulverized to a fine dust, and organs were liquified, blending into the massive pools of blood forming around the dragon, the damp ground eagerly drinking the reddish liquid up.

A rustling could be heard behind the young dragon, as three more dragons, nearly twice the size of him surged forward out of the thicket of the forest. One of them, stopped, shocked by the corpse of the berserker before him, while another clutched the injured youngling tightly.

"What... what happened here?" one of the warriors asked, incredulous, as his claws extended in anticipation. The sunlight glinted off of the sharp instruments of death, the look on the dragon's face one of complete disbelief.

Suddenly, the berserker's corpse exploded outwards, the remainder of the carcass being blown into chunks of meat that showered the dragons in viscous fluid and organs. They all shielded their faces with their arms, and one of them, who didn’t have wings, seemed to gain an aura around him, his scales darkening slightly as they hardened.

As the downpour of gore relented, the last few bits of the eviscerated dragon plopping down onto the ground with a sickly thud, the team of dragons let their arms lower, revealing the sight before them. The pod had been completely torn open on one side, twisted and tangled metal jutting outwards, and in all the mess, a single figure stood, on four legs.

Its flesh was a violet burgundy, and large pores seemed to ooze a viscous green substance, as it's maw dripped with the same liquid. Beady eyes rested behind a snub snout, and its claws were coated in the same mysterious substance that the rest of it seemed to exude. It snarled slightly, baring its teeth, before drawing its head back slightly, and unleashing a ball of caustic spittle.

The vile liquid washed over the dragon with hardened scales, the corrosive bile eating away at the scales, before soaking into the soft flesh below. The instant it made contact with the dragon's skin, he toppled over, rolling and writhing about in uncontrollable agony as his comrades looked on in horror.

"Go! Get out of here, get back to the town, warn the others!" the female warrior dragoness instructed the youngling, a sense of urgency and terror in her trembling voice.

"B-But I can fi--"

"NO! Run!" She shoved the dragon she clutched towards the thicket, causing him to stumble a bit as he regained his footing. With a concerned last glance, the young dragon vanished into the thicket, dropping to all fours, and sprinting away from the scene as fast as his legs would carry him.

Turning back to face Acrid, the dragoness roared mightily. She pounced towards the beast with fire forming in her maw. As she landed gracefully a few feet from the beast, she opened her mouth, and a tapestry of orange flames billowed forth in a line, straight towards Acrid. The wave of destruction swept over the beast, searing flesh and vaporizing the liquid pouring out of Acrid.

As the dragoness ceased her flame breath, she stood shocked, her eyes filled with sheer disbelief at the creature before her. The charred and still ablaze body of Acrid began to regenerate, patches of skin regenerating at a breakneck pace, as the ooze continued to drip out of him.

The reforming and distorted face of the creature did nothing to hide the malice in it's eyes, as it lunged forwards, still on fire. Tackling the dragoness to the ground, it put its deadly claws to use. First, it punched the dragon in the jaw forcefully, sending her reeling. Then came the real attack, as Acrid's claws sunk into the lighter face scales protecting the dragon, one claw plunging right through her eye and into her brain.

Swiping and slashing ferociously, Acrid soaked the dragon in not only her own blood, but the virulent toxins that coated his claws. In a few seconds, the dragon had been killed -- no, annihilated -- overcome by the grievous wounds and the incredibly lethal disease coursing through her bloodstream the contents of which was now spattered around her head and on Acrid's flesh. Acrid grinned manically, relishing in the overkill, his eyes filled with sadistic glee. The mutilated face was nearly unrecognizable by the time Acrid was tackled by the last warrior, sending them both flying off of the dragoness.

They rolled a few feet after hitting the ground, Acrid kicking the dragon off, the impact denting several scales, and a shockwave of blunt trauma resonating through him. Flying through the air, and fumbling uneasily to right himself, the dragon managed to stick the landing, wobbling slightly as he made contact with the blood soaked ground. He snapped his jaw furiously, his claws filled with bloodlust towards the vile intruder.

To his surprise, Acrid simply stood up, and dashed off in the other direction, through a dense patch of foliage. Confused for a moment, but still seething with rage, the dragon glanced over at his friend that had been assaulted with bile. He had stopped moving, his claws curled slightly, a clear sign of rigor mortis.

Clenching his teeth, the wingless dragon charged after Acrid, seeking revenge, his strides shaking the ground slightly. As he slammed through the thicket, he was instantly assaulted by wracking pains in his feet, his muscles weakening. He shot a look downwards, and slipped as he did so, the caustic green sludge below him sapping his strength as he fell belly first into a pool of it.

He struggled to move for a moment, his eyes beginning to feel heavy as the agony engulfed him. Close by, Acrid smiled cruelly, baring row after row of jagged, bile soaked teeth. The dragon looked up helplessly, still trying to make an effort to stand. Acrid just stood there, eyeing him maliciously, before a cloud of green gas exploded from Acrid's pores, the disgusting toxin seeping in between the dragon's scales, ready to unleash their payload. With that, Acrid turned away from the dying creature, leaving it to fester in the disgusting plagues set upon it. The last thing the valiant dragon saw, as his vision began to fade, was Acrid trudging through the forest.

But a jolt of a force roused the dying dragon to life for several more seconds. The rumbling of the ground continued in short intervals, as the snapping of tree branches and the terrible din of trunks being torn apart flooded into his ears. With his last seconds of life upon him, the dragon just barely managed to observe a colossal stone foot smash into the ground in front of him, shaking him terribly, and sending him sprawling backwards out of the puddle of disease.

It was too late, though. The dragon's eyes closed for the final time, an expression of anger and defiance still gracing his anguished face. He would never know of, nor experience, the titanic clash of forces that lay just ahead.

But Acrid would.

The Engineer

The claws of the manticore shredded the side of the massive cragadile's face, tearing the leathery flesh off in a giant clump. Backing up, the cragadile raised his snout upwards, bellowing in pain. As he let out a roar that shook the trees, his beady eyes caught a glimpse of a fireball screaming down towards him.

Unaware of what the incoming capsule held, the cragadile continued its fight with the manticore. The two circled around each other for a few moments, each eyeing the other’s bloodied and scarred body. One forceful strike could end the battle in an instant. What the dueling beasts didn't know was who was going to strike first: The Engineer.

The fireball exploded onto the scene, sending both creatures reeling backwards, the manticore slamming into a tree as dust and rock was thrown up into the air. Recovering slowly, the manticore rubbed his sore back, covered in blood stains, the dirty fur matted and grimy.

Meanwhile, the cragadile had been blown onto his back , but thankfully a tree had stopped him. With one quick movement, the oversized crocodile rolled back into his normal position, dirt getting caught in his scales that were soaked with blood. The two creatures observed the pod for a moment, the heat its fiery orange glow gave off keeping them from approaching.

The creatures flinched slightly as small servo arms shot out of small, hidden holes in the metal vehicle, spraying it down with a cooling mist of liquid nitrogen. The heated pod very quickly cooled, a small sheet of ice wrapping around it as the arms retracted, having served their purpose. It sat dormant for a few moments, only the slightest of straining of metal could be heard.

Hesitantly, the manticore inched forward, sharpened claws stained with blood in their entirety. The manticore stepped back instinctively as the pod began to radiate a cyan glow. The cragadile snarled slightly, still wincing at the pain coming from its torn face, the blood seeping into the earth below.

With an explosion that rocked the ground, the side of the pod burst, the smoke obscuring the makeshift exit from view. Slowly, a purple metal foot stepped through the smoke, beginning to become visible. In the course of a few seconds, the Engineer brought himself into full view, his top heavy purple carapace armor shining in the sunlight. His cyan tinted visor hid his face from being seen, and on either side of the bulbous helmet, mounted on his shoulders, were two grenade launchers.

Standing still between the two behemoths, he slowly rotated his helmet to look at the manticore, his scratched visor terrifying in its appearance. The blankness and lack of facial features disturbed the beast on an instinctual level, having never faced anything without... well, without a face.

Suddenly, the Engineer raised his left arm as a small rectangular box slid into view. It released quad harpoons, the red hot rods of metal zooming towards the manticore. With lightning reflexes, the manticore flapped its small wings while leaping into the air, the extra force of his wings helping him reach a greater height. Something unexpected and terrifying made itself apparent, as the heat seeking projectiles curved upwards, one smashing into the limb of a branch, getting stuck.

The other three missiles hit the mark with deadly accuracy, one catching the manticore in the hind leg, while another impaled him in his gut. The last harpoon was lucky enough to hit the thin skin of the wing, allowing the rod to pierce through it with ease, and not causing too much damage.

Overcome with the sensory overload of pain, the manticore ungracefully flopped down onto the ground below, the spike in his stomach causing his eyes to go wide as it pushed itself deeper into his innards. The cragadile looked at the crippled manticore with what appeared to be sympathy, the manticore’s pained eyes reaching out for help.

The blood flowed to fast for it to entire seep into the ground around the manticore and instead began to pool around him, the spike still lodged firmly in place. The creature shook terribly, barely able to get to its feet, using its fleeting strength to launch a hail of razor-like projectiles from its tail at the engineer. The poison tipped shards impacted, some of them deflecting off, while a few managed to lodge themselves into the weak spots of the carapace.

The cragadile began to approach the Engineer quietly, attempting to catch him by surprise while he was concerned with the manticore. This was a grave mistake indeed. The shoulder mounted grenade launchers swiveled in the reptile's direction, the inside of each one pulsing with energy before a cluster of grenades surged forth, headed straight at the cragadile.

Too slow to avoid the projectiles, four of the six grenades hit immediately, rupturing in an instantaneous burst of cyan energy. The cragadile's hardy skin was no match for the highly advanced tri-core grenades, the entire creature vanishing in an instant, a pile of ash remaining where it had been moments before.

The least two grenades bounced off a tree, heading straight for the Engineer, who calmly sidestepped, the grenades bouncing once more before reaching the manticore. With his last reserves of strength, the injured beast managed to agonizingly leap out of the way, the rod stuck in his leg twisting around, shattering his femur as he hit the ground.

The grenades exploded on contact with the tree on what would've been their fourth bounce. The Engineer stood in the same place he had been during the whole ordeal, simply observing the injured creature through his unflinching visor. The two just stared at each other for a bit, the manticore fearing what was to come, while the Engineer simply recorded various facts in his databanks.

With his visor finishing the diagnostic scan, he slowly marched towards the nearly dead manticore, his metal boots sinking slightly into the ground, and his legs making an audible noise as the pistons and technology inside turned and fired up. It isn't often you can find fear in the eyes of an animal who lives in the Everfree, but for the first and last time, his eyes betrayed his stoic and savage appearance, revealing the utter terror he felt in his gravely damaged heart.

Coming to a halt several inches away from the beast, the Engineer knelt down, bringing his visor closer to the incapacitated manticore's face. The two looked at each other, the Engineer deciding upon the best course of action, before standing back up, and unclipping a small hexagonal device from his belt. He switched a lever on the side of it, the lever sinking into the mine as he gingerly placed it beside the manticore.

Giving the beast one last , unfeeling look, the Engineer walked off slowly, his metal boots sinking every so slightly into the fertile soil beneath him. The manticore watched the figure go, until finally, he disappeared into the thicket of the forest.

The manticore glanced at the pile of ash that was once the cragadile who had bitterly fought him just moments ago. He didn't know exactly what the small device did, but if the Engineer's previous actions were anything to go by, it wasn't going to help him in any way. Or was it?

The manticore could feel the life draining from him, his complexion getting paler by the moment as blood gushed out of his stomach wound. He futilely tried to move his hind leg, only to be met with a sharp surge of pain that ran up the length of his leg. For a moment he considered pulling the rods out, but he knew it was no use at this point, too severely injured to ever hope to survive.

He eyed the mine with desperate resolve, raising his paw weakly. He shut his eyes, another surge of pain assaulting him. He knew it was over. The mine beeped softly, the pace of the beeping picking up the closer the manticore's wrecked paw got to it. He closed his eyes, wincing as the pain became too much to bear. He hesitated, trying to consider any other options, but he knew he was being ridiculous thinking that anything other than death would find him in a state like this.

His hand was not more than an inch or two away from the mine now, and with a final thrust of his paw the manticore touched it, smiling ever so slightly with the final thought of release on his mind as he did so.

The explosion violently shook the ground, causing the Engineer to stumble a bit as he continued to walk deeper into the forest. He turned back for a moment, looking over the firestorm of cyan that began to engulf the forest a few hundred feet back. But his attention was drawn away from the beautiful symphony of destruction as his internal AI began to shout at him. The ground continued to shake, far past the explosion of the mine, one tremor rocking the Engineer slightly every few seconds.

"CLASS 6 THREAT DETECTED," the urgent female voice warned the Engineer.

"Identify,", he ordered the AI, his speech contorted into more of a guttural growl from his implants.

"THREAT TYPE : EARTH. CATEGORY: GOLEM. NAME: ..." the Engineer knew what came next.

"COLOSSUS,"

"Bring up X-Ray mode," he ordered, the AI quickly shutting his visor's systems down, and rebooting into X-RAY mode within three seconds. The Engineer stood unflinching, simply staring through the forest, observing the rock foot of the behemoth. He looked up slowly, taking the sight of such a massive creation in. Finally reaching the top of the golem's body, and staring at the side of its head, zooming in on it. A flock of birds passed idly by the immense Colossus' head.

"ORDERS?" the AI asked politely. The Engineer sorting through the best course of action to take, before lowering his gaze and speaking firmly.

"Initiate Monsoon Protocol."