TAaPS had gotten everyone into a training room for a simulation to help with their new abilities, and it was going well. Fractured Heart was quite skilled with the weapons in her arms, and was (surprisingly) able to form a sword around her arm. Candy Burn was able to redo the exosuit to different types of styles, Toxigo was randomly popping up out of thin air, and Hidden Darkness was mastering his genetic modification device. Fortunately, TAaPS was able to activate a program that was helping with their training. Starswirl was watching them all train, leaning on his staff.

"Bit for your thoughts?" TAaPS asked, a screen popping out of the wall.

"What if it's not enough?" Starswirl said. "Last time we had strategists, generals and tacticians."

"Yes, but even though not everypony may not be those, they are still good," TAaPS said.

"That's a good point," Starswirl said. "But the last team didn't survive. What chance does this team have?"

"As long as we have hope, we can do this," TAaPS said. She started to say something else, but then the room rumbled. Everyone stopped their training.

"TAaPS, what was that?" Starswirl asked.

"Let me see," TAaPS said. A few seconds passed before she answered. "We are being attacked again."

"By what?" Twill Weave asked.

"A scan of its molecular composition says that it is an altered humanoid," TAaPS said. "It has the same molecule in it that Toxicon had."

"So it was sent by the Negative Space?" Toxigo asked.

"It appears so," TAaPS said. "Now, it appears to be trying to build something. I suggest that Fallout, Fractured Heart and Scorched Apple go take this thing on."

Scorched Apple followed Fractured Heart and Fallout as they ran out the door of the base. He had a power over fire, able to summon it at will, and had a resistance to burning.

But why did TAaPS suggest me and Fallout for this? Scorched Apple wondered.I'm fire, and he's ice. I can see why Fractured Heart is coming, though, with the weapons and skills she has. They had reached the outside of the building, and they saw nothing. Fractured Heart frowned.

"Something's not right," she said. "Where is it?" Then they heard a tremendous roar coming from behind them. They spun around to see....nothing. Until Fractured Heart pointed towards the roof and shouted "Up there!" A beast of tremendous size was standing on top of the base, next to what seemed like a crossbow of sorts. Said beast was grey, and had short light blue hair.

"How did it get up there?" Fallout said. The beast pulled out a pickaxe and hurled it at them. It shot towards them at an incredible speed, making Fallout and Scorched Apple duck, but Fractured Heart didn't back down. Instead, she dashed forward, and managed to duck under the blade, and somehow managed to grave hold of the blade, swung it around a few times, and launched it at the beast. The beast hadn't expected this to happen, and instead of moving out of the way, it stared at the pick until it hit it in the stomach. The beast roared again as it stood up and turned to the crossbow.

"How did you do that?" Fallout asked in awe.

"Physics," Fractured Heart said. "We can talk about it all later, though. Now we have to get up to top of the base!" Fractured Heart morphed her arms into blades and started cutting into the ground around her.

"What are you doing Scorched Apple asked.

"I'm making a platform," Fractured Heart said. "You and Fallout will need to use your powers to create a geyser of sorts."

"How?" Fallout asked as the beast roared. They all glanced at it. It seemed to be almost done with whatever it was doing with its crossbow.

"Ok, so what you'll need to do," Fractured Heart started. "Is to shoot your fire and ice under this platform. That should create pressure, which should shoot use up to the top." As she finished talking, she started working on a smaller hole next to the platform.

"And that'll work?" Scorched Apple asked.

"It should," Fractured Heart said. She finished slicing a new hole and backed onto the platform. "Now shoot!" Fallout started firing a stream of ice into the hole, which was surprisingly deep, and Scorched Apple started firing a stream of fire into the hole after the ice. After a few seconds, steam started billowing out of the hole, and the ground started to shake a little.

"Get on!" Fractured Heart said. As Scorched Apple and Fallout scrambled onto the platform, the steam slowed down, and then the platform exploded into the air, launching all three of them into the air and at the beast. The beast grunted in surprise as the jumped off the platform and onto the roof. Fractured Heart morphed her sword arms back in her normal arms as a couple of throwing knives popped out of her forearms and into her hands. Her eyes were draw to a small hole in the roof and relised the beast was trying to get in.

"Scorched Apple, could you heat things up?" she asked. Scorched Apple nodded. He threw out his arms as the exploded with flames and started lobbing fire balls at the beast. "Fallout, ice the hole!" Fallout fired a beam of ice and covered up the hole in a few seconds. Scorched Apple was continuing to throw fire balls at the beast, and decided he could do better. He charged at the beast and attempted to tackle it, but only managed to fall down. Then he relised something: its hair was flammable. Scorched Apple threw his arms around the beast, who roared and tried to shake him off.

"Scorched Apple, get off him!" Fractured Heart yelled. Scorched managed to role to the side as Fractured Heart started throwing daggers at the beasts.

"Go check on that machine, you two!" Fractured Heart said. She was grinning, for some reason. Scorched and Fallout ran to the crossbow and started going over its machinery.

"It's a homing beckon," Fallout said.

"But what is it trying to home in?" Scorched Apple asked. "What was this thing doing?"

"What other technologies exist out there?" Fallout asked.

"Is it on?" Scorched asked.

"I don't think so," Fallout said. "But we need to destroy this thing! Remember that steam thing we did earlier?" Scorched nodded. "Why don't we try it on this thing?"

"That could work," Scorched said. "Lets do it!" Fallout started his beam of ice, freezing the homing beacon in ice, until Scorched started firing his fire at the machine. He aimed it at the smallest hole he could find, hoping that would help destroy it, and the machine started to smoke and rattle. It started beeping and whirring, and the machine pointed its nozzle skyward, shooting a beam of light into a few seconds before it exploded. Fortunately, Fallout had been working on a wall in front of them that Scorched had only then noticed to keep them from getting hit. The ice cracked and steamed as hot pieces of metal hit it. The beast roared, and they relised that there work wasn't over just yet...until the beast fell over. Fractured Heart stood over it in victory, panting heavily.

"So, any of you two know this guy?" she asked.

After the battle was won, and Scorched, Fallout and Fractured Heart had returned to the training room. Congratulations were passed around, until they started explains what had happened.

"You're sure that nothing got in?" Starswirl asked.

"Yes, I'm sure," Fractured Heart said. "That beast we fought was the only one, and none of the beacons parts got in."

"And the beacon really wasn't active?" Starswirl asked. When Fallout nodded, Starswirl muttered "Intresting."

"So, what do we do with the beast?" Scorched asked. "Apparently, nopony knows who it is, and it's still on the roof."

"Actually, while you were talking, I took the liberty of moving the beast to a cell," TAaPS said. "Both he, and the machine he brought, are being analyzed. Starswirl, if you don't mind, can you come down to the containment room?" As Starswirl walked down to wherever the containment room was, Hidden Darkness walked over to Fractured Heart.

"I know you said you only saw one beast, and nothing got in," Hidden Darkness said. "But are you sure that there wasn't anything else?" Fractured Heart shrugged.

"Well, something had to have made that hole, and the beast that was there certainly wasn't able to fit down it," Fractured Heart said. "So it's entirely possible that there was something else. But we still don't know very much about this world."

"Like its inhabitants," Hidden Darkness suggested. "Or what technologies it has." Fractured Heart grinned.

"You're smart," she said. "That's good." Hidden Darkness grinned.

"Well, I am a geneticist," he said. "Not only am I that, but I have made sevral genetic anomalies."

"Nice," Fractured Heart said. "How about we talk while we train?"

Author's Note

Finally, got this chapter out! I meant to do this all sooner, but school started, and with that brought homework and whatnot, but finally! I hope you like this chapter, and the next chapter should be published within the next week.