Right away, I know that this battle is going to test me to my limits.

A month ago, these two were thieves and they fought as such. With full equipment and armaments, it feels more like they are fighting as genuine soldiers. They have a cause to believe in beyond just a monetary prize, and they're defending it with everything they have. I imagine under most circumstances I'd probably find it inspiring.

I probably still would, if I knew exactly what it was... though Gates' behavior in general doesn't paint a good picture of it.

Enough of that. For now I have to stay on the move and keep away from his attempts at ripping me open.

Bastion's shifting around the warehouse, taking potshots at me whenever he has a clear line of sight. My first assumption was that the blasts he's firing are magical, given how it seems to be Equestria's answer to just about everything. But there's something not quite right about that. The readings I'm getting on these bolts aren't adding up.

What kind of weapon is he using? Whatever he's using to cloak himself extends to it as well, so I can't see what it is. Gates is pressing me too hard for me to really focus on scoping it out with Lock-On, and I can't afford to stay distracted for too long.

I can safely say the usual magical trickery is responsible for Gates' knives becoming much sharper. I'd stepped away to keep him from skewering my foot, and the knife buried itself in the floor almost up to the hilt. When he pulled it out, it gave way with almost startling ease.

Hold on for a second; I see an opening---

---and it's good! A well-timed Water Circle dislodges one of the knives, knocking it loose from its holster. A quick flurry of stabs punctures and damages his armor's chest piece, though it doesn't destroy it. I finish the combo by lashing out at him with a foot, triggering an Ice Slasher just as the kick connects and launching him away on a wave of ice.

Hope you're happy, Ebony. I kicked him in the face like you asked---

"Guh---!"

One of Bastion's shots just seared my left arm guard. Stupid. Stupid! I said don't be inattentive! I whip the Javelin around and fire off a volley of spearheads via the Gatling Harpoon, aiming at the general area that I was being attacked from.

None of them come anywhere close. Two of them circle back around me towards a recovering Gates---who has no problem dealing with them judging from the sounds I'm hearing---and the rest just keep flying until they hit something, unable to detect Bastion beneath his cloak. So much for that idea.

Something has to be done about that invisibility. I haven't been fighting them long, and already I'm losing my patience with it.

My HUD blares a warning, and I dash-jump to my left just as one of the knives screams past. "Should've just stood still and took that one," Gates calls out. "The easiest way to send you home is to blow you up!"

I'm not dignifying that with a response. Instead, now that I have a bit of space I can start delving into my bag of tricks. I jump at Gates, holding on tight to the Javelin as it spins into the Permafrost Squirrel. The weapon flies straight and true. He raises a foreleg to block, which I know to be a completely useless move---

A brightly-colored barrier intercepts the Squirrel, and that's something else I never thought I'd say in any context. It's not spherical like the ones I've seen from Shining Armor. Rather it's tall, covers a wide area in front of Gates, it's warding off my attack without any sort of give...

...and it's emitting the same energy as Bastion's ammunition. What...?!

The barrier flashes abruptly, and I find myself forcefully repelled by an energy surge. It serves to disrupt my attack's revolutions early and launch me away on a twisting haphazard arc.

I'm on course with something large and blue: systems are identifying it as a large punching bag. If I don't do something to stop my flight now, I'm going to collide with it and leave myself open to attack. I angle my legs and twitch one of my feet as if I was going to Double Jump, timing it for when my boots are almost perpendicular to the ground. My maneuver succeeds in stabilizing me, and I'm forced into a flip that should take me over the bag---

I hear a shot; Bastion's at my 7:30! Too close, can't dodge in time the sudden pain---!

...

It takes a second for me to get my senses going again, and by then I realize that I'm upside down on a tattered old couch a few feet behind the punching bag. I grit my teeth as I try not to verbalize my pain more than I did when the shot struck me, but that's an exercise in futility.

Neither of them are attacking me for the moment. I work my way off the couch and onto my feet, grimacing the entire time. I look past the obstacles between me and Gates, noticing him regarding me with caution. Or at least I'm assuming it's caution, anyway. Lousy one-way visor.

I direct my auto-repair to fix the affected area and try to sooth the pain, my free hand reaching behind my back for where I was shot---

Okay, why is Gates chuckling? And why is the auto-repair centering its efforts on... on my...

"You have my sympathies," Bastion says a short ways away, sounding vaguely... contrite? "I apologize for that, warrior."

... ...! I can feel my coolant rushing into my face, those smug little---!

Pardon me while I have a strange interlude.

It's been previously established that I am technically genderless. It's strictly for convenience's sake that I identify as a girl (woman, actually, but that's semantics), as my body's shape is the closest to one in appearance. Makes things less confusing in casual conversation, you know?

(Admittedly because of this, I've gotten wisecracks from a few who think my armor's swimsuit-esque, but I gave up trying to shut those idiots up a long time ago. Phantom did a much better job of doing that for me, but I'll leave the details of that to your imagination.)

However, there is something important I want to point out here. I don't just have a girl's identity. I also have a girl's dignity. It's what we all possess in some form or another, regardless of the paths we walk in life. It's what I emphasized back home when I first fought Zero, even if I didn't use the same phrasing: not holding back because of who I am lets me keep my dignity.

This is also in part why I prefer keeping my armor and suit on at all times regardless of the situation. My body might not be a perfect match for a human's in every respect, but I still feel obligated to keep it protected. For my peace of mind, if nothing else.

So, why did I interrupt my fight to tell you about all of this? Because under no circumstances do I ever appreciate getting shot in the---!

"Astronomical shot there," I can hear Gates snark at my pain. Little miscreant. Of course he'd find it funny. A small part of me thinks that if it weren't for cultural differences and fully sapient donkeys, he'd be emphasizing his phrasing a lot more.

"I was aiming for her neck," Bastion fumes. "I wasn't expecting her mid-air acrobatics."

Okay, so maybe the shot didn't hit anything 'vital', per se. But I'm still nine degrees of livid right now! And unless I get my hands on some Reddocite, I'm not going to be able to sit down for the rest of the day!

Gates chuckles again, and I focus all of my attention on him. My vision actually reddens a little. Hello, guilt-free target!

I indulge my anger, point the Javelin at Gates, and re-trigger the Gatling Harpoon. As fast as is allowable, spearheads detach and re-spawn one after another until my HUD informs me that the technique's energy supply is getting low. Each of them home in on Gates, avoiding those obstacles in their way.

Gates is both fast and skilled, and he shows off those skills as he dodges, kicks, and slashes his way through the barrage. At one point he even grabs one of them and uses it as a blunt weapon until it breaks apart. All the same he's no machine, and he can't dodge forever: the five projectiles he can't destroy smash into him one after another, forcing him back a short distance.

Yes, they didn't do much to him; the meter indicating his willingness to fight barely dropped. Still, I feel a little bit better after that. ...But it's not enough.

Gates is indignant as he straightens his posture. "What are you upset at me for? He's the one who shot you!"

"He had the good grace to admit that it was unintentional and he didn't laugh at it!" I yell at him as I prep a Spirit of the Ocean. "You're the one who thought it was funny!"

Several shots from Bastion ricochet off the Javelin, throwing off my concentration enough that my attack destabilizes and vanishes halfway through. Trying to get the Spirit set up in these circumstances wasn't smart, but sue me---I'm mad. "You've had your free shot, General," he warns. "Try that again if you want to lose your arms."

"Free shot, huh?" Gates mutters as he stalks forward. "Explains why you just stood there and did nothing."

"Relishing somepony's pain, no matter how ludicrous, is not the mark of a professional," Bastion lectures him sternly. "We do our jobs, and if it causes suffering to our enemies, then we take no delight in it." I don't know whether to feel insulted or chastised by that.

"You never did figure out how to enjoy yourself on the clock," Gates continues to gripe, not taking his attention away from me. "Fine, I'll play that game. For now."

Angry as I am, I'm not blind to the fact that he's cornering me. When I first passed through the building, I thought that it was a maze of unused storage equipment, supplies, and debris. That's not entirely accurate: I realize that there's a number of alcoves and hidey-holes scattered around, with this one being a pseudo-living room with only one exit (or at least only one that doesn't require wall-jumping).

It's not a favorable situation. If I go after Gates, Bastion's going to shoot me in the back. If I try to switch targets, Gates will see that as carte blanche to stab me. If I ignore both and try to escape the alcove by jumping out... well, Bastion's close by, and his aim's good enough that he would catch me trying.

...Alright. It's decided, then. Their teamwork is such that individual bouts aren't an option. If I'm going to defeat them, then I have to make sure that they're both in my line of sight at all times and fight them simultaneously. But how to do that...?

"You're getting only one warning," Bastion coldly informs me. "Surrender quietly to us. You will still be destroyed, but at least you would be allowed to say good-bye to what friends you have made first."

Unthinkable on the face of it, and for once Gates agrees with me---though it's for a different reason. "That's not what First Quarter's orders were. She specifically wants her twisted into scrap, melted down, and repurposed as silverware. And something about using her weapon as a toothpick."

...First Quarter? Who is that?

Bastion's sigh reflects his irritation. Is their new leader's name not supposed to be openly known, or is it something else? "I refuse to be cold-hearted enough not to allow a worthy opponent some dignity in death," he finally utters. Oh. "I will take any punishments for this that are required..." His rumbling increases a decibel or two in volume. "...but I have my principles, and I won't deviate from them!"

Gates seems mildly surprised at him. To an extent, so am I. Has he never really raised his voice like that before? "...Whatever," he finally acknowledges in his own way. "Have it your way." He pivots to face me again, knives ready. "So, yeah. You're cornered now, and one wrong move gets you an instant evisceration. Giving yourself up means your final words will be recorded for the history books, then an instant evisceration. What's it going to be?"

Outwardly I'm considering their offer; the more affable sort of antagonist would think of it as doing me a favor. Inwardly, a plan to counterattack is brewing. They've adapted well to what I can do since our first encounter, but they're probably not fully aware of my true capabilities. Nearly every piece of equipment I've unlocked and every technique I've gained has proven itself useful in the fight that follows, and this isn't any different.

It's true. They have me cornered. There's nowhere to go.

Except up.

I string them along by returning my Javelin to storage, letting defeat seep into my features. My hand slowly raises as if in surrender... and I trigger the Tundra Tether. An ice-cold line snaps up over my head and snags the warehouse's rafters. Audibly snarling at this turn of events, Gates slashes at my leg and Bastion fires a shot aimed at my generators---but the Tether yanks me up and out of harm's way, with both attacks missing cleanly.

The rafters barely have enough room to maneuver, but there are beams connecting them to the ceiling that are preventing me from going too far in either direction. Instead I trigger a dash and let my momentum carry me off the rafter at an angle. This is followed up with Frozen Aerial once I've dropped down just far enough to safely double-jump away off a spawned platform. The responsive Bastion's shot breaks through the platform and damages the ceiling instead, but misses my foot by millimeters.

I take a quick look to see where I've landed: a poor pony's loft composed of several stacked columns of containers, with a mattress, blanket and pillow next to an unlit lantern that's fallen over. There's a book lying discarded upside-down, with its front cover depicting a running fox; "This Belongs to Dandelion" has been inked on the back.

"Pull!"

That split-second scan sinks in as I hear several grunts and see one of the crates flying at me. You didn't hear me yelp when I dived off the loft (seriously, you didn't, and I've got the means of backing that up). The crate passes through where I was standing and smashes through the windows over the loft, tearing away a sheet that had been used as a curtain.

I hit the ground, quickly rolling to my feet. I'd have expected Bastion to have thrown that at me, since he's the larger and stronger of the two. It's as I'm looking up and checking where Gates is that I see him bring his back legs down, implying that he was responsible instead. As I duck down out of sight, I once more find myself marveling at earth pony strength.

Everypony jumped as a crate burst through the window and dropped into the road, hitting with enough force to damage the wood and break open the lid. "What in Celestia's name is going on in there?" one on-looker wondered fearfully as the last of the glass fell. "Who's she fighting?"

Somepony else investigated the crate. "Who cares?" he crowed as he held up a can of peas and diced carrots. "We've got food, and it's still weeks before the expiration date! Help yourself and mind the glass!"

Cheering, the crowd descended on the crate's contents. It was empty within ninety seconds.

"Blasted robot," Gates growls. "How long was she holding that in reserve? There wasn't anything that said she could do that."

"And I'm sure the citizens appreciate our lack of knowledge," Bastion answers with a twinge of annoyance. I can hear hoofsteps as he seeks out a new vantage point, though the cheering from outside almost drowns it out. What was in that box? "Find her and corner her again. Keep her from escaping if she makes a second attempt."

"Eh, it wasn't much of a sacrifice," I can hear Gates answer as he gets moving. "Stuff was probably past its expiration date anyway."

...Well, that answers that question. And it ties nicely into the next part of my plan: nullifying Bastion's invisibility.

I channel some energy into the Javelin, then trigger my Overdrive---not for too long, just enough to do what I have to. Both noises get Gates' attention, and he trots towards my hiding place. Meanwhile, my immediate surroundings are flash-frozen by my aura.

I bring the Javelin down... but instead of a Charged Slash, the floor is lightly tapped instead. Boosted by the Overdrive, a wave of ice shifts across that entire section of the warehouse. Both of my enemies are safe from being frozen over, and anything on the ground gets rooted to it, but they're not my targets: the cement floor is. Maneuvering has just become more treacherous for the time being.

My Overdrive gets deactivated immediately. It was only on for six seconds, so hopefully twenty-four should be enough for later.

Gates is heard crying out as I hear the familiar sounds of a skidding object and an impact. He follows it up with an Equestrian curse that I'm not going to repeat for any young ears listening in. Charming, I think derisively to myself as I walk away as quietly as I can, wincing with each step.

Bastion is moving again, though his steps tell me that he's shifting away from where I am. I stay mobile and keep as far away from them as I can. I shut one eye as I go, triggering both Hunter and Lock-On in quick succession.

Maneuvering like this is a bit disconcerting, but it lets me keep track of both thieves' locations. There's a silvery pony-shaped mass where Bastion is as my systems' combined usage creates an odd effect. So that's how it perceives cloaking. Interesting.

I may as well take this opportunity to see what kind of weapon he's using. I've been curious about this for the entire battle---

...

What on Earth is he doing with that?

...I'll clarify this quickly. I didn't say that in my mind because he's inadequate or amateurish with the weapon. Far from it; he's been very competent with its use. Rather, I'm starting to get angry again because of something much more serious. I recognize the ammunition he's using now, and the weapon even more so.

The shape of it is somewhat different. Also, several of the components have been swapped for local equivalents---the power source is notably a crystal shard like those I've been finding in the drones. Regardless, he's wielding what's basically a Pantheon's buster cannon re-designed to function as a pony-friendly rifle. The biggest difference is that instead of low-power shots that would rarely be debilitating to anyone with the durability and training, the blasts are instead optimized for speed and strength. There's damage all over the warehouse that shows what any missed shots are capable of.

And those shots aren't magical. Gates' shield isn't magical. They're made of the same type of energy that's common in weapons back home. For crying out loud, Zero's turned me into a tic-tac-toe board four times with it since we met. I can only blame my earlier lack of recognition of it on the fact that I've gotten too used to Equestria's approach to matters: nearly everything that's been thrown at me until now could be blamed on magic. Not this time.

If you still don't get it, then I'll spell it out for you. One of my worst fears has come to pass: the Equestrians are using Neo Arcadian technology.

Where did they get the means to do that? By all accounts, I'm the only example of Earth-born tech here! And even if I'm not, how did they figure out how to reverse-engineer it and reproduce it for their own use?

I glare in the ponies' direction before re-focusing on the mission. Placing THAT on the back burner for now. Survive and win now, question them later.

Hunter gets turned away from the ponies and towards the supplies I'm passing. Some of the crates hold things like door decorations, small furniture, more canned food, bedding---scratch that, it was actually a tiny bedroom used by one of their compatriots---books, leftover placards and leaflets from G.F.E., cookware...

I smirk as I find what I'm looking for lying loose. This will work.

Bastion looked up as he heard a grunt of effort from somewhere behind him, and he whirled around to investigate. Arcing towards him was an icy projectile of some kind, bristling with spikes that jutted out at every angle.

He didn't waste time wondering how Leviathan found him. His training kicked in, and he snapped the proof-of-concept he was carrying towards the projectile and fired. The shot shattered it, and he held up a foreleg to block some of the spikes that the projectile had ejected on its destruction.

Not everything that hit him was frozen, however. Something splattered against his suit, with more of it hitting the ground over a wide area. He checked to see what it was... and his blood curdled on seeing the remains of a tube of red paint. Some of it had been ruined when his shot destroyed the mine, but enough of it had gotten onto his suit to render his cloak pointless.

A good way across the warehouse, Leviathan emerged from wherever she'd been hiding and leapt onto his level. "Hi there," she jovially greeted him before charging, bounding from one stack to another to get within melee range.

Bastion growled as he realized they'd been tricked. "Gates!" he shouted, disengaging his cloak and firing several shots at the approaching Reploid. The first one missed as she evaded it. The second met a premature end via Javelin.

The third tore through Leviathan's right arm in passing, clear past the armor that encompassed most of the limb. Though it wasn't enough to render the arm useless, it still ripped enough of a gouge in it to expose metal bones and wiring, barely missing a coolant line. This elicited a pained shriek from her, but no sign of anything else. She's not slowing down!

Bastion had a second to realize that she was going to try to destroy his weapon before she reached him. He flung it away from him and prepared to withstand the attack, bracing himself.

I didn't have any choice but to take that damage. There wasn't any way I was going to be able to avoid all the shots. Thankfully I still have Statuette's Reddocite sample for the aftermath, and at least it's not as grungy here as it was at Omega's battleground.

Bastion throws his weapon aside. I wish he hadn't; I'd been hoping to destroy it first thing. I'll settle for whittling him down to size for now.

An upwards swipe from the Javelin's broad side golfs him into the air the same way it did his fellow thieves a month ago, but a jumping slash smashes him back into the crate he was on, destroying the lid and dropping him within. I have enough time to acknowledge the crate's contents (who could possibly need that many quill pens?) before I stab into the crate, aiming for his armor's chest piece---

Incoming electrical humming prompts me to abort my attack before it connects and jump away. Pure energy---not the pony, but actual energy---cuts through the space where I'd been. I sigh inwardly: What now?

I land close by while keeping both Gates and the recovering Bastion in front of me. The noisier of the thieves has a new weapon attached to his hoof: two rather oval-shaped energy blades jutting from a curved hilt, together creating an odd facsimile of a sword as they extend around four feet outward before terminating in twin points. It's a dramatic range improvement from those combat knives.

Speaking of, I realize that Gates' knives are nowhere to be found... or rather that the handles have been repurposed to serve as the sword's hilt. That would explain why they were oddly-shaped: they were just small parts of a larger whole. Are the blades detachable, or did they fold into the handles?

Bastion climbs out of the crate he was buried in. Instead of retrieving his rifle, he reaches for a weapon stored on his back that I hadn't noticed previously. In Coffee's initial briefing she'd said Bastion used the same type of weapons I did, and now I get to see it for myself: a spear of the kind used by soldiers in the Royal Guard. He spins it once and points it at me, and a pale green sheen covers the entire weapon---effectively the opposite of his dark green armor.

Why is there an X-shape across his helmet? Is it just meant to match his scar?

I take a defensive position as I wield the Javelin two-handed. Plus side, they're both where I can see them. On the downside, I'm not liking what I'm looking at. "We're going to have a long talk later about where you acquired Neo Arcadian technology," I warn.

"Talking to the dead is an exercise in futility," Gates retorts, unimpressed.

"I don't know where you made that determination," Bastion answers me, "but everything we've used against you today was made by our magitech department. Any resemblance to weapons used on your homeworld is strictly coincidental."

"I don't believe in coincidences for anything that hits close to home." My observations didn't fool me earlier. I know what they're wielding, and I don't like it. "My systems don't lie. This isn't magic you're attacking me with. The energies are the exact same type used in select weapons back home. Saying 'it just happened' isn't going to cut it with me."

"You can be assured that questions will be raised later once you've been dismantled." Bastion's spear shines, and I'm receiving warnings as to its potential lethality. "For now, our job is not done."

And suddenly its lethality isn't just potential, but real. Another energy projectile, this one green and shaped liked the weapon it was fired from, shoots out from the spearhead. I already have my Javelin in place to defend, so the shot is safely deflected off to the side... where it cuts---not blasts, cuts---through what was once a perfectly good storage rack before fizzling out near the farthest wall.

You know what? I think they're serious about wanting to kill me.

I'm forced onto the defensive for a time. Admittedly I'm off balance from what I've learned just in the past few minutes, and it's letting them team up on me. They're alternating between staggering their attacks and striking in unison, making it difficult to impossible for me to protect myself from every stri---

"GGHHHRKK!"

...And that suppressed gasp you heard just now? That was Gates' sword slicing into my side as I jump away from one of Bastion's spear thrusts. This one nicks my endoskeleton, slices through some wiring and succeeds in cutting through one of my coolant lines. Warnings flood my HUD, but I shunt them aside for now. I can't let them interfere with what I'm doing.

Though the fact that I'm not feeling any additional pain from that slash isn't a good sign. It means that I won't be able to tell when further damage is done to my frame in that section. The damaged wiring must've been connected to my pain sensors.

At least there's finally a plus side to all this. I might be feeling tired and hurt, but their own reaction times are beginning to suffer a little. Aside from the combat we've been engaged in, they've been out and about for some time prior to arriving here. I think if I had some way of distracting them---any way---I could start turning the tables.

The battle's taken us close to that old loft I landed in earlier; I could see it if I'd been permitted to look over my shoulder. The coating of ice I'd placed on the floor earlier is in the midst of dissolving.

But that's not important anymore. What is important is that I've just figured out how to give myself some breathing room. After staving off another of Bastion's projectiles (the Javelin's starting to see some damage, the poor thing), I switch to a one-handed grip and point my free hand at Gates before he can charge me again.

My intent had been to use the Tundra Tether to yank Gates' sword away from him. His grip is strong, though, and he refuses to relinquish it when the Tether latches onto it. This backfires: if the Tether catches something that's lighter than I am, it pulls it towards me... and Gates, suit and all, falls short of the mark. "I won't let you escape!" I declare as I start to raise my arm, grinning ear to ear.

"What the---w-w-wait---!"

Bastion has the good sense to get clear, not wanting to risk hitting his partner on accident even if it means a shot at me. Not that it helps Gates any. Up, down, all around: I'm swinging myself a stallion all over the place. And with a bit of practice, I can withdraw and extend the Tether's length as much as I'd like. It's like every amusement park ride in the world combined together and gone horribly wrong, only I'm the one at the controls. As much trouble as he's caused for both myself and others, I'm enjoying this.

The whole time he's getting slammed around, Gates refuses to let go of his sword (though he has at least enough sense rattling around that he's extinguished it). Stubborn fool. Well, if that's how he wants to play it...! With one last heave, I sling him over my head and down towards Bastion.

The ex-Guard is big and bulky, but he's not slow. He sees Gates descending towards him and does the smart thing by getting out of the way. Good thing: his armor might've protected him, but I like to think he would've felt something if he'd gotten hit by that. As it is, Gates hits the floor hard enough to crater the cement and leave cracks extending for a few meters in all directions.

Bastion rushes over to check on him, though he needn't have bothered: he's already getting up. His chest piece was damaged, not destroyed, so the velocities wouldn't have hurt him much.

He's still breathing hard from how much effort he's been putting in. And so's Bastion, now that I have a moment to pay attention: dodging and evading for that length of time at that size can't be easy. "This roller coaster ride was fun," Gates manages to snarl, "but if you would just keel over and die already, that would be great!"

"You've proven yourself far stronger than our experiences and reports have shown," Bastion says wonderingly after a moment. His tone toughens back up. "You were deliberately deceiving us all along, weren't you?"

"Not intentionally," I answer. "I've just been gaining traction these past few weeks."

"Pull the other one, worm-bait," Gates bites out. "Do you expect us to believe that? You're a robot. You're not supposed to get stronger."

"A month ago I'd have agreed," I admit with a smile. "I'd always believed my limits were built-in, and that usually means they don't change. But let me ask you something: have you ever wondered why the progenitor of Reploid-kind was called 'X'?"

Neither of them answer me or otherwise react, so I continue. "It has to do with math. 'X' is a variable. In some equations, it could mean just about anything. There's just so much potential packed away in that little letter. X was a champion in part because of that potential. He never stopped getting stronger for his entire life; he was able to adapt to any situation he faced, just like our creators." Do you see the glint in my eye? It's beautiful, isn't it? "Remember my first interview with the locals. Whose DNA was used to build me?"

I have to imagine their disbelief, and that's not satisfactory. "Explaining it with words isn't always optimal," I finish. "So I'll give you a countdown, starting from seven! Trifecta!"

They don't have time to wonder why I said that, in light of 'trifecta' not meaning 'seven' in any known language, before I dash towards them. A mist of particles flow from my hand as I go, and the Arctic Pulse blast catches Bastion square in the face. While it doesn't harm him, it does serve to enshroud his visor with ice. He backs off with a startled grunt, bringing a hoof up to try and dislodge the particles.

"Glintlock!"

I sidestep away just as Gates' sword swipes through where I'd been standing, then let loose with the next technique in line. The Gatling Harpoon's remaining energy is used wisely: he's only able to destroy one of the spearheads before the rest slam into his chest piece, finally destroying it and blowing him back out of easy attack range. I think they're understanding the meaning of my countdown now.

"Metallium!"

With Gates out of the way for the moment, I aim the Javelin at Bastion and hold tight as I deliver a Permafrost Squirrel straight to his door. With his vision obscured he sees something coming, and to give him credit he does try to block it with his spear. It's not enough: the drill reduces the empowered weapon to so many fragments and keeps going, striking his own chest piece and breaking it apart. The impact launches him towards the crates we battled atop earlier with a surprised yell.

As I ignore the crash and turn to face Gates again, I can see two dots out the broken window: one red, one yellow. I disregard them as unimportant: just two ponies going about their business and drifting through the sky.

"Statuette!"

The drill reverts back to the Javelin, and I pivot to face Gates. He's trying to get within slashing range again, so I discourage him by sending an Ice Slasher his way. He lowers his sword and catches the Slasher on his shield, which was what I was hoping for.

"Illudere!" The little scuzzbucket, I add in a silent and venomous aside.

I dart at the shield and leap onto it, using it as a stepping stone. I kick off of it with a backflip for a little flourish, spin around, and slug Gates' back with a Fahrenheit Hammer before he can register what just happened. A patch of ice forms on his back as he staggers, but it doesn't hinder him much... or if it is, he's just trying to power through it.

"Calico!"

Snarling in frustration and anger, Gates whirls and swings his sword at my legs. My escape jump isn't quite fast enough, as it passes cleanly through my left boot and leaves a shallow cut in my ankle beneath. One more bit of pain that I need to ignore. You can do this! I encourage myself, throwing the Airborne Ranger at him.

Gates doesn't do anything fancy to defend himself: he just straight-up punches the boomerang out of the way, striking the blunt side of the blade just before it reaches him.

"Bushwhacker!"

I throw both hands out, channeling a Tundra Tether from both of them. One of them connects to Gates, and the other to an old bar stool across the way. I swing my hands to bring them together---

A familiar red bolt passes through the Tether connecting my hand and Gates, disrupting and disintegrating it. Freed, he skids to a stop, catches the stool when it reaches him and swings it at me---

Leviathan caught it squarely in the face, and she cried out on impact. Not done, Gates continued to swing it over and over. He didn't care if the stool did any real damage or not. He had some aggravations to work out.

On the seventh swing, the stool could no longer stand up to the stresses being placed on it and broke apart in his hooves. Still not finished venting, he dropped what was left of it, jumped up and struck Leviathan as hard as he could.

Gates found some of his anger fading as he watched her skid across the floor, bouncing along six times before she finally slid to a stop. "Better," he growled as he retrieved his sword from where he dropped it. "Now all that's left is to finally dismantle her and call it a day. This brouhaha's gone on long enough."

Outside, the red and yellow dots that Leviathan had sighted rapidly enlarged. He took no note of them.

"Have you gotten your wits about you?" Bastion asked as he joined him. The weapon he'd started the battle with was back in his possession.

"Almost." Gates nodded at him. "Not addled anymore?"

"I had to retrieve the proof-of-concept without her noticing," Bastion explained. "I appreciate you occupying her attention."

Gates shrugged. That hadn't been his plan, but it seemed to have worked out to their benefit. "Much obliged. Can we kill her now?"

Bastion was silent for several seconds, and Gates was about to ask him again. He closed his mouth on hearing a definitive "Yes" from the larger stallion. He smiled eagerly as they walked forward, approaching the downed Guardian.

Leviathan was propping herself up on one elbow, grimacing from the punch to the chest Gates had given her. She halted her movements entirely when Bastion's weapon---and it irked Gates just a little that they didn't have a name for it beyond "Neo Arcadian"---aimed at her face.

Gates approached from the other side and activated his sword, readying it to slash through her robotic heart. "Your career is over," Bastion informed her, the sentence solemn. "We will tell Salamandra that you said good-bye."

She didn't seem to have been paying much attention. Her eyes were lingering on the windows behind them. One corner of her mouth twitched as he finished speaking, and she had her reply ready immediately. "Heh... save it. I'll do that myself."

And that was the only warning they got.

...

Two streaks screamed into the warehouse through the broken window. The yellow one veered towards Gates, and the red towards Bastion. They flew to either side of them, wings just barely skimming over their dragon armors. The streaks broke away and jetted towards the far end of the building, the air shifting violently in their wake.

Gates jolted at the unexpected interference. “WHAT?!”

“Enemy fliers!” Bastion whirled and tried to take aim at the intruders, but found that he had difficulty keeping up. “They're too fast!”

“They're here for the General,” Gates hissed as he pieced things together. “Abso---” He raised his sword into the air... “---lutely---” ...and swung it down towards Leviathan's heart. “---not!”

But as quick and decisive as his actions were, the fliers were quicker. The both of them shot back within range, with the yellow one curving around and dive-bombing Gates directly. The sword got within a centimeter of making contact, but no further as both it and its wielder were violently repulsed.

The red streak twisted back around and shot at Bastion like an arrow. With the streak right in his sights, he pulled the trigger---but his target shifted down, narrowly dodging the bolt. That was the only shot he had time to make before the streak flew past, again brushing its wings over his armor. He tried to buck it away, but missed by a mile.

Neither pony noticed the cuts that had been left on their armors in passing.

After they were satisfied that the agents had been driven sufficiently batty, the yellow streak extricated itself from the fray and flew overhead, slowing down---

Gates felt his anger spike again at what she was doing. “Hey, jerkwad!” Maverick greeted him, joviality and vitriol populating her speech in equal measure. She turned her back on him and snapped her tail a few times. “Come and get some of this! That's what you've been wanting, right?”

Bastion shook his head as he acknowledged their presence. “Gargoyle and Knight. You shouldn't have come back.”

“Anyone who intentionally gets between us and our mission dies.” Gates' own tail was lashing, though out of a deep fury. “And with her, I won't mind in the least.” He took two steps toward her, Bastion alongside him---

A shadow crossed over them, stopping them. Two boots touched down and turned towards them.

Leviathan was back on her feet, battered and tired but ready to finish what was started. Her precious Javelin was back in her hands, and both agents started---when did she get it back? Did one of their ex-underlings fetch it when they weren't looking?

It was in fact the truth; Magnum had gone after it while Maverick distracted them with her antics. Not that they would've had any way of catching her in time, but better safe than sorry.

The Guardian's words were cold, and her intent colder. She'd had enough. "Maverick? Magnum? Get clear. History's about to repeat itself."

There was no mistaking the order for anything else. Both pegasi bolted away from the battle-damaged warrior as a blistering aura formed in a snap. All of the thieves, both reformed and not, recognized the hissing hum; and while Maverick and Magnum were in a position to flee, the other two had no choice. Leviathan met their eyes and finished her countdown, voice completely devoid of warmth and sympathy.

"Zero."

For the first time in either of their conflicts, Gates felt fear at what he remembered and knew was coming. "Get behind me!" he barked at Bastion as Leviathan leaped at them. As his partner reacted accordingly to the order, Gates raised his foreleg and triggered his shield, trusting that both it and their armor would stop her attack.

They didn't.

The Frost Javelin struck Gates' shield. It didn't break through, but the sheer cold---sufficiently empowered by the Overdrive-enhanced Charged Slash---did.

If Leviathan's first use of the technique had been heralded by a windigo-worthy howl, this one was backed by an entire horde. A violent and pure 100-degree angle wave of cold and ice near-instantly swamped them, its heart-chilling grip swallowing them whole.

The cuts that Maverick and Magnum left on their attack runs might have been marginal, but marginal was enough: the ice seeped into the suits through them, freezing the two agents from the inside. Multiple ice sheets covered the outsides of the suits, leaving them attached to the ground. The sheer force blasted their weapons away from them, de-activating Gates' sword and rendering all of their armaments useless to them for now. The shield collapsed, and Leviathan stepped back to examine the end result.

The area behind them fared worse than the Pyre's alley did. Everything from there clear to the nearest wall looked like it had been struck by a blizzard, left to melt in the sun for an hour or two, then froze again during nighttime. Several of the containers partially collapsed on themselves from the sheer weight of the ice, with some shelves beginning to buckle.

Blades had clashed for the second time, and while her damage was substantial, she had proved herself their definitive superior. The fight was over.

I look around at the warehouse as my Overdrive ends on its own terms. I survey the scope of what was wrought...

My eyes squeeze shut, and my head slowly shakes in dismay. Someone's going to kill me, and it's not necessarily going to be my enemies.

Even without taking into account my final strike, there's too much damage. Destroyed property that belonged to somepony else, the walls scarred in places by Bastion's assault, the broken window over the loft... and I'm sure there's plenty else that I'm missing. Whoever owns all of this is going to flay me alive.

“Levi!”

My partners fly at me, though at a much slower speed than when they were throwing themselves headlong at our enemies. Magnum reaches me first and gives me a look-over before she anxiously asks what's on both their minds. “Levi, what in Tartarus happened to you? Those two are supposed to be chumps!”

“Chumps packing serious armaments.” I try to smile reassuringly. Not sure if I succeeded or not. “But hey, at least I'm still alive. Thanks to the both of you. What was it you were doing there?”

Maverick starts to explain, but doesn't get past her first word before the Frost Javelin glows yellow. Two long prongs jut out of the blade, bending at an angle to face forward. As the weapon thrums with power, the spearhead detaches and flies straight forward at speeds it didn't previously possess. It punches through a stack of unused pallets and keeps going to fly right through the wall instead of destabilizing against it, finally vanishing in a cloud of particles outside. The prongs retract and the glow recedes, returning the weapon to normal.

Huh. I knew the Javelin was getting new capabilities, but that was the first time I've seen it alter its shape. What's this technique?

-Reconfiguration complete. EX Skill gained: Laser Trident. Fires a single spearhead at a time. In exchange for losing all other capabilities, this weapon can even pierce through materials that the Permafrost Squirrel cannot. Maximum range is forty meters, but can be ended whenever the user wills it. One unit of energy per usage. Twenty-eight units total.-

...Well, okay. I won't object to having this sort of power, though I don't think it will be supplanting the Gatling Harpoon: I love its homing capabilities too much. I'll also need to be careful with this in light of how often I've been fighting in populated areas.

-Scanning...-

-Password broken. Jellyfish operational. Additional defensive measure; will ward off anything that touches it when activated.-

-All passwords removed. All equipment now usable by unit. No barriers remain.-

Music to my ears. I'm everything that was I meant to be. I can't express my thoughts adequately. It's just beautiful. But... properly celebrating that can wait.

My Javelin is shunted back into storage, and I collapse to the floor. I can hear my charges calling for me out of worry. I have the feeling I'm forgetting something, but eh. Feeling tired and dizzy from my lost coolant. I divert my auto-repair from its previous task and set it to work fixing the ruptured line. I can't take the enemy's Reddocite just yet.

I'm able to push myself somewhat upright into a pseudo-seiza, but no farther. I wave off the worried calls of my friends and open a connection to HQ. "Officer? ... Officer Coffee? Please tell me that's you at the other end."

-"Reading you loud and clear,"- Coffee answers back. -"What's the situation? You sound exhausted."-

"That's because I am exhausted. And injured, but mostly exhausted..." C'mon, act professional for just a little bit. "...Yes. Get some ponies and carriages down here with winter gear and chisels," I instruct them. "The Midnight Castle leaders have been brought to ground, but I had to turn part of the old G.F.E. building into a winter wonderland to do it. And see about hiring somepony to assess the damage to the building if you can. There's not enough Reddocite here to reverse everything."

-"Got it!"- I can hear her scrambling to carry out her orders just before the transmission cuts out.

This is one battle I'm glad to see brought to its end. It's over. It's done. All I have to do is watch the frozen thieves and make sure they don't get defrosted prematurely. Shouldn't be much danger of that, but you can't be too careful.

I can do that just fine from here.

Yes.

...

My companions are trading worried looks at each other. It's like they're hoping that the other pony will talk first. What's their deal?

Maverick's the first to give up in their little game. She sits down next to me and places a hoof on my hand. After some minor hesitation, she finally speaks. "So, uh... Levi?"

She sounds concerned. Why? "Yes? What's wrong?"

"I'm not trying to sound insubordinate here, but you've got a wicked gash on your rear end," she brings up, ears drooping. "Are you sure you should be sitting down like that? That's got to hurt."

...!

...

...

Between that sudden remembrance and Leviathan's pain suppression failing at that exact moment, it was no surprise that the MRPD found the parolees clinging to the rafters out of sheer shock when they arrived. Much later, this would be how the Legend of the Banshee's Shriek got its start.

MISSION COMPLETE

MISSION -- 100 -- 20p
CLEAR TIME -- 40'07 -- 2p
ENEMY -- 152 -- 20p
DAMAGE -- 80 -- 3p
RETRY -- 0 - 20p

TOTAL: 65p
AVERAGE: 79p

LEVEL: C
CODENAME: WARRIOR

Author's Note

Music links include: The remastered "Power Field", from Mega Man Zero 4; "Time Machine Instrumental", by The Alan Parsons Project; Fatum Iustum Stultorum, from Red Vs. Blue; "Red-Headed Outlaw", from The Henry Stickmin Collection; and Euan Ellis's "Echoes From Out There".

I think I might've had a dream about this clash somewhere, somewhen. I don't clearly recall.

For those curious about the past three chapter titles, wooden palisades, Norman keeps, and royal castles are three of the fortifications you can build in Lords of the Realm 2, from weakest to strongest.

Leviathan's thought of "Hello, guilt-free target!" is actually a reference to the One Piece fanfic This Bites!. It was a line used by Cross the first time he tried to pick a fight with a Kung Fu Dugong.

Where my music choice for the battle's finale was concerned, I decided to apply bookends. The first battle against our renegade thieves had a song associated with Ellie Rose from the aforementioned Stickmin games (from the original version of Fleeing the Complex), as a lead-up to Leviathan finishing the battle with a Charged Slash. I thought it would be nice to end the second fight the same way.

Where did the ponies get Neo Arcadian tech? Believe it or not, there is a clue in a previous chapter. If you don't want to go back and check, that's fine; this particular plot point has become important, so it will be elaborated on in-story at a later time.

Thinking I might take a break from writing for a few days. This was pretty much all I did most of October 24th aside from the odd bit of gaming, and I'm tired. ()^_^

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