Panic. Fucking. Stations.

The hallway soon became a shooting gallery as the armed members of the group fired back in the direction the bullet came from, whilst the others dropped down to the ground. Gearshift looked up at the others, watching them fire. His attention then turned in the direction of the hallway ahead of them. As the rounds flew in both directions, Gearshift turned towards the rooms ahead of them and then looked back up at the others engaged in the firefight.

"We have to move forward!" He exclaimed, trying to be heard over the top of the weapon fire.

"But how? They could be anywhere!" Steel Tip asked as he fired at one of the figures when they poked their head out of cover.

"Look at the rooms! They're ducking in and out of them, we need to do the same!" Gearshift answered.

Looking back down the hallway once more, Gearshift saw more figures darting into the hallway. One of which ran straight at them, promptly being put down with a well placed headshot from Full House. Crawling forward on his stomach, Gearshift made his way towards the closest room to him, occasionally looking back towards the others. He was briefly struck by surprise upon seeing Snowball and Tulip crawling behind him but gave a small smile to the both of them. Approaching the closest doorway, Gearshift quickly pulled himself to his hooves. Pulling up his baton once again, he took a few breaths and turned around the doorway and darted into the room. His decision to do so promptly came back at him with a reality check as two of the figures he'd seen earlier were standing directly in front of him. With them being closer than he expected, he managed to get a good look at them both.

"Ah!" One of them, a unicorn stallion, jumped in surprise. The second, a unicorn mare, quickly levitated a pistol, which Gearshift quickly deduced to be a revolver, out of a holster on her flank. Gearshift moved on her first.

Swinging his baton at the levitated weapon, he was able to knock it upwards as the mare fired. Turning the weapon on her, he aimed his next swing at her head but she was able to avoid it with a well time duck before turning the pistol back towards him again. Shifting his body position, when the revolver was fired again, the round made contact with his stable security vest. Although the vest slowed the round, it didn't stop it completely as he definitely felt the burning sensation of the round as the tip pressed against his chest, making him wince. Swinging the baton again with a yell, he made contact with the mare's chin, knocking her onto her back. Stepping forward to bring down the baton on her once again, his attempt was halted when the stallion grabbed him from behind.

"You experiments should know your place!" The stallion growled, tossing Gearshift to the ground.

Experiments?

Gearshift hit the ground, the pain in his chest burning that little bit more intensely. Looking up at the stallion, Gearshift quickly rolled sideways to avoid a pair of hooves coming down on his head.

"You disturbed our work! We won't tolerate such insolence!" The stallion continued, glaring at Gearshift with a crazed look in his eyes.

Hearing his words, Gearshift only now took notice of the lab coat he was wearing. Taking a quick glance at the mare on the ground, who was slowly shaking off her hit, he noticed she wore one too. His thought process was soon interrupted when a kick to the face knocked him into a brief daze. Shaking himself off quickly, he looked at the stallion once again as he wound up another harsh kick, although Gearshift was able to get out of the way of it. Quickly scrambling to his hooves, Gearshift got face to face with the stallion. With his baton at the ready, he kept his gaze focused as the PipBuck light illuminated them. Lunging forward, the two stallions went for one another. Gearshift brought up his baton, swinging for the stallion's legs in order to knock him down, which earned him another kick as a result. Staggering back from the kick, Gearshift quickly became on the defensive as the stallion rushed at him. Using the baton to defend himself from strikes, he swung a few times to get in hits of his own. His ears twitched at the sound of the gunfire in the hallway momentarily as he backed up to size up another attacking option. The decision to do so proved to be beneficial as his eyes shifted to the shape of the mare back on her hooves once again. Instinctively back pedalling, Gearshift only just avoided a shot from the mare's revolver as it hit the floor where he had been standing. As he looked towards her, the stallion disappeared back into the darkness of the room as the light of Gearshift's PipBuck only reached so far.

Taking cover behind a table that had been turned over, Gearshift momentarily caught his breath before two shots were fired. One passed clean through the table beside him but the second hit him in the shoulder, making him yell out in pain. Turning his head, he watched as the mare hurdled the table and turned the revolver towards him. Quickly thinking, he flicked the strap of the baton off of his hoof and brought up both hooves, pain bursting through his shoulder. Grabbing the mare's back legs as she cleared the table, he pulled down with all his might. The mare's agile initial motion completely folded, as did she, tumbling over the table and landing in a heap, dropping her revolver on the ground.

Moving on pure reflexes and adrenaline, he lunged at her as she picked her head up and connected a hit with her jaw. She let out a pained exclamation as her head snapped backwards from the force of Gearshift's hit. Adding another, he knocked her down to the ground once more. With his attention focused on her, he was promptly taken by surprise when he was body checked from his left side by the unicorn stallion, getting knocked to the ground. His shoulder burned in pain and his chest jerked, adding more pain to his system. Wincing once more, he got up to his hooves and swiped up his baton. Having looked away for a second, the stallion took his opportunity and rounded on him, levitating something out of his lab coat pocket. Two somethings. Gearshift pulled his head backwards just in the nick of time as to not lose an eye as a scalpel was thrusted in the direction of his face, slicing only his cheek in the process thanks to his quick movements.

"Kill him! Kill him already just kill him!" The mare exclaimed in a crazed fashion.

Gladly

Staying low and moving fast, Gearshift bolted at the stallion with his baton raised. As the second scalpel came at him, he slid underneath it and swung the baton, hitting the stallion at the side of his kneecaps and making his front legs buckle as a result. Coming back around, Gearshift swung once more and the baton connected with the stallion's jaw with a hefty whack. Dropping to the ground, the stallion was dazed from the hit. Quickly trying to shake himself off, he didn't see the baton come down on his jaw not once but twice, causing him to writhe in agony. Gearshift looked down at the stallion on the ground with a scowl before turning around and looking in the direction of the mare.... then took a round in the same shoulder.

"AGH!! What is it with you and my fucking shoulder?!" Gearshift growled.

Looking at her, his shoulder bleeding, he gritted his teeth. The mare had her revolver raised and pointed at him.

"Now, you're going to put that stick on the ground and die like a good little guinea pig." The mare said with a psychotic giggle.

Gearshift took a couple of steps forward before seeing the revolver move closer to him, making him stop in his tracks. His brain quickly raced in order to find a way out. Eventually, something came to him and a smirk slowly curled onto his face.

"What are you grinning at?" The mare asked.

"Oh nothing. I just remembered to keep count." Gearshift told her.

The mare went wide eyed in horror and used her magic to pull the trigger of the revolver. *click*...*click**click* Gasping, the mare pulled back the pistol and checked the cylinder. The empty cylinder. She quickly started levitating fresh bullets into the cylinder as Gearshift quickly closed the distance.

Gearshift got to the mare and swung the baton, connecting it with her jaw similar to how he did with her counterpart. She let out a pained yell and hit the ground, spitting out some blood. It appeared as though she'd bitten her tongue during the fall. Gearshift looked down at her, watching as she physically shook in pain. Glancing down at the revolver, Gearshift leaned down and picked it up via the mouth piece. Flicking his head to the side, the cylinder slid out to reveal four bullets inside. Huh, quick reload. Reinserting the cylinder, his attention turned back towards the two scientists. Stepping towards the stallion first, who was still writhing on the ground with his shattered jaw.

"Yu mthrfker. I'll kll yu!" He growled, looking up at Gearshift.

Gearshift narrowed his eyes, looking down at him. "I doubt that." Turning slowly, Gearshift looked over at the mare.

"AUURRRGHH!!" The stallion yelled, lunging up from the ground in an attempt to knock Gearshift to the ground. Quickly spinning back to look at him, Gearshift jumped backwards, fired two shots and the stallion dropped to the ground motionless, a bullet hole in his chest and head.

Gearshift then turned back towards the mare and slowly walked over. Looking down at her, he saw an expression of pain and fear.

"I'm sorry." He said, aiming the revolver and firing.

◇◇◇◇◇

The firefight in the hallway was slowly dying down as when Gearshift came out of the side room he'd been in, there were two bodies of scientists directly ahead of him. Full House, along with a shotgun and two pistols, cracked as the group had moved up ahead of him down the hall, evident by their PipBuck lights. Gearshift moved down the hall to join them as they fought off the remaining few scientists.

Their room darting tactic was quickly being found out, leaving them with only a straight fight through the hall. The Stable Ponies and Deputy quickly descended upon the scientists and took them out, Gearshift taking out the last one with another shot from his new revolver. Having scavenged extra bullets from the scientist mare, he had enough to last him, as long as he was cautious of how many shots he was firing. After making it to the end of the hallway and scanning the immediate area for any more surprises, they took a moment to catch their breaths. Having got there, their PipBuck lights were able to illuminate the sign on the wall that they had seen when they had arrived on this floor.

<Level 2 Labs.
<Outer Catwalks.

Level 2 Stairwell.
Level 2 Offices.

"What's the call?" Fresh Canvas asked.

"We hit the labs first, see if we can find anything." Gearshift answered, turning to look at the others. Nobody questioned his answer, the group promptly turning and heading in that direction.

Turning into the next hallway, the illumination got no better as the lights remained out of commission. Gearshift kept his eyes firmly fixed on anything ahead of them. He was only able to see slightly ahead of the range of his PipBuck light, making anything beyond that unknown. His gaze had remained so focused that he didn't notice when Steel Tip nudged him as they walked, only taking notice when the nudge became a jab into his side.

"Hey, you alright?" Steel Tip asked, upon seeing Gearshift turn to look at him.

"Wha- Huh? Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Gearshift answered, sliding the revolver back into his newly acquired holster.

"You sure about that?" Steel Tip asked.

"Steel, what are you getting at?" Gearshift asked.

"I'm just checking on you, making sure you don't freak out on me." Steel Tip answered.

"Well, having to shoot two crazed scientists kinda has me running on adrenaline at the moment so ask me again in about an hour." Gearshift said.

"If everything calms down by then." Steel Tip muttered under his breath.

A clang down the hallway made the group brace up, all weapons pointed in that direction. The darkness and lack of noise was making each and every sound that was heard sound like a potential threat. After a few seconds and silence, it would be Butch that moved first. The rest of the group stayed close and moved with him. The hallways seemed to go on for a short while longer than on the previous floor but eventually they turned the corner onto the Level 2 Labs hallway. The bottom of a sign was visible from where they were standing as it hung from the ceiling. Panning the light up, they got a full look at it.

^Outer Catwalks.

Level 2 Labs

Looking straight ahead, there was a single door at the far end of the hall they were standing in, the feint glimpse of outside confirming that. A side corridor branched off, taking them in the direction of the lab. One by one, looks were exchanged and weapons were loaded at the ready. Gearshift loaded his revolver before looking at the rest of the group.

"Let's move." He said, getting nods from the others.

Turning the corner, Gearshift stopped in his tracks, his eyes going wide. Looking at the floor, he noticed streaks of black markings on the ground. Moving his light to get a better look, his breath caught and held itself. Two bodies lay on the streaks, unmoving. They both looked as if they had passed around the same time, the streaks leading from behind them to where they were currently laying. Neither of them were wearing any lab coats or maintenance wear. Averting his eyes momentarily, more light arrived as the others shone their own lights on the two bodies and further illuminated them. However, when Gearshift looked back at the group, they were all looking straight ahead with looks of shock on their face, even Butch looked unnerved at whatever it was they were collectively seeing. Turning his attention back towards where they were looking, his expression soon matched that of his friends.

The doors to the labs ahead of them, identical to the doors on the floor below, was a grim sight to behold. A light above the doors illuminated them and the section of the corridor ahead of them clearly. The bottom half of the double doors was coated in blood stains and streaks, some flicking up the side of the wall. The doors themselves were slightly wedged open, the upper half of a pony visible to the group laying face down. Another pony was laying in a heap against one of the doors, just as motionless as the two Gearshift had looked at moments earlier. Something above the doors caught his attention, however. Canting his eyes upwards, Gearshift saw a single word lining the wall above the doors in large jagged writing. It was written in the same substance coating the doors themselves.

FAILURE

"W-What i-is this place?" Tulip stammered fearfully.

Nobody answered. The wave of fear and uncertainty was unanimous. The silence stretched on for eons as they stared at the entrance. Eventually, Gearshift collected himself and turned to look at the group.

"Okay.. I know this doesn't look good but if any of you don't want to come in, then that's okay." He told them.

"It.... it would be better if we stayed together." Snowball said, putting on a brave face, glancing at Lavender Blossom for reassurance.

"Snow's right, especially as not all of us are carrying a weapon." Lavender Blossom nodded in agreement.

"As long as we're all in agreement." Candy Cane said.

One by one, each of them gave an affirmative nod. Once in agreement, Gearshift took the first step towards the doors. Each step wavered, feeling heavy as he approached. Looking upon the word above the door, he felt himself trembling. He saw the light around him, knowing the others were following him. Each body he came to and passed by had some sort of deep gash or scar that looked fatal, the body in a heap actually had several of them. Sucking in a lung full of air and putting on a brave face, Gearshift glanced down at the pony propping the door open. With the light illuminating them, he was able to see clearly. A silver coated mare with a white and yellow mane and tail. Checking her over, he found a large gash across her back, accompanied by a bullet hole in her side. Underneath her was a large, dried, patch of blood. The mare was cold to touch and Gearshift had only briefly placed a hoof on her in order to see her injuries. Glancing at the doors she was wedged between, he moved to the side of her in order to begin pushing the door.

"Once this door is free, you guys move through, got it?" He said.

"Right." Steel Tip answered on behalf of the group.

Gearshift began pushing the door with all he had, gritting his teeth as the strain made his own injuries burn once again.

Watching him push, the others got ready to move. However, before they did, Fresh Canvas stepped forward and helped Gearshift in pushing the door.

"Ready?" Fresh asked. "On 3. 1....2....3!"

The two stallions pushed the door hard, a metallic grinding sound growing in volume as the door began to slowly slide open. Continuing their efforts, Gearshift felt the mare's body move off of the door, only then turning to look at the others.

"Come on, inside!" He told them.

Butch was the first to move, quickly moving through the now open space. Steel Tip was next and then the others piled in one by one. Fresh Canvas was next to move, checking with Gearshift before letting go of the door and moving inside. Gearshift was the last one through, quickly letting go of the door and moving into the room. The door made an audible *Klunk* as he let go and moved into the room, the mechanism of the door managing to hold it in place and keep the door open. Turning his attention back to the room, his jaw hit the ground in shock. Having been pushing the door with Fresh Canvas, he'd been preoccupied enough to not notice a few of the lights turn on in the room, motion sensored. But what they revealed left the group utterly horrified. On every wall was the same single worded message of 'Failure', scrawled out in red. Panning his eyes down, his gaze landed on four operating tables. Each table was adorned with a pony on it, three stallions and a mare, all accompanied with a bloodied tray holding surgical equipment such as scalpels, scissors and a set of injecting needles. The ponies themselves were just as dead as the ones outside, slits carved into their body so deep that even at a glance one could see their inner layers of skin. So much so that on one of the stallions, he had been cut open entirely, his internal systems out on display. The smell in the air did not help matters any further, decaying flesh and internal organs the dominant scent passing through the airwaves. This proved to be too much for some of the group as Lavender Blossom tried and failed to stop her self from vomiting on the ground, Tulip and Fresh Canvas managing to successfully stop themselves although the latter did have to practically swallow his to keep it down.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! What in the everloving goddessforsaken hell is all this?!" Candy Cane exclaimed before gagging.

"This is.... this is...." Snowball struggled to find the words.

"We need to get out of here." Steel Tip muttered.

Gearshift did not know where to look, the walls had the blood writing, the tables and the bodies were directly in his eyeline, the floor was grimy and bloodstained and behind him were the bodies he'd come past to get in. His head began spinning as the scent assaulted his nostrils, his stomach beginning to churn as a result. Upon looking back up from the floor, he turned to look at the others. Lavender Blossom was still throwing up and Candy Cane had now joined her, the others were all standing in abject horror but Butch was moving forward.

"Butch?" Gearshift asked, getting no answer in return. "Hey!"

Butch turned to look at him and their gazes met. Butch's eyes held multiple emotions, not giving him a need to provide an audible answer. Gearshift could see what he was thinking by just one look alone. The look was a troubled one and lasted the entirety of the time they spent looking at one another which stretched on for a good few moments, the two then giving a shared nod of understanding towards the other.

"Look for anything useful." Butch said, clearing his throat with a quiet sniffle. "I don't wanna be here longer than any of you do."

Gearshift watched as Butch stepped passed the closest table to him, making the choice not to look at the body laying on it. Following his lead, he stepped around the table and followed Butch towards the other side of the room, making sure not to touch anything that had once been alive. Looking back towards the others momentarily, he watched as Fresh Canvas was talking with Tulip and Snowball, who were both not taking their surroundings too well, their fearful looks confirming his suspicion. Candy Cane and Lavender Blossom had finally finished vomiting in the corner and composed themselves. Turning back to look at Butch, he moved closer to where the two of them wouldn't be heard by the others.

"How are you so calm right now?" Gearshift asked quietly.

"What?" Butch asked, stopping mid search through a cabinet and looking at him.

"Everything in this room and all the.... scents... and you're moving forward like its nothing." Gearshift clarified.

"You said it yourself, we're on a time crunch." Butch said. "Plus, I.... I'm trying not to think about it."

The response caught Gearshift by surprise for a moment as he sat in silence. The moment of silence lasted an eternity before he glanced at the cabinet he was looking through.

"Find anything useful?" He asked.

"Nothing, just this rusty blade. But that's about it." Butch answered.

"There has to be something of help around here."

"If so we need to find it. Quick."

"The sooner we find it the better."

Butch nodded his head in response.

As the two talked, the rest of the group had finally begun their own process of searching the room. Fresh Canvas was doing more of the searching closer to the bodies whilst the mares were searching the drawers, desks and other cabinets that were placed around the edges of the room. Their searches were mostly in silence with the occasional cough or shudder from the sights and smells. Steel Tip had made his way over towards where Gearshift and Butch were located before passing them and moving towards the far side of the room. A short way ahead of him was another doorway, similar to the one they had passed through to come into the lab, although this one was entirely closed and surprisingly well maintained compared to the bloodsmeared door they'd walked through earlier.

"Another doorway over here." He said, getting the attention of the others.

One by one they made their way over to him and looked upon the door, then at one another.

"There's no key card reader for this one." Candy Cane noticed, pointing with a hoof.

Moving their gazes to follow her hoof, her observation proved true as in the centre of the door where a keycard reader would usually sit, there was not a reader anywhere to be seen.

Stepping towards the door, Butch rested a hoof against it and gave a small push. The door made an audible groan, only moving slightly.

"Need a hoof?" Steel Tip asked.

"If you wouldn't mind." Butch answered.

Steel Tip walked over, being followed by Gearshift, the three then began pushing against it. The door's groan got louder and louder before eventually pushing open all the way with a much more relative ease.

Once the door was fully opened up, more motion lights came on. These lights came to life much slower than the ones in the room behind them, although once illuminated showed a similar but an equally awful sight. The same writing of 'FAILURE' adorned each wall once again. In the centre of the room were more tables that were home to multiple bodies. However, unlike the ponies in the room before, these bodies were that of changelings. Butch went wide eyed at the sight.

"B-Butch?" Snowball spoke up, looking at his reaction.

The deputy didn't say a word, only staring at the bodies before him. His gaze was focused on them and only them, until a hoof on his shoulder made him flinch slightly. His eyes darted between each one of the bodies as his legs began to tremble slightly.

"Butch." Gearshift said, stepping forward to stand the other side of him.

Briefly snapping out of his daze, he slowly turned to look at him, the look of shock still etched on his face.

"We're right here, take a breath, take a minute if you need it." Gearshift reassured.

Butch paused, taking in his words before giving a small nod of his head, Gearshift giving him a nod back.

"Guys, take a look around, see if we've got anything." Gearshift told them, placing a hoof on Butch's shoulder.

As the group began a quick search of the room, Gearshift and Snowball stayed with Butch, in close proximity of the doorway. The two would each reassure him and talk with him in an attempt to keep him calm. It was working until Butch's gaze fell on one of the bodies in particular. He took his first steps further into the room and approached the table, his eyes focused on the body. Gearshift and Snowball followed him to the table, the latter wincing at the sight as she got closer. The trio gazed upon the body of a deceased changeling male, his abdomen having been sliced. There were brown colored markings along his upper chest and the base of his neck.

Gearshift and Snowball shared a look before touring their attention towards Butch, who was still looking at the body.

"Just so y'all both know, I will find who did this." Butch finally spoke.

"Do you-... Did you know him?" Snowball asked softly.

"Copper." Butch answered, getting a brief puzzled look from the pair. "His name was Copper. He was part of the group that myself and miss Morningstar were a part of when we were last here.... and he was a good friend of mine."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Snowball responded.

Gearshift looked at the two of them before then looking back at the body of Copper.

"Me too, if you need a moment we'll understand." He said.

Butch looked at him and gave a small nod. "Much appreciated."

Giving a nod of his own, Gearshift softly smiled at Butch and then turned to look at Snowball. Gesturing with his head, he stepped away from Butch and moved around the table. Snowball joined him around the other side and the two shared a glance back towards Butch, who was looking at the body, his front hooves now up on the table. He was quietly muttering something that they couldn't quite work out.

"Come on, let's give him some time." Gearshift said, walking towards the others, Snowball quickly moving in order to keep up with him.

The group searched around the room as they had done before, checking each and every spot in search of anything useful. However, the only thing of any usage were a few small diagrams that showed the anatomy of ponies and changelings respectively.

"Diagrams?" Fresh Canvas asked, looking at them. "Why would they need these?"

"For whatever the hell they were doing here by the looks of it." Steel Tip answered.

Pushing the diagrams into his bag, Fresh turned back towards the others.

The ponies came together upon concluding their search, taking one last glance around the room. Only having the diagrams to show for their searches, the need to move on arose quickly. We're not getting anywhere with this! Turning back towards the doorway, and in turn the tables where Butch was still standing, Gearshift began crossing the room. His movement soon ceased however as the lights in the room turned a piercing blood red. The sudden change in light made everyone's eyes turn upwards to the ceiling.

"What do you think you are doing in my lab?!" A stallion's voice echoed out from the top of the room.

The group looked towards the voice, finding the source. In the top corner of the room was a speaker.

"Someone else is here." Gearshift muttered under his breath.

"You are contaminating my work with your filthy outside germs!" The voice growled.

"Your work? You mean you're responsible for this?" Butch asked, stepping around the table and moving closer to the speaker.

"Oh wonderful, a changeling capable of pointing out the obvious." The voice said in mock fascination.

"You ignorant bastard." Butch growled.

"Such primitive language." The voice retorted.

"I'll show you primitive." Butch said quietly.

The voice went quiet for a moment, leaving them in silence. The silence didn't last too long as when the voice returned.

"You experiments should know your place."

With that, Butch promptly turned and walked back through the door, then the other room and finally back into the hallway.

"Butch, hold up!" Gearshift called after him before the others quickly followed.

Getting back into the hallway, the entirety of their surroundings had been illuminated in the same red light.

"So the lights do work." Butch muttered.

"A backup system maybe?" Gearshift asked.

"Maybe." Butch answered.

Once the others grouped up, they headed back down the hall in the direction they had come before, only getting a few steps before the voice on the speaker came back once again.

"Skulking around my glorious laboratories, routing around in my workshops. I WON'T HAVE IT!!"

The calm demeanor briefly rocketed into a near psychotic yell, making the group exchange glances. Seconds later, a panel in the ceiling at the end of the hall raised into a slot embedded within the ceiling itself. Out swung a dual barreled turret, similar to the ones outside that had kept them pinned behind the low wall, opening fire on them. The group quickly split in two and scrambled behind the corridor walls for cover. The rounds from the turret rattled against the walls the group were hiding behind, barely giving any time for any of them to return fire.

"Now what?!" Steel Tip asked, having to raise his voice over the sound of the flying rounds.

Gearshift looked back over his shoulder towards the lab entrance they had just exited from, just able to make out one of the bodies. "I've got an idea. But you might not like it."

"Anything is better than nothing, spit it out." Steel Tip said.

"That turret is blocking the way we're trying to get and in turn the only way we can go is back that way and onto those outer catwalks." Gearshift answered.

"What does that have to do with us not liking this idea?" Butch asked.

"Look, just cover me, okay, and get ready to levitate when I tell you." Gearshift told them.

Asking no more questions, the plan was set into motion. Gearshift briefly peeked out from behind cover, having to quickly pull his head back when the turret fired on him once again. Looking back at the group and nodding, he took multiple short breaths before moving. Bolting out from behind cover, he raced for the side corridor they had just come out of. His ears twitched as three weapons fired. He heard Full House, a shotgun and a pistol all fire at once before a fourth weapon joined in. The turret open fire at him first, one of the rounds slashing across his back hoof and momentarily making him stumble. However, the turret promptly turned to fire at the three weapons it was being hit by, a couple of holes being made in the turret's metal casing.

Sliding around the corner, Gearshift checked his hoof to see the extent of the wound. Just a scratch. Quickly moving on, his attention turned towards the bodies laying on the ground close by to him. Shuffling around, he repositioned and moved to the body of the mare laying in the doorway. Keeping his eyes firmly on the body, he dragged her back towards where the other bodies were. Looking back across towards the rest of the group, the turret still firing, Gearshift picked up the body. Pain rushed through his body once again, causing him to struggle slightly in lifting it.

"Now!" He exclaimed.

Tossing the body across the hallway, it was caught halfway in a magical hold.

"This better work!" Steel Tip exclaimed, his horn enveloped in its glowing aura.

Noting the movement, the barrels of the turret swung in the direction of the levitating body and opened fire. Bloody holes and chunks increased in number as the turret continued to fire.

"Go! Come on!" Gearshift called over.

Butch was the first to move, bolting out from cover and rushing over to Gearshift, sliding in behind cover. The rest of the group paused momentarily before Fresh Canvas moved next. Grabbing Tulip's hoof, he pulled her out from their spot and the two raced over to the waiting pair. Once they arrived, Gearshift looked back in the direction of the others who still had to run.

"I have an idea." Butch said. "More cover for them."

Gearshift, Fresh Canvas and Tulip turned to look at him as he spoke. Butch preceded to wrap his scorpion like tail around one of the other bodies on the ground. Looking over at the others, he waved a hoof.

"Hey! This one too!" He exclaimed before slinging the body across the hallway in a similar fashion as Gearshift had moments earlier. This time the glow that enveloped the body was one belonging to Candy Cane.

"Snow, Lavender, go!" Candy Cane exclaimed.

Lavender Blossom wasted no time in moving, although Snowball needed some coaxing in order to move her hooves, said coaxing involving a reassuring smile from Lavender. The two rushed across towards the group, leaving Candy Cane and Steel Tip on the other side.

"One of you go, I'll take over as you come by!" Lavender Blossom called out to them.

With a nod of his head, Steel Tip silently volunteered to be the last to cross. Nodding in return, Candy Cane got ready to go. Sharing a glance with Lavender Blossom, Candy Cane burst into her run across the hall, the light of her horn fading and Lavender's beginning to glow. The body that she had been levitating dropped a couple of inches before Lavender Blossom caught it in her magic, Candy Cane having to duck her head down to avoid any rounds that were fired at that level by the turret, one round missing her head by millimetres and slamming into the door at the far end of the hallway that led outside. Once she was across, only Steel Tip was left.

"Come on, Steel!" Gearshift called over to him.

Steel Tip didn't need much more encouragement than that. Racing across the gap, his own magic released and dropped the mare's body as he passed by. Once he passed by the second body, he leapt into a full dive in order to reach the others faster. Upon reaching them, Lavender Blossom released her own magical hold. The two bodies clattered to the ground with a squelchy thud, riddled with holes and physical chunks of flesh missing from the intensity and fire rate that the turret was providing. Once the bodies had dropped, the turret ceased its firing.

The hallway was soon as deathly silent as it had been before the firing began, the only sounds being heavy panting as the group caught their collective breath.

"Well that was step one." Gearshift commented, getting a few side eye glances in response.

"We have to get through that door if we have any chance of surviving this." Butch said, pointing at the door leading back outside.

"But how do we.... know it will....even open?" Tulip asked, still catching her breath.

A brief stretch of silence followed.

"We'll just have to charge it open." Gearshift said. "......Any objections?"

Another stretch of silence.

"Well alright then. Only a couple of us need to go, the rest of us can draw fire from the turret whilst we get the door open."

"I'll go for the door." Fresh Canvas volunteered, getting a concerned look from Tulip in the process.

"I'll go too." Lavender Blossom spoke up, getting the same concerned look from Snowball.

"Alright, we'll give you both as much cover as possible, get that door open." Butch told the pair.

Gearshift checked his ammo count, sliding the cylinder back into the revolver. I can't waste this ammo, who knows when I'll find more. I guess the ten bullets I have will have to do. Shuffling over to let Fresh Canvas move past him, Gearshift took the revolver into his teeth once again.

"Be careful." He said with his mouth full.

"Let's do it." Lavender Blossom said, Fresh Canvas nodding in agreement.

"Yeah." He said.

The two burst out from their cover and raced down the hallway towards the far door. The ceiling turret barrels raised up to aim at the pair, preparing to fire at them. It didn't get the chance to however as two rounds from Full House slammed into the casing, getting its attention. The turret spooled and the rain of bullets commenced once more. Gearshift and Butch took turns firing at the turret before having to reload, Steel Tip and Candy Cane taking their places to fire at the turret and draw its attention away from Lavender Blossom and Fresh Canvas. The stream of bullets was just as bellowing as it had been the first time, the rounds smashing into the wall in an attempt to find their targets, taking chunks out of the wall in the process. The more concentrated the firing was, the louder it became, Gearshift's ears beginning to ring as a result. The ringing sensation ontop of his multiple bullet wounds, made his head spin momentarily. He could hear the muffled sound of the others talking, although he was unable to make out what was being said by any of them until he was physically grabbed, making him look up.

"Gear! Hey, look at me!" Candy Cane exclaimed, shaking him gently. "You good?"

"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I'm good." Gearshift replied, nodding his head.

"Alright, then get ready." She told him.

"Ready for wha-"

"AAAGH!!!" A yell rang out, making Gearshift quickly dart his head in its direction, only moving quick enough to see Steel Tip drop on his back beside him, dropping his shotgun and holding his face. "MY EYE!!"

The sudden sight of him hitting the ground almost made Gearshift's legs give out from under him.

"Steel!" Candy Cane exclaimed.

"Fuck! AAAGH!!" Steel Tip cried out in agony.

Snowball was the first to act, moving to his side as his whole body shook in pain.

"Let me see. Let me see." She said, taking hold of his hoof and gently moving it aside.

"H-How bad is it? Agh. Fuck." Steel Tip gritted through clenched teeth as Snowball checked him over.

The snow white earth pony was moving like someone else entirely. Gearshift watched as she quickly dug through her bag and pulled out some bandages. The normally shy and nervous side of her had completely melted away as each of her movements were clear and concise.

"Alright, I'm going to need to lift your head to get this on and over your eye, okay? It's only a temporary bandage until we're out of here but once we're safe I can give you a proper check." Snowball explained.

"You- You didn't answer my question." Steel Tip gritted.

"Part of the wall came off and by the looks of it slashed across your face and in turn your eye, happy? Happy." She promptly answered before turning to look at Gearshift. "Gearshift, I need you to help me with this, you'll need to lift his head up so that I can wrap this bandage around his eye."

Gearshift was standing in a shocked silence, looking between the two of them.

Move!

"Gearshift, please!"

Move your legs, Gear!

"Gearshift!!"

Move your fucking legs, you idiot!

He still didn't respond. That was until he heard Steel Tip.

"Gear, you better move your ass or so help me goddesses! We don't have all day!" He yelled.

Finally his legs kicked into gear and Gearshift shook himself off and quickly moved to Steel Tip's side.

"R-Right. Right. What do you need?" He asked, quickly trying to compose himself.

"Take hold of his head and gently lift it up off of the floor so I can properly wrap up his eye and make sure that it's secure." Snowball instructed, getting her bandages prepared. Even Tulip had moved over in order to help with bandage prep as well as keeping Steel Tip as calm as possible considering the situation.

"Yeah. Yeah, understood, got it." Gearshift answered. Moving around to get a better hold on his head, he got a full look at Steel Tip's eye. His eye itself was half open and occasionally twitching, the eyelid bleeding from the slash and the blood running down his cheek. The white of his eye had also turned a faint shade of red thanks to the bleeding. Dear goddesses. Once again composing himself, Gearshift gently lifted up Steel Tip's head, getting winces and whimpers of pain as he did so.

"Sorry, sorry I'm sorry." Gearshift apologised.

Moving forward, Snowball started the process of wrapping up Steel Tip's eye.

"Dammit! I'm out of shots!" Candy Cane exclaimed, putting her pistol away and getting back behind cover, leaving Butch their only form of cover from the turret.

Gearshift continued to hold onto Steel Tip's head as Snowball wrapped up his eye, only moving his hooves when instructed to do so.

"Is he okay?!" Butch called to them whilst firing.

"We'll get him outside and then we'll know for sure but for now it looks okay." Tulip answered before looking back at the injured unicorn. "Can you walk?"

"My legs are fine, just get me up and I'll be alright." Steel Tip groaned in response.

"Damn, I wish I had some morphine." Snowball said as she finished up the bandages. "That's all I can do for now."

"Let's get moving." Steel Tip groaned, trying to move by himself before Gearshift helped him up. He stumbled slightly as he quickly attempted to get accustomed to his new type of vision.

Butch ducked back behind cover, reloading Full House. Upon looking at Steel Tip his jaw clenched.

The turret's relenting fire continued pounding against the wall, getting closer and closer to breaking the entirety of their cover away before suddenly stopping, dropping the room back into a brief silence. Gearshift's ears then twitched upon the sound of a mechanism clunking and shifting being heard, followed by the rattling of bullets being fed into something.

"Finally." Butch said. "It's reloading." No sooner had the words left his mouth, the sound of metal coming loose and banging into more metal came from the other direction.

"It's open!!!" Fresh Canvas' voice cried out.

"Perfect timin', let's get along stable dwellers!" Butch called out.

Taking the opportunity, Butch moved first with Candy Cane and Tulip right behind him. Snowball and Gearshift followed after with Steel Tip in between them, Gearshift grabbing Steel Tip's shotgun for him before they moved. Coming around the corner, Gearshift looked straight ahead, seeing the doorway open with Fresh Canvas and Lavender Blossom waiting for them.

"Come on, come on, let's go!" Lavender Blossom said as they approached, waving them through. Her face, along with Fresh Canvas' soon changed upon seeing Steel Tip run by with his eye bandaged up. Those looks couldn't last long however as a whirring sound followed, getting everyone's attention. The reloading sequence in the turret had completed and it's barrels were warming up again.

"Close the door!" Butch exclaimed, Lavender and Fresh quickly obliging and pushing the door shut with much more relative ease than it took to get it open. Fresh Canvas jumped back from the door on pure instinct, although Lavender Blossom failed to do the same. As a burst a bullets ripped through the door where she was standing, she was only spared from becoming purple swiss cheese when a tail wrapped around her midsection and dragged her out of the pathway of the bullets - A scorpion tail.

"NO NO NO NO NO! I WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS FAILURE! I WILL NOT TOLERATE EXPERIMENTS THAT DO NOT KNOW THEIR PLACE!!" The voice on the speaker came back once again, although muffled as it was coming from inside the building, showing the speaker system was only on the inside of the building.

The silence returned, only followed by a gentle wind blowing through the air. For the first time since they'd arrived at the laboratories, the group were able to properly breathe. It was then Gearshift took note of their surroundings, only then noticing the wind blowing through his mane and coat. Now being on the outer catwalks, he noted how much darker it had gotten. The clouded sky was not pitch black although the decrease in light levels was entirely noticeable. His attention was grasped upon hearing Snowball talking to Lavender Blossom and Steel Tip as she gave his eye another check.

"How badly is it hurting?" Snowball asked.

"Where abouts on the chart is 'stinging and burning?' Cause that's about it." Steel Tip answered, wincing as the bandage came off and a new one was placed on.

"It's all that I'll really be able to do. I'm not sure if there's anything back in town that would help us." Snowball said before glancing at Butch, the others doing so too.

"Suture Seam will be able to check you guys over when we're back. I'm sorry there's nothing immediate but it is all I can suggest." Butch told them.

With a gentle sigh, Snowball looked at the rest of the group. "Is anyone else hurt?"

Nobody said anything.

"Are we sure?" Snowball asked, looking around.

"Wait. I took a scratch from one of those turret rounds." Gearshift said, lifting his leg and turning to show the mark. His other injuries were causing him pain too but he only mentioned the manageable one for now. We're burning enough time as it is.

Without another word, Snowball moved over to him and wrapped some of the bandage around his hoof. There was less bandage used for his leg than for Steel Tips eye and Gearshift gave a gentle smile of appreciation.

"How's that?" Snowball asked.

"Good, thanks." Gearshift answered.

"If anything hurts or feels funny, make sure you let me or Tulip know and we'll help you out." Snowball added. "That goes for all of you.... y-y'know, c-cause we all need to be our strongest and if we're not then we won't be able to-" she was cut off when Lavender Blossom placed a hoof on her shoulder.

There she is.

Seeing Snowball revert back to the Snowball they all knew gave Gearshift an almost warm sensation throughout his body.

"Thank you, Snowball. Honestly, if you didn't act when you did I could've lost my eye, or bled out, or lost my eye and then bled out. But seriously, thank you." Steel Tip spoke up.

"Don't mention it. If I can keep my friends safe then you better believe I'll do it." Snowball said.

"You really stepped up, Snow." Lavender Blossom said proudly before turning back to face the others. "So, where to now?"

"Up." Butch was the first to answer, getting everyone to look his way once again. Pointing his tail ahead of them, he directed their attention to a set of metal stairs that moved up the side of the building in the direction of the next floor. Walking over to check them out, his eyes turned downwards too. "They also lead down to the ground as well. Looks like a good way out if things get rough."

The rest of the group came over to join him by the stairs.

"Make sure we're being careful from now on. Even more so than we have been." Candy Cane said. "We're down a gun now as my pistol is out of ammo."

"I'm low too, only four shots left." Gearshift added.

"I can spare some rounds for you." Butch said, receiving a grateful nod in relief.

Steel Tip was trying to check his shotgun, although it proved difficult with only having one currently uncovered eye.

"I got.... six shells." He informed.

"Alright, let's get a move on." Gearshift said, stepping forward and leading the way up the stairs to the next level.

◇◇◇◇◇

Upon arriving at the third floor, a feeling of unease passed over Gearshift, making him shudder. The lights were all on when they came into the main hallway, illuminating the entire corridor. The red had also disappeared, the usual white light returning. A faint scuttling was heard somewhere down the hall. Gearshift couldn't tell whether it was something alive or something moving through the pipes. Shoving the thought into the back of his mind, he pressed on. Looking around, everything was surprisingly.... clean. There were no patches of dirt, rust or blood anywhere to be seen.

"Anyone else getting a feeling that something is off?" Fresh Canvas asked, beating Gearshift into asking the same question.

"Yeah. This place looks like it was just freshly scrubbed." Candy Cane answered.

"Let's keep moving, there has to be something useful in here." Butch spoke up.

"You won't find anything here." The voice spoke again, sounding quite irritated, making the group stop and Butch roll his eyes so hard they almost fell out of his head.

"This guy again." He muttered.

"Do remember, you are in my work place. I have been delayed from working for too long!" The voice continued. "This would all be solved if you would leave my presence... or drop dead where you stand. Whichever hurts more."

"We have a job to do, so we're not going anywhere!" Gearshift spoke up, stepping forward.

"A job to do? Oh really now? Well please do tell, I'm all ears." The voice said.

"Show your face and I just might." Gearshift retorted.

"Now that would be too easy, wouldn't it? How about you come and find me in my office and I'm sure that we can..... help each other out." The last part of his sentence was in a sinister almost whisper level volume, followed by an even more unsettling chuckle.

"Enough of this joking around, let's find this guy and get what we came for." Steel Tip growled.

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Steel Tip and Butch were the first to start moving once more, the others quickly moving after them. Gearshift's eyes scanned the group once again, he wasn't sure how much time had passed, a couple of hours at least given the change in light outside, but that wasn't what he focused on. His eyes fell on the two stallions ahead of him. Steel Tip's eye being bandaged up and Butch being dead set on finding the voice made his mind begin to wander. What's gonna happen when we find this guy? Do we shoot first? Try talking this out? No no, there's literally bodies in this place. He then turned to look at Candy Cane beside him, thinking back to how she reacted to seeing the bodies in the lab. Guess neither of our stomachs agree with the Wasteland, huh? He then briefly glanced behind him to look at the remaining four. Remembering how, moments ago, Snowball had done a complete 180 and leapt into action to help out Steel Tip and instructed him on how to help, but now she was back to her timid self and was keeping close to Lavender Blossom as she always did. Fresh Canvas and Tulip on the other hand were both looking at the ground as they walked. He could only imagine what it was they were thinking about. There were plenty of options.

"You think that buck on the speaker knows where any fusion cores are?" Gearshift asked aloud optimistically.

"Gear, that lunatic isn't in any condition to help us. Even if he was, I'm not trusting a word he says. On top of that, he's tried to kill us. Fuck him." Steel Tip said sharply, clearly not in the mood for negotiations.

"R-Right, yeah." Gearshift responded.

Moving into the next section of the halls, another sign presented itself to the group.

<Executive Offices

Stairs

The sign proved to be much smaller than the ones in previous floors as there were only two directional labels. The sign itself looked brand new, as if only just replaced, although there were remnants of an old sign having been there, old markings in the wall behind the new sign the most telling feature.

"Executive Offices it is." Butch said, promptly turning in that direction. "Let's get a move on."

Turning as a group, they headed in the direction of the offices in question. The walk itself was a short one as upon turning the next corner, the entirety of the hallway changed. The cold metal that had been under their hooves had turned into a smoother material. The walls that had been adorned by the same metal transitioned seamlessly into walls made out of smoothed off wood. The sudden change made Gearshift double take and look back the way they had just come, seeing the cold metal interior they were in seconds earlier. The new interior ahead of them looked equally as clean and refurbished as the rest of the floor had, causing some of the group to slow their pace to take it all in. At the far end of the new look passage was a glass entryway with a door in the centre. The lights illuminating them allowed them to see through and have a glimpse on the far side. Narrowing his eyes, Gearshift was just able to make out one of the offices.

"The sooner we clear this out, we can get what we came for and get out of here. Starting to really dislike this place." Steel Tip said.

"Starting to?" Fresh Canvas asked in mock surprise, getting a glare in response.

"Look, just keep your eyes open and look out for anything useful." Gearshift spoke up, diffusing the situation.

Moving over towards the door, which was also glass like the entryway, it was pushed open with ease. As the group passed through the door one by one, Lavender Blossom the last to come through, they each examined their surroundings. Every office was able to be seen. There were six offices, split into three on either side with a seventh and final office standing at the far end of the hall. The interiors of the offices on either side of them were completely visible, thanks to the glass walls each of them had, allowing them to look inside. Each office was equipped with the same set of supplies. Desk, Drawers, Shredder, Writing tools, Chair with wheels.

"Okay, let's check these offices out. Could be some useful info in here." Candy Cane said.

"Let's keep this quiet too, we don't know what could be around here." Gearshift said, lowering his voice as the others each set off to their respective office.

As they headed off to search, Gearshift's eyes focused on the lone office opposite him. The main door at the far end of the hallway. Taking slow steps towards the door, each one echoed in his head. His vision gradually became more tunneled the longer he took to approach the door, the others eventually fading from his view as his only target was the door. His ears still picked up the sounds of drawers being opened and desks being quietly shifted to see what lay inside. Keeping his eyes locked on the door however, the top of the smooth brown door caught his attention as a single light protruded from the wall above it, spotlighting on the door itself. In doing so, a golden plaque on the door made itself known. When close enough to it, Gearshift could clearly make out what it said:

Dr. Bunsen Burner

Trottingham Research Laboratories Head Scientist and Head Researcher

Seeing the name, his mind cast back to when the group had arrived at TRL. More importantly, the terminal outside that he and Candy Cane had rushed to in order to shut down the outer defences. A clear picture of the terminal screen filled his mind.

Access Denied: Only Dr. Bunsen Burner is allowed access to this entryway.

"Bunsen Burner." Gearshift said quietly.

"Something wrong?" Candy Cane's voice said from behind him, making him look over his shoulder. Seeing her standing there, he stepped to the side to reveal the plaque.

"Remember the terminal from outside when you checked the entryway? It said only Dr. Bunsen Burner was able to use it." Gearshift said.

"Yeah.... yeah I remember, why?" Candy Cane asked.

"I'm beginning to suspect that's who has been talking to us... that and trying to take us out of the Wasteland population count."

"It could be. I guess we'll have to find out."

As the two talked with one another, a third voice joined the conversation, through the door. Although they weren't being spoke to directly, they could definitely hear someone talking.

".... you make this sound as though I do no work on my end." The voice, a stallion's voice, said.

"You hear that?" Gearshift whispered, to which Candy Cane nodded in response before the voice returned.

"I know that, Commander, but you forget that you have provided our glorious place of work with no security measures at all. None living at least."

"Commander?" Candy Cane whispered, to which Gearshift shrugged.

Looking over his shoulder, Gearshift watched as the others came out of their offices in turn. Raising a hoof to his lips for them to be quiet, he waved them over.

"You would doubt this laboratory's integrity? How dare you madam?! I assure you that we will provide you with what you need and there is no chance of failure." The voice spat.

The eight looked at one another silently, shrugs and head shakes being exchanged.

"You and your precious company will just have to wait. I have my own problems... no.... no no no that is not what I am referring to. There are a group of guinea pigs scampering about my halls that need to be dealt with in a most efficient and... bloody fashion." The voice continued on before laughing maniacally. "So you may pass along your orders to your subordinates and I will have what you require by day's end. As I have stated, you need not worry. Operation Synchronize will remain on schedule and-..."

The voice suddenly cut itself off before beginning to chuckle sinisterly.

"It appears as though my guinea pigs have found their way to the prize. I will bid you adieu, Commander. Move and Strike as One."

The sound of a radio cutting out and being placed down followed, then being followed itself by the sound of metal sliding off of a desk and hooves moving around slowly and methodically. Gearshift was listening carefully as he tried to decipher what the sound could possibly entail, although before he could, Butch's tail wrapped around his and Candy Cane's midsections and yanked them backwards as the entirety of the door exploded into many small wooden chunks.

"It's time to EXPERIMENT!" The stallion responsible exclaimed, his eyes red, bloodshot and filled with the urge to kill.

Author's Note

Phew, now this took some time.

Hey everypony, hope you're all doing well. Sorry this chapter took as long as it did but I wanted to put my all into it. 10k plus words for the first time. I really hope you all enjoy this!