When Technical Support is Too Helpful

The freshness of the vault air and the putridness of the outside air Darqlon could note as he stalked down the lit hallway. His pale skin absorbed the white light of the antechamber when he entered through the crank locked metal doors. Applejack and Kyllgorr sparred intensely before him. They were both battered and bruised, Applejack the worse for wear. She threw a left hook and Kyllgorr grabbed her arm, vaulting her over his head, she met the stone floor with a terrible thud.

Kyllgorr twisted her arm and kept Applejack on her belly, "Do you submit?"

"Never!" Applejack gritted. She reared back her head, connecting with his chin which made him reel back. She capitalised on the opening: kicking him in the knee, dropping him to the floor, and locked her calves around his neck. "Do you submit?!" she jeered.

Kyllgorr grunted and stood up, power slamming the blondie onto the granite floor  causing it to crack. Applejack did not move. Kyllgorr snorted and bent down to check on Applejack. Once again, she headbutted him, collapsed the back of his knee, and forced his face to meet her knee. His head snapped violently back. He shook the stars from his eyes and smirked up at the young woman.

"Not bad. I almost felt that one," he got to his feet, cracking his knuckles, "Round four," he grinned with glowing eyes.

"Enough!" Grey hollered as he entered the antechamber through the opposite hallway. The others were behind him already equipped with their new wardrobe. He tossed bundles of clothes at Applejack and Kyllgorr. "We have spent enough time holed up here," he announced.

He walked over to the wall with a screen. Pressing buttons on a control pad lit up the screen. A light blue political map of Pyæ flicked on the screen. After a second of tapping on the keypad twenty-one, red dots appeared on the map. Grey keyed on the pad expertly and swiftly. Four names appeared on the screen: Darqlon, Grey, Kyllgorr, and Onyx; arranged like a chart. "Alright. We are going to split up into three groups of three and one group of four. We: Darqlon, Kyllgorr, Onyx, and I, will lead the groups."

"Why is that?" Rainbow challenged.

"Because we know the landscape better than you all," Grey replied.

"Fair enough," Celestia stated.

"Now, we are going to pull names from a jar and that is how the groups will be formed." Everyone nodded their heads in acceptance. Grey reached into the jar, pulled out a slip of paper and grinned, "My dear Luna, you are in my group."

Darqlon rolled his eyes when the white ceramic jar was passed to him. He reached in and pulled out a piece of paper. He sighed and put his hand back into the jar.

"Oi!" Onyx interjected, "You can't do that!"

Darqlon huffed and cast annoyed ruby eyes at Celestia, "Celestia."

Celestia went rigid and swallowed the lump in her throat, this was exactly what she did not want, "Alright," she nodded.

The white jar passed to Kyllgorr and he smiled when he withdrew his hand from the jar, "Amy."

"Yes!" the lithe redhead elated with a fist in the air.

Onyx sighed at the name he had picked, "I guess I'm stuck with the other shrimp," he joked, winking at Rainbow Dash.

"Yeah, yeah," Rainbow grinned.

This went on for another couple minutes. The final groups were: Grey, Luna, Rarity, Applejack; Darqlon, Celestia, Pinkie; Kyllgorr, Amy, Fluttershy; Onyx, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight. Twilight not letting the fact that she got picked last, as usual, get the better of her. She suppressed long distant memories of when she was a filly.

When everyone had finished gathering sleeping supplies, food, clothes, and other miscellaneous items, they gathered in the antechamber. Grey gave everyone a map with their assigned Hell Gate locations. Everyone said their farewells and best wishes except for Kyllgorr, Amy, and Fluttershy.

Fluttershy cowered from the intense tangerine gaze of Kyllgorr. He pressed a metallic object into her hands. She had seen the shape before a gun.

"That is a flare gun," Kyllgorr informed her, he gave her an armband that held fast three flares, "You point it up in the air and pull the trigger. If we get separated we will be able to find you. It is also useful for lighting up a dark area." He quickly showed her how to load the emergency device and that it had a flare already chambered.

The bright orange flare gun had a black lanyard attached to it and she slipped it around her neck, "Thank you."

"Let's get going!" Amy chimed, "So many demons to be killed, so little time!"

Kyllgorr nodded and he turned to exit down the hallway. Amy attached herself to his arm which he preferred.

Pat landed with a sigh. Dust billowed into the air. Shade landed on the ground and immediately spotted boot tracks. Her sharp sense of smell locating the scent of that man and her eyes shone through her tinted goggles. Her ears perked up upon hearing the machinations of the vault door opening. She drew her twin daggers   ready to strike.

Kyllgorr stepped into the setting solar light with an elf stuck on his arm. His orange eyes narrowed at her.

"You are a little late," he spoke, "Your father left a couple hours ago."

Shade sucked her teeth, "Where did he go?"

"Over there somewhere," Amy waved her hand wildly to and fro.

Shade's crimson brow furrowed.

"Shade?" A soft voice called out to her from behind her uncle.

A frail looking long haired woman poked her head from around Kyllgorr, "Do I know you?"

"Yes, well, no..." Fluttershy timidly took a few steps out of the vault, "I just want to know: why do you want to kill Grey?"

"Because he killed my mother!" Shade spat.

"He did that to save you..." Fluttershy hid behind her long hair.

"Shade," Kyllgorr said, "Your mother has deceived your thoughts and has manipulated your emotions. Grey would never have killed Val unless he had to. Hell, he has never attacked you, right?"

"Of course, he wants to kill me! I killed his son!"

"He has forgiven you for that," Fluttershy spoke, "Maybe you should sit down and talk with him?"

"Yeah," Amy added, "From what I have seen and heard about your mother she was cr-" Kyllgorr clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"'She was' what?" Shade sneered, pointing a dagger at the elf.

"Shade, your mother is evil and will kill you to get her power from you," Kyllgorr explained. "Listen, come with us to close the gates and you can talk with your father."

Shade's face twisted in confusion, "Why the fuck would I want to close the gates? I will be able to see mother again!"

"Shade," Fluttershy asserted, "Would the destruction of your world be worth meeting your mother?"

"Absolutely."

"How about this: you come with us to close the gates, you can absorb the essence of the lieutenants there, and grow more powerful to defeat Grey," Kyllgorr offered.

As much as she hated to admit, Grey was more powerful than her. The last encounter with that man left her drained of all her power while he remained in perfect condition.

"And, I will give you a Godsbane Blade to kill him," Kyllgorr enticed.

"Deal," Shade accepted immediately.