A Roegadyn in Equestria

A Roegadyn in Equestria.

Chapter 5: A Everfree King Dethroned, Data Error…

*Point of view: Brex Mith*
*Location: Everfree forest*
*Time: Nearly half an hour after hearing the Hydra roar*

Brex was currently making his way through the forest on paths that ponies did not walk on, but were normally reserved for the wildlife. Above his head, were thick patches of tree limbs that nearly blocked out any light from the sun. This did not matter to him all that much as the Roegadyn had an internal clock that he can look at it anytime he wanted in place of looking for where the sun was during the day. At which time showed it to be two in the afternoon.

It had been a while sense he had heard that booming roar from earlier. Judging from it, he had figured to have come from quite a distance. Normally those beasts lived in the swamp area’s and he was nowhere near there, so he didn’t have anything to be concern about.

He began to think to himself, “OK, so if I’m right about this, the castle of the two sisters should be to the east, not far from here. Also, right now should be at the point of their history where Celestia has moved out of the castle and is in the newly built Canterlot. Meaning that the old castle would be deserted. But if not, then it should only be patrolled by a few soldiers. I just need to make my way there, cross a chasm using a what should now be a perfectly fine bridge right now, sneak across the courtyard, after that, I’ll navigate through the hallways and make my way to the lower sections where they have the royal library.

He paused for a moment to gather his wits and continued with, “If my memory serves me right, there should be a number of protection spells in place all over the key parts of the castle. However, I don’t think they will give me any problems considering that from the stories, they were primarily focused around keeping Ponies out, along with Griffins which at this time are their enemies. So, if my hunch is right, then the spell should have little or no effect when coming to contact with a Roegadyn.” Brex finished with his line of thinking when the end of the forest came into range.

Just as he made it to the edge of a tree line. He used his hands to part the branches enough to peek through. Brex could see before him, a large chasm and on the other side was his intended destination. Tall spires along with buildings going up five stories and a few going up as high as ten.

The construction consisted mostly of brick and mortar, he could see that with the assistance with both physical and magical means that the structures were built in a very efficient manner when compared to the first episode of this show. Everything almost seemed as if someone had been living there only a few days prior, but there has already been signs of the plant life beginning to encroach on other parts of the castle.

Much of the structures appear to have suffered some damages, just as Brex had noticed from a week before, when he was watching on top of a tree branch and taking in the damage caused by the two sisters fight. Now that he was in front of it, he was able to truly see the devastation that was caused by the confrontation of two goddesses. The next thought that went through his head was, “Note to self, don’t piss off Luna unless you’re able to take a mini nuke to the face.”

Approaching the edge of the chasm, Brex looks down and wondered, “Did they really build this intentionally? And even back then, you couldn’t see the ground. Also, why only a single rope bridge, how on earth did they get supplies brought to the castle on that flimsy little thing?” Brex then mentally facepalms before he continued with, “OH! magic, right. Now Speaking of magic, I bet down there someplace is the small cave that houses the tree of harmony, I wonder what would happen if I go near it… Nah! Maybe not. Don’t wanna take the chance of triggering any traps, no way in hell do I want Celestia to know about me just yet.”

Just then as if the universe decided that it wanted to mess with him, from the forest came a roar of epic proportions. The force of which caused trees to sway and large flocks of birds came flooding from them and up into the skies. The ground was shaking, Brex look down and could see that a few pebbles were rumbling on the floor, quickly the Roegadyn looked up and towards the forest that the sound emanated from, then realized instantly. He exclaimed in a frustrated tone, “OH come on?! Really, why do I have to deal with this right now? Anyone who is anyone could tell that was a Hydra just now!”

He was now practically fuming. Just how did he know that it was a Hydra from the sound of the roar? Well after a week of living in the Everfree forest, Brex has now had the chance to observe the wildlife and has on at least two occasions heard the four mentioned roar.

With a defeated sigh, along with drooping shoulders. Brex slowly walks towards the forest with an exhausted face plastered on. Then in a whisper, Brex says, “Here we go. I just know this is how it is, 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… and cue the screaming.” Just then, as if, well, on cue came the screams of three Ponies which penetrated the woods like a hot knife through butter. He was able to tell right away that it came from three individuals he had seen in the woods, in fact he was positive that he could distinctly pick one out, how is this so? This was due to the fact that he has heard this voice so many times throughout his little vacation in the Everfree.

Brex then thinks, “Too bad it wasn’t just him. If it was, I could just turn right around and head straight to the castle, but it would seem the other two are with him and I can’t have all three of them become Hydra chow. That would just leave a bad taste in my mouth… OK, I can’t tell if that was a good or a bad pun.”

He then picks up his speed and makes a quick dash towards the direction of the sound. To Brex, he was running fairly fast but he did not realize that in fact he was nothing but a blur to the normal eye. The wind made a whistling sound, leaves and dirt were scattered behind his wake, to him the forest seemed no different, but in fact it was passing by him as if one were looking out of a car window and traveling down a highway going close to fifty miles an hour.

*Point of view: Shadow Lily*
*Location: Everfree Forest*

Shadow Lily was on the verge of a heart attack. They had just come into contact with one of the kings of the Everfree forest and were on the run for their lives. Alongside her, was two of her teammates. One being Swirl Sugar, a nice mare, while the other who would normally be referred to as an idiot, Brake Down. She could not believe her luck was going this bad, not only was the training so hard on her but there was also the harassment from the others in the royal guard.

This was all due to the fact that she was an earth pony. As it happens, the royal guard is mostly comprised of Unicorns. Because of this, there is a superiority complex that they have towards those who do not use any magic. As a result, Shadow Lily had to endure this just because she wanted to be a royal guard and show that she too could protect the princess to which she respects so much. Right behind her was her instrument of doom, the feared Hydra.

Another ear-splitting roar rang out from right behind her at that moment. Just like the others that proceeded this one, Shadow Lily was able to feel it right down to her very bones. Eyes wide as they could go and her irises now reduced to the size of pin pricks, she was breathing very hard and fast in an attempt to keep oxygen going in desperation to get herself to somehow move faster.

She could then hear the voice of Swirl Sugar calling out to her. Looking to the right, there alongside Shadow Lily, she could see just how scared Swirl was, along with the tears running from her eyes. Behind the two mare’s was a screaming girly shrill that could have been confused for a new mare but instead, Shadow Lily glanced back and all that she could see behind them was a hysterical Break Down with everything going on, from the tears, the long running snot coming from his nose and if an outside party was paying attention, they would have noticed a trail of urine being left in his wake.

Break Down started to scream, “WHAT ARE YOU BOTH DOING?! DO YOUR JOB AND STOP THAT THING! I CAN’T DIE HERE!” As he made that demand, he noticed that the two ahead did not heed his call. This caused him to morph his face from that of fear, to that of anger. Then it turned into a sneer. Just then, the stallion lit his horn and a light brown hew enveloped it and a short beam of light shot past the two mare’s and impacted a large root that was just above the forest floor.

The root then quickly lifted as if alive and snagged itself onto Shadow Lily’s left hoof. This made the mare fall and hit the ground with a loud *THUD*, Swirl noticed a second after that, with a gasp released from her lips. She saw that her friend was down and came to a grinding halt, her hoofs making a light groove in the soft dirt and then spun on the spot and dashed towards Shadow Lily.

Break down continued to make his escape right past the others after clearly seeing that his plan worked and those mare’s would now end up being his shield. Just as the stallion had got maybe a hundred feet ahead. A large bush was found to be in the way. He then ran a little harder as to force his way past the shrubbery that was now trying to block his path.

There was the sound of rustling, then a *CRASH*, that was instantly paired with the pain screamed cry from Break down. There on the ground, was the stallion sprawled out on his back. Arms and legs spread, a dazed expression on his face and right above that was an obvious lump forming on the side of his head, just to the right of the male’s horn. This would not have happened if he didn’t take the helmet off just earlier and dropped it at some point during the chase.

*Point of view: Third Person*
*Location: Everfree Forest*

The ground quaked as the large creature continued its chase, knowing that its food was just before it. The Hydra picked up its pace, its large framework thrashed through a number of trees. Large Oak, Pine trees and other assortments were nothing in front of its raw power. Those that would be able to handle strong storms became nothing but blades of grass under its feet. Large trees and stumps were sent flying as the creature became more impatient and instead of going around any obstacles in its way, it just decided to go through anything in its path.

Finally, after a short chase, the Hydra finally caught up to its prey. Right in front of its three heads, it was able to notice the Ponies and their current condition. The Hydras three heads all had a sinister smile. It was able to gauge that one of them who was the furthest away and near a rock face was on its back and appeared to be currently incapacitated. This caused the Hydra to turn its full attention over to the two mare’s that were nearby. Quickly it took in the situation where the dark one was currently caught on something and unable to get away. But the pink one on the other hand, looked as if it was still capable of running, instead she was attending to the downed female.

The two mare’s noticed that their pursuer had finally caught up with them, their eyes went wide with fright and their bodies began to shiver uncontrollably. Shadow Lily quickly spoke out in a panic, “Swirl! Leave me! You need to get out of here, you’re the only one who can still run!” Swirl Sugar just stood there beside Shadow Lily and replied with, “I- I’m not going to do that to you, I’m sure we can get out of here. D-Don’t w-worry.” Swirl Sugar tried to console her friend, but the tone in her voice betrayed her fears.

The Hydra and the three Ponies where deep in the forest and at this time the ponies were caught between a rock and a hungry Hydra. There were thick trees all around their area, but it seemed as if they represented a cage that they were now trapped in and they were soon to be an animal’s meal.

As the large hulking creature drew closer, its steps seemed to echo and give the impression of thunder as its tremendous weight compacted the ground floor leaving indentations of its feet. The three necks began to crane downwards, then it began to open their mouths. This emitted a foul odor of rotten meat, the mare’s nearly threw up in their own mouths from the stench alone. But seeing those teeth had almost caused them to do something else to their pants.

Break Down was quite a way’s off and was still in a half in and out consciousness but could just make out the blurred forms of some figures. One large and another small, unknown to the stallion, the smaller one was of the two mare’s, their size differences was too much and it could only be compared to a pebble and a large boulder. His hearing wasn’t all that great either, not being able to hear anything other than his own heart beat and the hydras deep breathing.

(Start playing music here until the end of the fight.)

Just as the hydra had opened its mouths, it then lunged towards the two. It outstretched its necks to take its meal, intending to rip them apart and satisfy its hunger enough to take its sweet time on the last one that was still laying on the ground. It was not paying attention when something flew out from the forest at a near blinding speed. It struck with the right head with enough force to cause it to launch towards the others. This was able to throw the Hydra off course and it crashed into the ground, to which it skidded for several meters due to its massive weight and the force it had just used to lunge at its prey. One of the kings of the Everfree was now belly down and all three faces buried in the dirt, motionless.

To the two mare’s, it didn’t make sense. They were watching their deaths coming right at them. Time had started to slowed down and they had just begun to see flashes of their life’s when something came into their vision. To them, it was a large flat, spinning object that was moving at breakneck speeds. It appeared to be a cross of some sort, being red in the middle area but going out from there, it was black and the ends were curved like blades.

The whole thing was roughly the size of a pony. When the object had made its way to the creature, the blade like ends had easily cut through the scales a few inches, then there was a concentrated explosion. Resulted in them looking over to their side and seeing something that made the two mare’s minds go blank for a second. The feared Hydra was down and not moving.

After a moment or two, the Hydra started to move once again. This caused the two mare’s to panic at the sight, as it began to get its legs underneath itself to stand once again. There was yet another sound that came from the forest’s darkness. Another one of those things came out, but instead of going for a head hit like last time, it instead curved around in a wide, long ark and landed a direct hit to the Hydras chest area.

This forced the creature to hunch over a bit and lower its heads closer to the ground. They were all now at just above the head height of the Ponies and the things faces had a mix of emotions among all three of them containing that of pain, anger and confusion as to what was going on.

The next second was nothing but them all seeing a large blueish haze dashing out from the tree line on the other side from where the last attacks had originated from and make its way towards the Hydras now lowered heads. There was a streak of two nearly imperceptible lines of light caused by the sun light as the haze passed by and all the heads and continued without stopping as it retreated on its straight path back into the trees.

(End the music here.)

There was an eerily calm silence that followed this series of events that only lasted but ten seconds from the moment the first attack had occurred. The mare’s looked on at the sight before them. They were holding in their breaths for the next several seconds and just then, the once still Hydra’s faces that were now looking away from them, sprayed blood from large gashes that ran across one side of their heads. These wounds ran right over both eyes and lead to the other side of the head. This was the same for all three, the legs finally gave and then one of the forest kings fell for the last time and laid there dead as a pool of its green blood was growing underneath.

The mare’s had a look of complete disbelief written across their expressions as they had just witnessed something that couldn’t have happened in real life. A creature that would have needed one of the following two conditions to be able to take one of these downs, would have been the princess confronting it herself. The second would have to be a group of over onehanded guards that had to have been fully armed to have a chance.

But still, that would have had resulted in severe casualties. They couldn’t say a word, no they couldn’t even begin to think on what happened to them. Complete shock was all they had in their minds. After a while of mental recovery, the two finally worked to free the dark mare’s hoof and they collected the stallion that was still on the ground and left the area in a hurried fashion in order to leave the forest before anything else happened.

During all that time, in the darkness the trees gave. There stood a large figure that had its arms crossed and a distant look on its face as it acted as a vigilant guard to dissuade any other creatures from coming closer due to the overwhelming stench that came off the large amount of blood the Hydras remains were giving off.

*Point of view: Brex Mith*
*Location: Everfree forest*

Brex watched as the group left the forest. It had taken some time, in fact he was close to going right out into the open to slap the back of their heads in order to knock them out of whatever they had going on in their minds, to get them to start moving again.

Thinking to himself in a somewhat confused sense, “Well that went a little different than I thought it would. I mean, I know that the Hydras are meant to be really strong. But it seemed like this one wasn’t really all that powerful to me. All it took was three attack skills and it was down for the count. It may have ended up being more than that if I hadn’t had their heads lined up with that last hit when I was running past.” He was referring to the two long range skills, Fuma Shuriken, then the last melee skill called Spinning Edge.

Weapon Skill: Fuma Shuriken, Delivers a ranged ninjutsu attack with a potency of 500. Creates a large star shape Shuriken that has the physical strike that can also be combined with an explosion on impact. Hand sign Combination: Any one of the Ten, Chi, or Jin Hand signs.

Weapon Skill: Spinning Edge, Delivers an attack with a potency of 220. A fluid motion that uses the user’s body to turn at high speed with the use of two weapons to strike a single target.

He continued with his thoughts and then came to a sudden realization, “There shouldn’t be any reason for me to have been able to take on something like that on my own, much less that quickly. In some of the stories, the princess or a large group would have been needed for one of those things. I wonder if everyone here just has a really low level or could it be that my skill numbers are just too high or broken. If I was to compare that thing to those I would have fought in the game. If I’m level 35, then with how easy the fight was, then the Hydra must have been around the mid or upper twenty range.”

Brex paused and tapped his chin before continuing with his thoughts, “If I go with those figures, then the guards I had just seen may have been far lower. Hmm, well, with how they acted and if I combine that with the amount that may have been needed to take it out, then I would have to say that they couldn’t have been more than level 12. But that’s just ridiculous. How can I be that much stronger? Oh wait, what if that hydra wasn’t even a fully grown one and was really on the lower end? That would make more sense, then the numbers would have lined up.”

He then had a look of realization and snapped his fingers before going on with, “If I think of it like that, then the real heavy hitters would have to be around level 40 to 50.” With a heavy sigh, Brex puts that all behind him and decides to figure that out another time.

Now that there are no other distractions to get in his way, he turns and retraces his steps back to the castle, but not before going to the hydra and cuts into the creature’s body and extracts a sizable chunk with the use of his knives to take some meat with him, in hopes that the rumors in some of the stories about Hydra meat being good when cooked over an open fire wasn’t a lie, if not, then Brex wasn’t going to have a very pleasant night.

*Point of view: Brex Mith*
*Location: Everfree Forest*
*Time: Back to the present time*

Brex had just finished recollecting about what had happened over the last week. He was rather surprised with how he had to learn his skills, then there was the one-sided meeting with the locals. Not to mention saving their collective tails from that hungry Hydra. Right now, the Roegadyn was standing at the end of the rope bridge that led to the castle. He had waited a few days after the incident to see if there was going to be any more patrols but had seen nothing.

Looking over the edge, he saw nothing but an endless abyss down below. Shaking his head, he knew that it wasn’t really a thing and that there was a bottom and this was just some illusion caused from the dense fog far below. Turning his attention back to the structures, Brex crossed the bridge and entered the ground. Just as he was about to disappear inside, he could help but to mutter, “I wonder just what I’ll find in there?”

*Point of view: Third person*
*Location: Everfree forest, Within the castle of the two sisters*
*Time: Over an hour after entering the castle*

Within the dark, dank room, the light from the outside world has not been seen in many years. The dust has covered the floor made of dark stone. There are blue rugs lined with what appeared to be symbols of the moon and stars are running along the edges. A number of large book cases line the walls to the left and right sides of the room. On the wall between is a large double door that happens to have the same pattern as the elaborate rugs.

Just then, the large doors burst open with a great *Bash* sound as the heavy wood hits the stone walls on either side. An enormous figure rush’s inside and then turns to quickly on the spot to shut them with a *THUD*. Its hands outstretched and holding the door closed as if his life depended on this act, which is then followed by a very exasperated, heavily labored breathing.

The figure that stands at a very high height then says out loud in a frantic voice, “OK, WHATS UP WITH THAT LAST TRAP!? AND JUST WHO’S IDEA WAS IT TO KEEP A LARGE ASS STAR SPIDER AS A PET??! I FUCKING HATE SPIDERS!” After a few moments, the figure came to a realization and spoke again in a deadpan tone, “Ah… of course. Its Luna… She was the type to be into those kinds of things. Fits her theme, wouldn’t be surprised if that sister of hers just went up and left it here because she too hated spiders. I do remember it was in a story or two that there was a spider that Luna had… I really should have foreseen that one, it must have been small at the time and it just grew up after so long.”

Taking a few moments to gather his wits and his soul, that was almost literally scared out from his body after that last incident. Brex takes in a long breath, but then regrets it immediately and starts to cough hard due to the large amount of dust that littered the room. As well as the amount that was just recently kicked up from the doors abrupt opening and subsequential closing.

When the near fatal amount of dust had been cleared from his lungs, Brex quickly rushes to a two-door window that he managed to spy while in that coughing fit and opens it wide. There before him, was the court yard beyond a balcony that could have comfortably held four people standing on it.

Brex then turns to look back to the room to ascertain his position after getting lost in the hallways for what seemed like an hour after entering the castle grounds. The events that happened after coming into the castle came to his mind and the events began to replay.

*Point of view: Brex Mith*
*Time: Close to an hour ago*

Brex was searching the diverse rooms among the recent ruins. Among them were the waiting area before entering the throne room. Then there was the banquet hall and kitchen, that one still had all of the cooking utensils, pots and pans needed to fix a meal. It seems they just decided to say fuck it and let’s get all new stuff while we are getting a brand-new castle while at it.

The rest of the castle comprised of servant’s quarters and storage areas. On the upper floors it seemed to consist of larger rooms with bathrooms connected. He then thought, “So those must have been for the visiting dignitaries or just the nobility, I get it now, the servants must have had to go and use a shared restroom.”

Then as time went on, Brex made it to an area of the castle that seemed to have changed its theme. There it went from the normal stone and tapestries that illustrated both the moon and sun, to just that of the moon. It was then that he came to the conclusion that this was the old castles lunar wing, to which Princess Luna resided at and happened to be the first place that Brex had wanted to head to for his exploration into this world’s past.

At first the trek into the lunar wing was going to turn into a walk in the park, the spells that were placed here along the floors and walls tried to activate as soon as Brex entered a new corridor leading further in. How did he know this? Well, it was a dead giveaway when the surfaces along the ground, arch ways and walls all gave off a faint glow of ancient runes when he came near. But that was all they did. His earlier predictions about the spells being meant to work on only the species of this world was what kept him safe so far.

When Brex had gotten to the end of a hallway, there was a spiral staircase leading up. However, instead of just ascending but one floor, it was going further up beyond that. This made him wonder it this was going to end up leading to the very top of a tower.

He then started his way and found himself not too long standing at the last step and in front of him was another archway that led to a short connecting bridge to an adjacent tower. Brex then let out a short sigh and said, “They really like their tall buildings… Ugh, the rich and royals are all the same, they just love to look down on the lower class. Huh, ok I’m sure of it now, I must have had something against those with money, maybe I was poor before arriving here.”

The connecting bridge was wide enough to allow a pair of people to walk side by side. Above was a nicely carved stone covering, it was being supported by a pillar every few meters. At the half way point, Brex noticed something ahead and stopped in his track. If one looked at where he was, then they would have noticed that at that moment, the Roegadyn was ten floors up above the ground on a bridge that was going between two towers that ran the span of thirteen meters across and he was only just now nearing the middle of it.

As Brex stood there on the bridge, he could make out what appeared to be a mass of cloth covering the way Infront of him. After a few moments a gust of wind just had to pick that moment to blow and that caused the cloth to move. This however displayed something that sent a massive warning signal running from the base of his spine all the way up his back.

Alerts were going off inside his head, Brex’s eyes became impossibly large and his iris’s became pin pricks. Quickly he looked towards the mini map and prayed within his mind that there wouldn’t be a red marker there. Why was he like this? Because right before the Roegadyn Ninja, was the corpse of an anthro Pony wearing royal guard armor and was being suspended by thick strands of white string… no, not string, those were silk, spider silk.

As if to say the universe wanted to really send him over the edge of stress, the mini map showed what Brex didn’t want to see, which was a single red dot that was directly ahead on the bridge. Judging from what he could see from both the map and what was right before him, Brex was able to determine that the enemy of all that is good and pure, was right on the other side of the large mass of spider silk. Not only that, it was moving slowly towards himself by way of the red dots positioning shifting ever closer towards himself.

Brex’s panic was only intensifying at the idea of something that could have done this to a fully grown anthro pony was now getting closer. With his breathing getting quicker and the strength his lungs were drawing in air, it was a wonder that Brex wasn’t hyperventilating or passing out like he had done in the forest before. Oh no, he was not going to let that happen especially not right now.

The adrenaline was coursing throughout his veins like a shot of rocket fuel. His senses were now on high alert, unlike before, Brex could fully see everything, previously he could hardly keep track of what was before his eyes and on the mini map simultaneously. But now it was as if all were connected into one sense that the brain could fully assimilate and the information seemed to be flowing smoothly.

Brex’s mind was busy thinking all this and at that moment he was distracted for but a single instant, that was when the target moved as if detecting the opening. His mini map was indicating it was going right at him, but it was still not in view. It was at ten meters, eight meters, then five meters.

But he still didn’t have a visual on it. That’s when he realized that it was not in the bridge, but underneath it. Right when it was at the two-meter marker, did Brex’s body moved on its own. With a strong jump that had sent the ninja a good five meters back from his last position, he skidded to a stop and glanced ahead. There at that very instant, a large hulking black mass climbed over the short railing and landed on the spot Brex had but a moment ago occupied.

(I was going to put a scary picture here but I couldn’t bring myself to do so as I happen to be scared of them in real life and I assume there are readers out there that also face the same problem, so instead there will be a M L P version but I’ll describe some of its features.)

The first words that came from his lips were, “Star Spider.” It was easily bigger than Brex himself. It appeared to be about seven feet and eight inches tall. Even with his height, Brex was still smaller than this thing. This very fact just made the fear factor jump from a ten go all the way up to a twenty.

This thing must be at least nine feet tall if there was more room on the bridge and its legs were extending from it and going over the railing and gripping said bridge from the outside. Judging from the sight, Brex had surmised that this thing would be fully capable of wrapping itself around him with little effort. His skin was crawling so much that he nearly had nearly mistaken the feeling for small bugs running all over him.

The star spiders eight red eyes did not have any irises or pupils, but instead they were all solid red and glowing in a way that could have had one mistaking them for rubies. There were large fangs protruding that quickly clanked together in a way to indicate it was ready for a meal. Its body was covered in thick fine bristly hairs that stuck out to the point they appeared to be able to actually stab someone if they were to be unlucky to get near it.

On the top of the body, there was the iconic symbol of the creature, one that was in the shape of a large five-pointed star, but something was off to Brex. In the show, that symbol was meant to be a lighter color, this one’s however was blood red and it reminded him of what would have been found on a black widow.

This only made the Roegadyn’s blood run cold at the sight. After all this, the first thing that Brex finally got to think very loudly in his head was, “LUNA… IF I GET OUT OF THIS! IM GOING TO PUNISH YOU SO HARD WITH AN ASS SPANKING, THAT YOU’RE NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO SIT ON A THRONE FOR A MONTH WITHOUT CRYING OUT IN PAIN!”

(Play this music for the fight scene.)

As soon as he finished his mental to do list for the future that involved the lunar goddess. The spider then started to make its move. The large frame lunged towards Brex, each of the legs moved in a fluid motion along the bridge. The sight of it being able to pull in its many legs at the right moment and then to extend them back out to grip again, displayed just how accustomed it was to being on this structure. Brex had been hoping that the supports running every few meters would somehow slow the thing down, but that idea just got tossed out the figurative window.

Brex wanted to run away so much right there, but just as before, his body moved on its own again, but this time it was not to avoid, nope, he charged right at the spider. This surprised him, as well as the spider. It had slowed its movements, but just a hair, this gave Brex the thought that he may be able to take it on.

It seems to have a reaction to prey that stands up to it. He didn’t know why that idea popped in there, it made no sense to him but in a situation like this, He thought that his mind was on the verge of snapping from the horror he faced and the Roegadyn Ninja was now grasping at straws in an attempt to stay alive.

Taking another step, Brex closed the gap between the two in almost an instant, which was three meters originally and was now down to but one meter apart. This sudden stunt caused the spider to attempt at changing its actions from a charge to an attack. But at that time, its legs had gotten into a set movement pattern as to avoid the support pillars, thus this made it impossible to retaliate in time.

Brex lifted his right leg and shot it Infront of himself without slowing his momentum. This delivered a powerful kick that landed a direct hit to the spider’s face and right between the eyes. The force did a number of things in that instant. First thing that happened, was the kick did some massive damage due to the accelerated bodies of the two combatants upon contact and thus this caused the spiders head section to suffer damage in the form of three of its eyes becoming completely destroyed and a large crack was formed on its exoskeleton.

This without saying, could have been on its own a killing blow if this was done to something else, but this spider was apparently extremely resilient. The second effect was that this move was from the game world and had the result of stunning its target for a good six seconds. Brex had no idea how it would translate over to the real world and had hoped it would give him the full time.

The last thing that the kick had done in this situation, was that it had launched the Star Spider back a good six meters and as luck would have it, the Spider couldn’t prevent a number of its legs from impacting into the set of support pillars during its unprompted trip. It broke two of the legs off from its left side and all but one on the right. The Star Spider landed onto its back and started to let out a high pitch scream that was a mix of a hiss and screech as dark blue blood began to spray out of its stumps and down its head from the crack that the kick had created.

Brex was taken aback from not just the sight, but also the actions he had just taken that led to this situation. The fact that his body acted as if on some type of auto pilot to do something like that, along with how he didn’t freeze up on the spot or run when the spider charged.

This was something he needed to look into at a later point in time. He then took in the condition of the Star Spider and noticed that it was completely defenseless. Again, he wanted to flee but something inside was holding him there and he felt a pulling sensation for the ninja to enter the mind set to press the assault while he was still able too, otherwise this was all going to get worse soon.

Finally, Brex reaches down to the daggers hitched onto his belt on both sides and pulls them free. They give off a metallic *Shink* sound as the metal blades slide from the sheaths. The daggers were made of solid iron and engraved with a serrated back side, the length of the pair were a good two feet long. This would have made them count as short swords to any others, but due to Brex’s overwhelming size, they happen to be the right proportions for him as he holds them in a reversed grip right Infront of his body as to be ready to defend himself. He then takes a fighting position that has his body’s center of gravity lowered to the ground for a quicker reaction.

Brex says to himself in a whisper as if talking to someone else, “I don’t know what is going on here, weather this is some sort of body muscle memory or something is controlling me. I don’t care right now, all I know is, I want this thing dead and long gone. So, if I need to face my fears then so be it. But in case this is some kind of being that’s making me do this then you better make me win, otherwise if I ever meet you in person then be ready for a huge boot to the ass. Trust me, after seeing what I just did to those things face, then it’s a threat that you won’t want coming true.”

Taking a single step forward, Brex tightens the grip on the daggers and lunges at the beast to close the distance and just as he gets to one meter, he leaps into the air and executes his Spinning Edge melee skill.

Weapon skill, Spinning Edge. Delivers an attack with a potency of 220 Damage. A fluid motion that uses the user’s body to turn at high speed with the use of two weapons to strike a target.

With a simple twist of his form, the Roegadyn gets his large body to go into a rapid spin in a counter clockwise direction and hits the spider with a flurry of well-aimed blade attacks that slice through the spiders thick nearly armor like hair and makes contact with its iron comparable exoskeleton body.

He could feel as the blades scrape along its hard armor and thinks to himself, “Dang it! It’s too tough, just what did Lulu feed this thing before her banishment or is this something that came about afterwards? I’ll need to do a combo to get past this natural armor it has!” The Star spider screeches more violently and tries to swing its remaining legs to bat Bex away, but it does no good.

Without missing a beat, Brex while in the last set of rotation from the Spinning Edge attack, gets his leg to land on the railing and kicks off of it hard. This causes him to do another spin but in the opposing direction and executes the next attack, the Gust Slash.

Weapon skill, Gust Slash. Delivers an attack with a potency of 100 Damage. If used right after Spinning Edge then damage is boosted to 330 Damage. A Series of strikes that use a combination of blade work and a powerful leg sweep strong enough to cause a large gust of wind as a result to a target.

The Spider could not do anything as this new series of strikes felt more powerful than the last. The legs that were still trying to defend itself became useless as the daggers came at such speeds that they sliced right through them and they were easily detached as the legs moved immediately after the severing.

Those pieces then got sent flying off the bridges edge and fell to the ground far below. This caused the Star Spider to let out yet another of its head splitting sounds. However, this was but a useless attempt to distract its prey to do a counter attack, but that sound only got more intense when the blades finally reached its main body. An attack was finally able to partially penetrate the hard body armor.

After a split second, the daggers that had just been running along its exoskeleton produced a few sparks. It was followed by them digging into the natural armor, this left long grooves before the blade finished its attack run before the next one started. The attack repeated over and over for a total of five times, each one making a deeper cut till finally on the last. Brex managed to get past the defense and slices into a vital organ in the cephalothorax, which is the section that the legs and head are connected.

A large amount of thick, blueish, black blood gushes out from the opening. Along with what appeared to be bits of organs that were spilled forth. The sight was that of Brex getting hit with a spray on his right cheek and his arms clothing getting covered in the spider’s bodily fluids.

This attack had yet to be finished, even with himself becoming partly covered in Spider blood. There was still the finishing move left to be done. On the final rotation, Bex pulled back his blades and was going to do the last spin. With his back facing the creature, he turns his head and gives the spider a look that could hit a person’s soul like daggers. Now out stretching his left leg, with how large Brex was, its length was enough that it bashed right through a support pillar and continued its path without showing signs of it being bothered by the stone that it had just demolished.

The attack landed dead center on the Star Spiders body and this was able to send it flying back towards the thick webbing behind, but not before emitting a bone shattering crunch from the strike as even more from its blood started to flow out of its body. The ground, railings, the other undamaged pillar and even the underside of the roof showed splatter marks.

(Stop battle music here.)

Brex could see that the creature was still alive and kicking even after what was done to it. Just as he was getting ready to use a Ninjutsu to finish the job, a thick energy began to be emitted from the spiders’ body that before it disbursed outwards till it was a dark vapor. After a moment later, that very same vapor condensed around the stumps that where once the missing legs and those became new ones. It didn’t take long before those started to show signs of life.

(Play music for this part.)

In a state of shock, Brex’s right eye twitched as he looked upon the sight of the Star Spiders legs being reformed. It was as if this thing had the power of ultra-regeneration. He then thought loudly, “HAY! I WON FAIR AND SQUARE, STOP RIPPING OFF THAT ONE SLIME DUDE!” But after a closer inspection he saw that this wasn’t the case at all. In fact, it was more akin to it using a form of magic to create a type of prosthetic limbs.

The newly formed legs became whole in a matter of seconds and the Star Spider then turned over and reoriented itself to face Brex once again. Something was off from before; the spiders face area was now covered in some sort of a film of black haze that resembled the upper half of some sort of opera mask. The mask sent another jolt of fear into Brex that he didn’t understand.

Brex couldn’t help but to think, “What… What is it about that mask that makes me feel like I’m dying inside?” His breathing rate had increased like mad and the sides of his vision were becoming dark. Sweat was forming on his brow and running down the back of the Roegadyn’s neck, he didn’t know why that thing on the spiders’ face was doing this to him.

On the verge of losing his mind, Brex was about to pass out from an anxiety attack, then a white flash went off inside his head, that was trailed by a vague memory. A tall figure wearing all black stood there and it had strange patterns running along most of the robes. Then there was a frightening voice that had a deep tunnel echo rang through this image as it said, “YOU DARE TO GET IN MY WAY! WORTHLESS, PATHETIC!” Then the face of the figure yelling this came into focus. This was something that Brex thought he should never have forgotten, how did he.

There was then a phantom pain inside his chest that made his blood run cold. This was when the feeling of death coiled all around his body. Soon after, there was another flash. At this point all Brex could sense was a cold, flat surface pressing on his back as he faced towards the white sky that was devoid of anything at all. There was no roof, no tree’s, not even a blue sky or clouds. He was unable to move anything at all, not even his own eyes. Everything about him seemed to be locked in place, or was it that he had not even the strength to do that much. He didn’t know.

All he could feel was his own life slipping away with each breath. Brex managed to get something in his peripherals just off to the side. It was another figure; this one was tall. But with how things appeared, it could have just been seen that way with how he was on the ground.

It was just barely something he could make out, but it seemed to be slender. The bottom half was blue, while the top had mostly white and what seemed to be two points on the sides of the head area. There was a odd sound that was almost like a droplet that caught his attention.

He thought, “Wait… what just hit the ground near his head? It sounded like water…” He tried to focus as best he could, but it was a losing fight and just as his vision faded, so did the pain. Soon the sense of cold that was creeping across his body went with it.

There was then a gentle, yet upset voice that said, “I’m… sorry… this shouldn’t have…” Brex didn’t know why, but it felt… sad… Then again, the voice continued with, “I’ll make it up to you. Please forgive this one…” He was sure now that it was a girl talking to him. He couldn’t help but to wonder as he tried to think, “Why did that make him feel both depressed and happy to hear this strangers voice… She… she was sad that… that I was dying, but why… did… did I… know...h… her?” Brex’s rate of thinking was getting harder to manage, the train of thought was quickly coming to a halt with each second.

(“Stop the depressing music… please, I’m making myself cry here!” The writer leaves the room and returns and takes a hammer and readies it in his hands to smash.)

*Point of view: Unknown*
*Location: Unknown*

A frustrated voice booms out with an overly energetic tone that carried an older person’s voice. Think of an old man that would be living on a small island and that was only large enough for an even smaller house. Said house was painted pink and the old man living there was short. He was wearing a purple turtle shell and lived with a talking turtle. That’s the voice I’m talking about. If you don’t know who the reference is for, then I’m sorry but that’s all your getting.

The man shouted, “Now this won’t do, no, no, no, not at all, this will not do at all. Nope, nein, níl, bangō, non, nee,óchi and… Carn sound it all. I can’t come up with any more words for no! Now how does this dang thing work. Erg! Those kids and their thing amabobs… Things were so much easier back then, but noooo~ They said I needed get with the times those two said! Now, they did… no, not that, er… no, that opened… WAAARG! OH WAIT! Don’t do that! I didn’t want that to happen! I just hate this thing. HA HA! THERE WE GO! *Cough* “I need to keep it down or those two will find out what I’m doing.”

A Set of computer texts appeared in the darkness, along with an artificial voice that was reading the texts aloud.

Data access granted; administrator privileges accepted…

Scanning data… scanning… scanning…

Error… Data corruption detected…

Unauthorized access from outside source detected…

Do you want to intercept unauthorized access and deploy fire wall? Yes or No.

YES, has been selected…

Attempting to intercept… attempting… attempting…

Unauthorized access from outside source has been terminated, Fire wall deployed.

Scanning data now… scanning… scanning…

Error… Data corruption is at 89 percent…

Chances at restoring original data is low, attempting to restore may cause unknown side effects to data. Further interface will be limited if this procedure is attempted. Do you want to attempt, Yes or No?

The voice from before continued after a short pause, “Dang nabit, they did a real number on him. I didn’t think they had something like that already set up. I’m tempted to get those two, but this needs to stay on the down low, er… that’s what they say now right?” With an irritated grunt the voice finishes with, “I can’t sit here and do nothing. I got no choice, let’s hope for the best. This was meant to be top of the line after all, what’s the worst that could happen. Uh Oh, I just jinxed it, didn’t I?”

(Play music here for emotional effect.)

Yes, has been selected…

Commencing data restoration protocols…

Scanning for corrupted data…Scanning… Corrupted data found, Isolating corrupted files…

Corrupted Data successfully isolated… Error, Corrupted data files attempting to break from isolation… reattempting… reattempting… Isolation successful…

Deleting corrupted data file…

Error, corrupted data cannot be deleted at this time…

Placing level 10 isolation program in place… isolation program successful…

Data quarantine initiated, Uncorrupted data holding at… 11 percent…

Scanning uncorrupted data… Error, percentage of remaining data insufficient for reconstruction…

Attempting to replace damaged data files to a manageable percentage…

Upload commencing… upload at 5 percent… 8 percent…

Error, percentage of remaining data insufficient for reconstruction…

Attempting to replace damaged data files to a manageable percentage…

Upload continuing… upload at 12 percent… 16 percent…

Error, percentage of remaining data insufficient for reconstruction…

Attempting to replace damaged data files to a manageable percentage…

Upload continuing… upload at 19 percent… 25 percent…

Data now at manageable percentage… total usable 36 percent… 11 percent original, 25 percent replaced.

Reconstructing commencing… unknown variable detected… within acceptable parameters…

Reconstruction of data at 45 percent… 69 percent… 80 percent… 100 percent…

Installing Fire Wall EX 2021 Omniverse… Installation complete…

Installing Anti-virus program version 4000… Installation complete…

Installing Assistance program version 4000… Installation complete…

(Stop the music.)

With an exhausted breath the voice let out a relieved sigh. “PEW! That scared me there. Was starting to think that I lost him there. Hope this works out ok. But… what’s all this mumbo jumbo about replacing, an unknown variable detected and this installing stuff here at the end? Is that normal?

There was then a heavy sigh before the voice continued, “I wish I knew more about this stuff. Oh well, that’s all I’m able to do here. If I try anymore, then I’ll be in trouble.” A shuffling sound can be heard as a set of footsteps echo closer. The man then finished with, “Good luck kid, I’ll be rooting for you!” One could just feel that the owner of that voice had just done a dopey, two thumbs up and a matching smile.