The Legend of the Knightsby AvalonAvaChaptersFallen WorldStorming the OutskirtsThe Great EscapeFallen WorldThe Legend of the Knights Chapter One Fallen World His world has come to its end. After 20 years of never ending fighting, without a single moment's rest, they lost. A race of mechanical and biological aliens named the Gamma waged war against the humans. Both sides were at a standstill, until they showed up. They called themselves the United Enemies. An army forged for one purpose: to conquer the universe and purge it of all races considered lesser. They joined forces with the U.E., and all hell broke loose. Now the humans had to fight not only Gamma, the Shadow Knights, and many other destructive armies. The end of the human race had begun. World after world, they burned it all. Until Earth, the last hope, was left. The greatest battle of that war was fought on Earth. Millions, then thousands, hundreds, and then, only one person remained. His name was Ino Shuma. XXXX Ino wandered the barren city, moving in silence. Everyone he knew was gone. Friends, family. His best friend had died in his arms. And Ino hated himself for not being able to see it, for he was blind. He wore a large cloak with a hood over his head. Even if you took the good off, his face would still be hidden by bandages around his eyes. He wore what looked like part of a metal mask over his mouth. He was the last human. Or so he thought. Up ahead, another being stood. It heard his shuffled footsteps, and turned to look at him. A Shadow Knight stood there, hesitant for a moment at the wanderer's sudden appearance. A laugh then escaped through his helmet. "Ah, to be my luck to find the last human. I will enjoy slaughtering you." He said to Ino. He stopped walking, and stood there, sword drawn. "Of course you would, Chita, but look at him. He is blind. Where is the honor in killing one who does not see it coming?" Another Shadow Knight said as he walked out of a building. Something moved on the roof of that building. "This will be too easy; the last surviving human is blind! What luck!" said a Gamma warrior. He jumped off the building. A few other Shadow Knights and Gammas surrounded Ino. "Oh, so soon you assume victory just because you opponent is merely blind? You are all fools." Ino said. "Enough talking!" The Shadow Knight said. All drew weapons and aimed them at Ino. "Your race ends now. Fire!" The first knight yelled. Energy bolts and bullets were propelled towards Ino. It hit, and all tore through the cloak. Most of them hit and exited the body. After about a minute they stopped. The torn body fell, but collapsed. Only the robe and bandages remained. "Hmm. Guess he didn't have much of a fight. So much for the last of the human race." "You guys aren't very smart, are you?" All turned to see who spoke. Ino was behind all of them, perched ontop of a building. The figure stood up. "I figured that much." He said. The person was completely encased by steel armor, and wore a mask made of metal. It wrapped around his mouth and locked in place on the side. Metal went up across the right side of his face, but the left was only covered by three metal bars. His hair, short and white, came out from the top of his mask. On his arms, two strange mechanisms were built into the inner part of the gauntlets. Around the left wrist, twenty small dart-like objects rested, making a circle around it. Strange cylinders and a grapple hook rested on his belt behind him. And then, his sword. It was on his back, but unlike most that go from left to right, and vice-versa, it went straight up and down. The words WidowMaker would be seen on the blade's steel when drawn. "But how?" The gamma asked. Ino chuckled. "It's quite simple, really. I learned a technique called Aura. I can see the aura of all thing, and that gives me vision." Ino explained. "That's a load of bullshit!" The Shadow Knight yelled. "If you are so sure, give it your all." Ino said curtly. He jumped down towards the aggressors, and landed on a Gamma. He made a blade unsheathe from his gauntlet, and sliced its throat. He took a cylindrical object from the back of his belt, and attached it to his left arm. He aimed it forward, and the object was propelled forward. It flew about thirty feet away, and stuck to the chest of the Gamma. The object beeped, and exploded, taking the Gamma and surrounding enemies with it. A Shadow Guard with a massive ax pounced on Ino, swinging wildly in hopes to lop the smaller one's head off. After the first few swipes, though, the attacker was faced with something unexpected. Ino grabbed the ax, and rammed the end of it into the brute's stomach. Knocking the breath out of him, the Shadow Guard released his ax. Ino gripped the handle of the ax, and swung it like a baseball bat, impaling the side of the steel assailant. The knight flew away from the blow. He turned around, and threw the broadax like a tomahawk. It lodged itself into the chest of a very unlucky Shadow Knight. XXXX Little did Ino know that one of the most feared U.E. starships, the Death Cruiser, was moving into a firing position above him. He was positioned right under the beast's belly, where one of its hyper-accelerator energy cannons (or HAE cannon), rested. "Commander, orders?" a Shadow Knight asked. The commander, a Shadow Elite stood next to him. "Fire the secondary HAE cannon. He is the last of their race, so let's send him out with a bang." "But sir, our men are still out there!" The Knight said in distress. The Commander sighed. "I know. But lives have to be sacrificed to win a war. The victory will outweigh the loss of maybe 200 troops. But this order comes from the higher ups. So, fire the secondary HAE cannon." The Commander said. The Shadow Knight nodded, and activated the cannon. It took a few seconds to charge, and then fired, unleashing an almighty fury on the souls beneath. XXXX Ino barely had time to look up. By then, it was too late. The energy blast from the Death Cruiser hit, and the city underneath was torn to shreds. All was reduced to rubble. Bodies were buried, or disintegrated. Either way, no one would look for them. It would be a lost cause. The barren city was now a barren wasteland. XXXX A body was cast up into the air because of the blast. The white-haired Ino was knocked unconscious. He passed by a Shadow Corsair, which just opened a hyperspace rupture. The ship moved through it, and Ino got caught in its slipstream. He was pulled in, and the rupture closed. XXXX The ship exited in the atmosphere of another world. Ino's unconscious body was gripped by gravity's unyielding hold, and he began to fall. A massive distance existed between Ino and the ground. He collected speed as he descended. Soon, the ground became friends with him. He hit, and slid a mile, causing a small fissure in his wake. His head hit a massive boulder, and snapped him into consciousness. The human sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "What the hell happened? Where am I?" Ino said to himself. The warrior stood up, and looked around. A few trees stood around him and a few large rocks as well. A ridge was nearby. He walked over to it to get a better look at the foreign area. He looked down, and found more trees. But in the distance there rested a massive city. Only one thing menacing about it: hundreds of United Enemies ships flew in and out of the metropolis. Ino stared at it. "Damn. That must be a refinery city." The human sighed. "Regrettably, the only way I'm ever going to find out where the hell I am is getting to that place." Ino said. He took a few steps back from the ridge, then took off into a full run, and jumped off. Storming the OutskirtsThe Legend of the Knights Chapter Two Storming the Outskirts The lone human landed on the ground in a crouch position. He stood up, and ran towards the refinery city. Trees passed, and so did a small pond. A few tress had fallen down on the path he was taking. He jumped, landed on the first trunk, and kicked off from there, clearing the rest of the obstruction. "Wow, I'm surprised I can keep going after all that had happened." Ino said to himself. A sudden explosion in front of him made him trip. "Damn it!" His face slammed into a rock. "Glad I have this mask on..." A missile flew overhead and made contact with a tree, engulfing it flames. Ino looked up. "What the hell is going on here?" Up ahead, a few people in black armor were fighting what looked like a pegasus wearing a CQB helmet, and using a Surpressor against the armored fiends. Ino raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I've hit my head too hard." Suddenly someone grabbed him from the back and yanked him up. "What the hell are you doing lying down? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The stranger yelled to Ino. The person had a full suit of black armor, but his helmet had a black visor instead of holes like the Shadow Knights have. "Who the hell are you? Are you one of those knights?" Ino demanded. The armored stranger scoffed. "First off: no, I am not one of them, so don't panic. Secondly, the name Maelstrom. I'm the Captain of the U.A.'s starship A Razor's Edge of Oblivion." He said with pride. Another stray missile headed in their direction. "Get down!" Maelstrom yelled. He pushed Ino back, who landed hard on his ass, and Maelstrom jumped back. It sailed by, and this time hit a rock, which became several stones and pieces of rubble. "Damn, that was a close one. Lets try to be more careful, shall we?" Ino said. Maelstrom and him stood up. "Sure, whatever you say." From behind Maelstrom, an large armored Shadow Knight leapt at him, broadsword raised high. He was about to shatter Maelstroms crown when a smaller, silver armored person crashed into the Knight's side. He had gold pauldrins with a emerald encrusted into the hilt of his sword. He jammed his blade into the knight's neck, which caused him to convulse. Then he jerked, and his armor fell into individual pieces. "The damn thing nearly had yer head. We've gotta keep moving, Maelstrom." The person was about to start running to the aid of the pegasus when he noticed Ino. "Who's this?" The armored person asked. Ino made eye contact. "I am Ino Shuma. An assassin. And you are?" Ino asked. The armored person stretched and popped his neck. "Me? Oh, I'm no one special really. Nestis is what my creator called me, grant it he turned out to be a major asshole with an egotism problem." "Ok, a little too much. I just asked who you were." Ino said. "Hey assfucks! Quit dicking around and help me!!" The pegasus yelled at them. Thirty Shadow Knights had surrounded her, attacking her from all directions. Maelstrom shouldered a FAL rifle. He aimed at the nearest Shadow Knight, and fired on him. Three head shots, armor shattered. Nestis charged toward the cluster of knight surrounding the pegasus, sword drawn. He slashed at the first knight he reached, and it lost its head. The armor collapsed, and he did the same to three more knights. "I guess I'll help these guys out." Ino said. He ran towards the fray, and unsheathed the Widow Maker. Four slashes cut through ten of the knights assailing them. He pulled one of the cylinders from his belt and smashed it into the chest of a very unfortunate Shadow Knight. Ino kicked the knight away, and it crashed into a couple of his fellow knights. The cylinder exploded, and engulfed them with flames. XXXX The fight came to a quick stop. All the Shadow Knights were executed. Ino sheathed his katana, and Nestis the same with his sword. The pegasus threw her suppressor over onto her back. "What kept you two up? I was nearly killed back there!" She yelled at the two others. Ino fell under her gaze. "Who the hell are you? Is this why you guys were gone?" The Pegasus took her CQB helmet off, and she wore a eye patch over her left eye. It had a legendary symbol, like in Halo 3. She was grey, had golden eyes, and a blond mane. Ino sighed. "My name is Ino Shuma." "And I am Commander Hooves. But we're wasting time introducing ourselves. We have a mission to accomplish." As soon as she finished her sentence, a series of explosions surrounded them. Three black, twin propeller helicopters circled their area. "Damn, Shadow Helos!" Maelstrom yelled. Bullets from the helicopters rained down onto the four. "It's time to see how useful you are, Ino!" Commander Hooves yelled to him. Ino scoffed. "Then sit back and relax. I got this." Ino said cooly. He gripped one of the cylindrical detonators from his belt and clicked it into place on his left wrist. He set it to timed detonation, 10 seconds, and shot the detonator to one helicopter. It hit and stuck to the belly of the chopper. Ino then hooked the grappling hook onto his device on his left wrist, and shot it towards another helicopter. The hook sailed towards it, and spun around the helicopter's tail. When it tightened, Ino pulled down on the cable. Set off balance, it spun and crashed into the third helicopter. Then the first exploded, and fire engulfed it as it became friends with the ground. Nestis chuckled. "Not to shabby. You look like you could help us with our mission. What do you think, Derpy?" Nestis asked. The grey pegesus shrugged. "I guess so. He better not slow us down though." She said to them. She looked up at the sky. Suddenly she went ridged, and her eyes widened. "Shit. We have a slight problem." The rest looked up. A Shadow Destroyer positioned itself above them. High above, four large metallic object were dropped from the Destroyer. After a few seconds of falling, the four crashed into the ground around the heroes. "Back to back!" Commander Hooves yelled out. Nestis drew up a M8A1 rifle, Maelstrom his FAL, and Derpy re-shouldered her Suppressor. "You need a weapon?" Nestis asked Ino. He shook his head. "I prefer hand to hand, but thanks for the offer." He said to Nestis. The four gigantic pieces of metal began to shift. They looked like Shadow Knights on steroids. One smashed a fist into the ground, causing the rock to fissure and split towards the heroes. A large piece shot up from the ground, and Ino jumped onto it, launching himself into the air. He drew the Widowmaker, and swiped his hand across it, hilt to blade. Electricity formed from his fingers when he did it. "Lightning Strike!" Ino yelled. He slashed at the nearest of these behemoths, named Shadow Mongers. The electric enhanced blade touched the metal of the Monger, and blasted away. A massive hole was torn into the giant's chest. Ino landed, and sheathed his sword. The ex Shadow Monged stumbled backwards and exploded into thousands of metallic fragments. Ino turned around, just in time to see a metal fist smash into his face. He was sent across the clearing, tumbled, and then smacked into a wall, creating a human shaped imprint in it. Ino fell off the wall, and landed on his back, holding his face. "Damn it, that hurt!" He yelled. He noticed that a shadow moved over him. He looked, and saw one of the Shadow Mongers standing over him. It raised a foot, and stomped on Ino. The force from the Monger caused him to lose conscious again. He turned his head, and just before passing out, saw Shadow Knights take down the others. He weakly raised his arm. "No....damn....you...." The darkness took over Ino once more. The Great EscapeThe Legend of the Knights Chapter 3 The Great Escape The room was terribly lit. People were being ushered along by Shadow Knight, putting the captives, slaves, and other sorts of beings into a single-man elevator. The blind hero was walking among them, head down and eyes closed. The line moved slowly, and time seemed to slow downas he got nearer and nearer to the elevator. As time passed, only one more prisoner stood between him and an elevator. A Knight next to it pressed a down button, and seconds later the door opened. The prisoner was grabbed by the shoulder and pushed into the open elevator. The door slid shut, then the Knight pressed an up button. Ino opened his eyes, activating his Aura. The details in the room were outlined with blue and colored in with black. As Ino stood there, he noticed something odd. He still had the Widowmaker in its sheath. He looked around, and realized that everyone had weapons. "What the hell? Who would let their prisoners keep their weapons?" Ino asked himself as the elevator door slid oped before him. He was taken by the shoulder, and shoved into the elevator. His head smacked into the wall. "Agh! Geez, can't you be any careful?" He spat at the Knight. The black armored captor chuckled. "The best one I've heard today." He moved his arm and pressed the up button next to the elevator. "Good luck." He said as the door closed. It was dark inside the elevator the entire ride up. After around thirty seconds passed, it came to a stop. The doors slid open, and bright light filled into the small elevator. "Great. This isn't my day." Ino said to himself. Other elevators opened up, all along the inner wall of a Colosseum. Ino looked at their inhabitants, and saw some familiar faces. Nestis was to his right, looking around the arena. To Ino's left, Commander Hooves stood, holding a hoof in front of her helmet, above her eyes due to the sudden flooding of light. And directly ahead of him was Maelstrom. He was looking straight at Ino. He nodded to Ino, and he returned the favor. A massive crowd occupied the stands. Some highly decorated Shadow Knight, who happened to be a general, stood in a high box. "Welcome competitors to today's 7th game of Survival! The goal is simple: survive! Do whatever it takes, and try not to die. Round One is the Fearlings!" As he finished, a large cage rose n the center of the arena. Inside it resided around 50 of these "Fearlings". They looked like wolves, but had mandibles and bat-like wings. And to top it all off, a twin stinger tails similar to a scorpion's. "I see why they're called Fearlings. Those things look deadly as hell." Ino said. The announcer was finishing up his discription. "Competitors: Let the game begin!" He shouted. The cage fell open, and the Fearlings took off in each and every direction. Already some prisoners met their grizzly demise. XXX Down at the other end of the arena, Maelstrom shouldered his FAL. Charging down into the fray, he took aim at the nearest fearling. He squeezed the trigger, and his rifle bucked as the bullet was propelled from the barrel. Seconds later, a bloody hole was etched into the side of the fearling's head. Others, angered for their fallen comrade, charged at him with blood lust. With deft movement, Maelstrom switched his rifle with the Scar-H he had slung behind him. Short bursts of bullets tore through the creatures, and one by one they fell to the ground, dead. "I honestly hope we can get out of here. Every second is one wasted. We need to get back to our mission." He said to himself. XXXX Commander Hooves shredded through the constant waves of fearlings, dodging and avoiding any potential dangers. Switching to the her FAL, she took off a few of the creatures' heads. Nearby, Maelstrom had also switched back to his FAL. Both firing, Derpy manger to get over to her teammate. "How's it goin?" Derpy said in a cheerful voice. "Alright I guess. I figured you'd be more pissed about delaying the mission." "Hell no! I'm having a good time!" Derpy then managed to get one shot to take out three fearlings. "Remind me to never piss you off." Both of their ammo clips hit empty capacity. The sound of two clips simultaneously ejecting were heard. Each threw a clip to the other, turned, caught, and reloaded. They continued fire almost immediately after. XXXX Nestis shot down a fearling preparing to strike Ino. Jumping over his fellow warrior, a couple more fearlings dropped to the ground. He landed next to the assassin. "This is pretty mindless entertainment. Killing others for the amusement of the masses." Nestis said. He ducked, drew his sword, and ran it through his assailant. "I know. I've seen these events happen before." Ino punched one of the creatures, shot another with one of his darts, and sliced another in half with his wrist blade. The last of the fearlings had finally collapsed to the ground. Aside from Derpy, Ino, Nestis, and Maelstrom, not many of the captives had survived the onslaught. The general looked down upon the survivors, scoffing. "So, we seemed to have weeded out the weak." He said. "Weak? You mean the defenseless!" Ino shouted at him. "What are you talking about, imbecile? We supplied them with weapons." "It's one thing to give someone a weapon, it's another for them to know how to use it!" Ino yelled back to the Shadow Knight. He was about to say something, then thought about it. "Who are you?" He asked. "The name's Ino Shuma, an assassin from the Erandi human race! The one that was recently exterminated by your kind!" After Ino said this, the general burst into laughter. "Yes, your race was formidable. But nevertheless weak. Knights! Put an end to the Erandi human race." The general drew his sword. "I shall be rewarded highly for bringing your head to his excellency!" From all around the four heroes, gates opened. Shadow Knights of all classes and ranks came rushing out towards them, with Ino being their priority target. "Nestis, Derpy, now!" Maelstrom shouted. The three fired rifle shots into as many knights as they could hit. Helmets flew and armor shattered. As they repelled the assault, Ino took off running towards the general's high box. He picked up speed, and kicked off from the ground. "I'll show you weak. Erandi Arch Cannon!" A blast of blue energy focused into a beam came from Ino's hand, and hit the general's box. He only had a second to scream before the entire wall in front of Ino was blasted into rubble. He landed on the rubble, and turned back to the three fighting. "Guys! Let's get out, now!" Turning back towards the opening, he jumped out of the cruel stadium. Seconds later, Nestis, Derpy, and Maelstrom landed next to Ino. XXXX "Alright," Derpy said, "Now we just have to find out where the hell we are in this city." She said. The four looked around for anything useful. Not too far away, a vehicle similar to a Warthog waited. "That shouldn't be here. But as long as it works, it your way out of the city." Maelstrom said. Ino turned to him. "What do you mean "your way"?" He questioned. "I mean, we came here with a purpose: to destroy this city. Now, you three need to get out of her. I'll find my own way to the nuclear core and detonate it." He walked towards the Warthog, and resting next to it was a black motorcycle. It had a built in machine gun where the headlight should be. "That'll do. You guys get out now. I'll see you later." He mounted the bike, revved up, and took off towards the city center. Derpy turned to the two others. "Well? Let's get a move on. He won't take forever to detonate that core!" She jumped into the passenger side. Ino took the driver's seat, and Nestis the turret. "Are you sure you can drive?" He asked Ino. "I have an idea." He switched the Warthog on, shifted it into drive, and started to move. It picked up speed quickly, and they soon hit a main highway of the city. By now, some of the city's forces realized the commotion at the arena, an now began to pursue the three escapees. Ino took evasive maneuvers to avoid missiles and other attacks from airborne craft. "Nestis? If you would?" He asked. Nodding, the armored cyborg turned the turret around and began to fire upon the pursuing craft. Nearby, a few ground vehicles began to get near them. Passengers began to fire upon the exposed portions of the vehicle. "Commander, I need some cover fire!" Nestis shouted. She shouldered her FAL and shot at the assailants. A few rounds to the engine and tires of one cause it to spin out of control, and flip, hitting a few of its companions. A couple of miles behind them, a massive explosion rocked the entire city. A large and bright sphere of purple flames, quickly turning red, emitted from the city's center. Nearby, a motorcycle sped up to them. "I was beginning to worry about you!" Derpy shouted. Maelstrom nodded, and tossed a spike-like object to Ino. He caught it, on hand still on the wheel. "Hurry up and smash that into the dashboard!" He shouted to Ino. He took it, and jammed the object into the dash. Up ahead, a bridge was all that remained between them and the pursuing city guards, and more importantly, the wall of flame quickly approaching them. "That bridge wont hold forever! As soon as we hit the peak, well be transported out of here." The bridge came closer, and so did the fire. And almost like magic, the far end of the bridge collapsed. It was a dead end. "This is where we part ways. Good luck guys!" They hit the bridge, and took of up the half still standing. As they got to the edge, Ino wondered if this would really work. a sudden surged of electricity emerged from the spike, and coursed through the vehicle. The Warthog hit empty space, and went into free fall. Then, the surrounding area disappeared. Everything flashed blue, and a forest was in front of them. 20 feet down of course. They fell, and hit the ground. The vehicle took most of the damage, rolling until coming to a crunching stop by a tree. Ino slid out of the totaled jeep, the air knocked out of him. Nestis walked around, and offered him a hand. Ino, after a moment, took it. Nestis helped him up, and Derpy trotted by them. She removed her helmet, and inhaled deeply. "Ah. Home." She looked towards Ino. "Welcome to Equestria."
Fallen WorldThe Legend of the Knights Chapter One Fallen World His world has come to its end. After 20 years of never ending fighting, without a single moment's rest, they lost. A race of mechanical and biological aliens named the Gamma waged war against the humans. Both sides were at a standstill, until they showed up. They called themselves the United Enemies. An army forged for one purpose: to conquer the universe and purge it of all races considered lesser. They joined forces with the U.E., and all hell broke loose. Now the humans had to fight not only Gamma, the Shadow Knights, and many other destructive armies. The end of the human race had begun. World after world, they burned it all. Until Earth, the last hope, was left. The greatest battle of that war was fought on Earth. Millions, then thousands, hundreds, and then, only one person remained. His name was Ino Shuma. XXXX Ino wandered the barren city, moving in silence. Everyone he knew was gone. Friends, family. His best friend had died in his arms. And Ino hated himself for not being able to see it, for he was blind. He wore a large cloak with a hood over his head. Even if you took the good off, his face would still be hidden by bandages around his eyes. He wore what looked like part of a metal mask over his mouth. He was the last human. Or so he thought. Up ahead, another being stood. It heard his shuffled footsteps, and turned to look at him. A Shadow Knight stood there, hesitant for a moment at the wanderer's sudden appearance. A laugh then escaped through his helmet. "Ah, to be my luck to find the last human. I will enjoy slaughtering you." He said to Ino. He stopped walking, and stood there, sword drawn. "Of course you would, Chita, but look at him. He is blind. Where is the honor in killing one who does not see it coming?" Another Shadow Knight said as he walked out of a building. Something moved on the roof of that building. "This will be too easy; the last surviving human is blind! What luck!" said a Gamma warrior. He jumped off the building. A few other Shadow Knights and Gammas surrounded Ino. "Oh, so soon you assume victory just because you opponent is merely blind? You are all fools." Ino said. "Enough talking!" The Shadow Knight said. All drew weapons and aimed them at Ino. "Your race ends now. Fire!" The first knight yelled. Energy bolts and bullets were propelled towards Ino. It hit, and all tore through the cloak. Most of them hit and exited the body. After about a minute they stopped. The torn body fell, but collapsed. Only the robe and bandages remained. "Hmm. Guess he didn't have much of a fight. So much for the last of the human race." "You guys aren't very smart, are you?" All turned to see who spoke. Ino was behind all of them, perched ontop of a building. The figure stood up. "I figured that much." He said. The person was completely encased by steel armor, and wore a mask made of metal. It wrapped around his mouth and locked in place on the side. Metal went up across the right side of his face, but the left was only covered by three metal bars. His hair, short and white, came out from the top of his mask. On his arms, two strange mechanisms were built into the inner part of the gauntlets. Around the left wrist, twenty small dart-like objects rested, making a circle around it. Strange cylinders and a grapple hook rested on his belt behind him. And then, his sword. It was on his back, but unlike most that go from left to right, and vice-versa, it went straight up and down. The words WidowMaker would be seen on the blade's steel when drawn. "But how?" The gamma asked. Ino chuckled. "It's quite simple, really. I learned a technique called Aura. I can see the aura of all thing, and that gives me vision." Ino explained. "That's a load of bullshit!" The Shadow Knight yelled. "If you are so sure, give it your all." Ino said curtly. He jumped down towards the aggressors, and landed on a Gamma. He made a blade unsheathe from his gauntlet, and sliced its throat. He took a cylindrical object from the back of his belt, and attached it to his left arm. He aimed it forward, and the object was propelled forward. It flew about thirty feet away, and stuck to the chest of the Gamma. The object beeped, and exploded, taking the Gamma and surrounding enemies with it. A Shadow Guard with a massive ax pounced on Ino, swinging wildly in hopes to lop the smaller one's head off. After the first few swipes, though, the attacker was faced with something unexpected. Ino grabbed the ax, and rammed the end of it into the brute's stomach. Knocking the breath out of him, the Shadow Guard released his ax. Ino gripped the handle of the ax, and swung it like a baseball bat, impaling the side of the steel assailant. The knight flew away from the blow. He turned around, and threw the broadax like a tomahawk. It lodged itself into the chest of a very unlucky Shadow Knight. XXXX Little did Ino know that one of the most feared U.E. starships, the Death Cruiser, was moving into a firing position above him. He was positioned right under the beast's belly, where one of its hyper-accelerator energy cannons (or HAE cannon), rested. "Commander, orders?" a Shadow Knight asked. The commander, a Shadow Elite stood next to him. "Fire the secondary HAE cannon. He is the last of their race, so let's send him out with a bang." "But sir, our men are still out there!" The Knight said in distress. The Commander sighed. "I know. But lives have to be sacrificed to win a war. The victory will outweigh the loss of maybe 200 troops. But this order comes from the higher ups. So, fire the secondary HAE cannon." The Commander said. The Shadow Knight nodded, and activated the cannon. It took a few seconds to charge, and then fired, unleashing an almighty fury on the souls beneath. XXXX Ino barely had time to look up. By then, it was too late. The energy blast from the Death Cruiser hit, and the city underneath was torn to shreds. All was reduced to rubble. Bodies were buried, or disintegrated. Either way, no one would look for them. It would be a lost cause. The barren city was now a barren wasteland. XXXX A body was cast up into the air because of the blast. The white-haired Ino was knocked unconscious. He passed by a Shadow Corsair, which just opened a hyperspace rupture. The ship moved through it, and Ino got caught in its slipstream. He was pulled in, and the rupture closed. XXXX The ship exited in the atmosphere of another world. Ino's unconscious body was gripped by gravity's unyielding hold, and he began to fall. A massive distance existed between Ino and the ground. He collected speed as he descended. Soon, the ground became friends with him. He hit, and slid a mile, causing a small fissure in his wake. His head hit a massive boulder, and snapped him into consciousness. The human sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "What the hell happened? Where am I?" Ino said to himself. The warrior stood up, and looked around. A few trees stood around him and a few large rocks as well. A ridge was nearby. He walked over to it to get a better look at the foreign area. He looked down, and found more trees. But in the distance there rested a massive city. Only one thing menacing about it: hundreds of United Enemies ships flew in and out of the metropolis. Ino stared at it. "Damn. That must be a refinery city." The human sighed. "Regrettably, the only way I'm ever going to find out where the hell I am is getting to that place." Ino said. He took a few steps back from the ridge, then took off into a full run, and jumped off.
Storming the OutskirtsThe Legend of the Knights Chapter Two Storming the Outskirts The lone human landed on the ground in a crouch position. He stood up, and ran towards the refinery city. Trees passed, and so did a small pond. A few tress had fallen down on the path he was taking. He jumped, landed on the first trunk, and kicked off from there, clearing the rest of the obstruction. "Wow, I'm surprised I can keep going after all that had happened." Ino said to himself. A sudden explosion in front of him made him trip. "Damn it!" His face slammed into a rock. "Glad I have this mask on..." A missile flew overhead and made contact with a tree, engulfing it flames. Ino looked up. "What the hell is going on here?" Up ahead, a few people in black armor were fighting what looked like a pegasus wearing a CQB helmet, and using a Surpressor against the armored fiends. Ino raised an eyebrow. "Maybe I've hit my head too hard." Suddenly someone grabbed him from the back and yanked him up. "What the hell are you doing lying down? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" The stranger yelled to Ino. The person had a full suit of black armor, but his helmet had a black visor instead of holes like the Shadow Knights have. "Who the hell are you? Are you one of those knights?" Ino demanded. The armored stranger scoffed. "First off: no, I am not one of them, so don't panic. Secondly, the name Maelstrom. I'm the Captain of the U.A.'s starship A Razor's Edge of Oblivion." He said with pride. Another stray missile headed in their direction. "Get down!" Maelstrom yelled. He pushed Ino back, who landed hard on his ass, and Maelstrom jumped back. It sailed by, and this time hit a rock, which became several stones and pieces of rubble. "Damn, that was a close one. Lets try to be more careful, shall we?" Ino said. Maelstrom and him stood up. "Sure, whatever you say." From behind Maelstrom, an large armored Shadow Knight leapt at him, broadsword raised high. He was about to shatter Maelstroms crown when a smaller, silver armored person crashed into the Knight's side. He had gold pauldrins with a emerald encrusted into the hilt of his sword. He jammed his blade into the knight's neck, which caused him to convulse. Then he jerked, and his armor fell into individual pieces. "The damn thing nearly had yer head. We've gotta keep moving, Maelstrom." The person was about to start running to the aid of the pegasus when he noticed Ino. "Who's this?" The armored person asked. Ino made eye contact. "I am Ino Shuma. An assassin. And you are?" Ino asked. The armored person stretched and popped his neck. "Me? Oh, I'm no one special really. Nestis is what my creator called me, grant it he turned out to be a major asshole with an egotism problem." "Ok, a little too much. I just asked who you were." Ino said. "Hey assfucks! Quit dicking around and help me!!" The pegasus yelled at them. Thirty Shadow Knights had surrounded her, attacking her from all directions. Maelstrom shouldered a FAL rifle. He aimed at the nearest Shadow Knight, and fired on him. Three head shots, armor shattered. Nestis charged toward the cluster of knight surrounding the pegasus, sword drawn. He slashed at the first knight he reached, and it lost its head. The armor collapsed, and he did the same to three more knights. "I guess I'll help these guys out." Ino said. He ran towards the fray, and unsheathed the Widow Maker. Four slashes cut through ten of the knights assailing them. He pulled one of the cylinders from his belt and smashed it into the chest of a very unfortunate Shadow Knight. Ino kicked the knight away, and it crashed into a couple of his fellow knights. The cylinder exploded, and engulfed them with flames. XXXX The fight came to a quick stop. All the Shadow Knights were executed. Ino sheathed his katana, and Nestis the same with his sword. The pegasus threw her suppressor over onto her back. "What kept you two up? I was nearly killed back there!" She yelled at the two others. Ino fell under her gaze. "Who the hell are you? Is this why you guys were gone?" The Pegasus took her CQB helmet off, and she wore a eye patch over her left eye. It had a legendary symbol, like in Halo 3. She was grey, had golden eyes, and a blond mane. Ino sighed. "My name is Ino Shuma." "And I am Commander Hooves. But we're wasting time introducing ourselves. We have a mission to accomplish." As soon as she finished her sentence, a series of explosions surrounded them. Three black, twin propeller helicopters circled their area. "Damn, Shadow Helos!" Maelstrom yelled. Bullets from the helicopters rained down onto the four. "It's time to see how useful you are, Ino!" Commander Hooves yelled to him. Ino scoffed. "Then sit back and relax. I got this." Ino said cooly. He gripped one of the cylindrical detonators from his belt and clicked it into place on his left wrist. He set it to timed detonation, 10 seconds, and shot the detonator to one helicopter. It hit and stuck to the belly of the chopper. Ino then hooked the grappling hook onto his device on his left wrist, and shot it towards another helicopter. The hook sailed towards it, and spun around the helicopter's tail. When it tightened, Ino pulled down on the cable. Set off balance, it spun and crashed into the third helicopter. Then the first exploded, and fire engulfed it as it became friends with the ground. Nestis chuckled. "Not to shabby. You look like you could help us with our mission. What do you think, Derpy?" Nestis asked. The grey pegesus shrugged. "I guess so. He better not slow us down though." She said to them. She looked up at the sky. Suddenly she went ridged, and her eyes widened. "Shit. We have a slight problem." The rest looked up. A Shadow Destroyer positioned itself above them. High above, four large metallic object were dropped from the Destroyer. After a few seconds of falling, the four crashed into the ground around the heroes. "Back to back!" Commander Hooves yelled out. Nestis drew up a M8A1 rifle, Maelstrom his FAL, and Derpy re-shouldered her Suppressor. "You need a weapon?" Nestis asked Ino. He shook his head. "I prefer hand to hand, but thanks for the offer." He said to Nestis. The four gigantic pieces of metal began to shift. They looked like Shadow Knights on steroids. One smashed a fist into the ground, causing the rock to fissure and split towards the heroes. A large piece shot up from the ground, and Ino jumped onto it, launching himself into the air. He drew the Widowmaker, and swiped his hand across it, hilt to blade. Electricity formed from his fingers when he did it. "Lightning Strike!" Ino yelled. He slashed at the nearest of these behemoths, named Shadow Mongers. The electric enhanced blade touched the metal of the Monger, and blasted away. A massive hole was torn into the giant's chest. Ino landed, and sheathed his sword. The ex Shadow Monged stumbled backwards and exploded into thousands of metallic fragments. Ino turned around, just in time to see a metal fist smash into his face. He was sent across the clearing, tumbled, and then smacked into a wall, creating a human shaped imprint in it. Ino fell off the wall, and landed on his back, holding his face. "Damn it, that hurt!" He yelled. He noticed that a shadow moved over him. He looked, and saw one of the Shadow Mongers standing over him. It raised a foot, and stomped on Ino. The force from the Monger caused him to lose conscious again. He turned his head, and just before passing out, saw Shadow Knights take down the others. He weakly raised his arm. "No....damn....you...." The darkness took over Ino once more.
The Great EscapeThe Legend of the Knights Chapter 3 The Great Escape The room was terribly lit. People were being ushered along by Shadow Knight, putting the captives, slaves, and other sorts of beings into a single-man elevator. The blind hero was walking among them, head down and eyes closed. The line moved slowly, and time seemed to slow downas he got nearer and nearer to the elevator. As time passed, only one more prisoner stood between him and an elevator. A Knight next to it pressed a down button, and seconds later the door opened. The prisoner was grabbed by the shoulder and pushed into the open elevator. The door slid shut, then the Knight pressed an up button. Ino opened his eyes, activating his Aura. The details in the room were outlined with blue and colored in with black. As Ino stood there, he noticed something odd. He still had the Widowmaker in its sheath. He looked around, and realized that everyone had weapons. "What the hell? Who would let their prisoners keep their weapons?" Ino asked himself as the elevator door slid oped before him. He was taken by the shoulder, and shoved into the elevator. His head smacked into the wall. "Agh! Geez, can't you be any careful?" He spat at the Knight. The black armored captor chuckled. "The best one I've heard today." He moved his arm and pressed the up button next to the elevator. "Good luck." He said as the door closed. It was dark inside the elevator the entire ride up. After around thirty seconds passed, it came to a stop. The doors slid open, and bright light filled into the small elevator. "Great. This isn't my day." Ino said to himself. Other elevators opened up, all along the inner wall of a Colosseum. Ino looked at their inhabitants, and saw some familiar faces. Nestis was to his right, looking around the arena. To Ino's left, Commander Hooves stood, holding a hoof in front of her helmet, above her eyes due to the sudden flooding of light. And directly ahead of him was Maelstrom. He was looking straight at Ino. He nodded to Ino, and he returned the favor. A massive crowd occupied the stands. Some highly decorated Shadow Knight, who happened to be a general, stood in a high box. "Welcome competitors to today's 7th game of Survival! The goal is simple: survive! Do whatever it takes, and try not to die. Round One is the Fearlings!" As he finished, a large cage rose n the center of the arena. Inside it resided around 50 of these "Fearlings". They looked like wolves, but had mandibles and bat-like wings. And to top it all off, a twin stinger tails similar to a scorpion's. "I see why they're called Fearlings. Those things look deadly as hell." Ino said. The announcer was finishing up his discription. "Competitors: Let the game begin!" He shouted. The cage fell open, and the Fearlings took off in each and every direction. Already some prisoners met their grizzly demise. XXX Down at the other end of the arena, Maelstrom shouldered his FAL. Charging down into the fray, he took aim at the nearest fearling. He squeezed the trigger, and his rifle bucked as the bullet was propelled from the barrel. Seconds later, a bloody hole was etched into the side of the fearling's head. Others, angered for their fallen comrade, charged at him with blood lust. With deft movement, Maelstrom switched his rifle with the Scar-H he had slung behind him. Short bursts of bullets tore through the creatures, and one by one they fell to the ground, dead. "I honestly hope we can get out of here. Every second is one wasted. We need to get back to our mission." He said to himself. XXXX Commander Hooves shredded through the constant waves of fearlings, dodging and avoiding any potential dangers. Switching to the her FAL, she took off a few of the creatures' heads. Nearby, Maelstrom had also switched back to his FAL. Both firing, Derpy manger to get over to her teammate. "How's it goin?" Derpy said in a cheerful voice. "Alright I guess. I figured you'd be more pissed about delaying the mission." "Hell no! I'm having a good time!" Derpy then managed to get one shot to take out three fearlings. "Remind me to never piss you off." Both of their ammo clips hit empty capacity. The sound of two clips simultaneously ejecting were heard. Each threw a clip to the other, turned, caught, and reloaded. They continued fire almost immediately after. XXXX Nestis shot down a fearling preparing to strike Ino. Jumping over his fellow warrior, a couple more fearlings dropped to the ground. He landed next to the assassin. "This is pretty mindless entertainment. Killing others for the amusement of the masses." Nestis said. He ducked, drew his sword, and ran it through his assailant. "I know. I've seen these events happen before." Ino punched one of the creatures, shot another with one of his darts, and sliced another in half with his wrist blade. The last of the fearlings had finally collapsed to the ground. Aside from Derpy, Ino, Nestis, and Maelstrom, not many of the captives had survived the onslaught. The general looked down upon the survivors, scoffing. "So, we seemed to have weeded out the weak." He said. "Weak? You mean the defenseless!" Ino shouted at him. "What are you talking about, imbecile? We supplied them with weapons." "It's one thing to give someone a weapon, it's another for them to know how to use it!" Ino yelled back to the Shadow Knight. He was about to say something, then thought about it. "Who are you?" He asked. "The name's Ino Shuma, an assassin from the Erandi human race! The one that was recently exterminated by your kind!" After Ino said this, the general burst into laughter. "Yes, your race was formidable. But nevertheless weak. Knights! Put an end to the Erandi human race." The general drew his sword. "I shall be rewarded highly for bringing your head to his excellency!" From all around the four heroes, gates opened. Shadow Knights of all classes and ranks came rushing out towards them, with Ino being their priority target. "Nestis, Derpy, now!" Maelstrom shouted. The three fired rifle shots into as many knights as they could hit. Helmets flew and armor shattered. As they repelled the assault, Ino took off running towards the general's high box. He picked up speed, and kicked off from the ground. "I'll show you weak. Erandi Arch Cannon!" A blast of blue energy focused into a beam came from Ino's hand, and hit the general's box. He only had a second to scream before the entire wall in front of Ino was blasted into rubble. He landed on the rubble, and turned back to the three fighting. "Guys! Let's get out, now!" Turning back towards the opening, he jumped out of the cruel stadium. Seconds later, Nestis, Derpy, and Maelstrom landed next to Ino. XXXX "Alright," Derpy said, "Now we just have to find out where the hell we are in this city." She said. The four looked around for anything useful. Not too far away, a vehicle similar to a Warthog waited. "That shouldn't be here. But as long as it works, it your way out of the city." Maelstrom said. Ino turned to him. "What do you mean "your way"?" He questioned. "I mean, we came here with a purpose: to destroy this city. Now, you three need to get out of her. I'll find my own way to the nuclear core and detonate it." He walked towards the Warthog, and resting next to it was a black motorcycle. It had a built in machine gun where the headlight should be. "That'll do. You guys get out now. I'll see you later." He mounted the bike, revved up, and took off towards the city center. Derpy turned to the two others. "Well? Let's get a move on. He won't take forever to detonate that core!" She jumped into the passenger side. Ino took the driver's seat, and Nestis the turret. "Are you sure you can drive?" He asked Ino. "I have an idea." He switched the Warthog on, shifted it into drive, and started to move. It picked up speed quickly, and they soon hit a main highway of the city. By now, some of the city's forces realized the commotion at the arena, an now began to pursue the three escapees. Ino took evasive maneuvers to avoid missiles and other attacks from airborne craft. "Nestis? If you would?" He asked. Nodding, the armored cyborg turned the turret around and began to fire upon the pursuing craft. Nearby, a few ground vehicles began to get near them. Passengers began to fire upon the exposed portions of the vehicle. "Commander, I need some cover fire!" Nestis shouted. She shouldered her FAL and shot at the assailants. A few rounds to the engine and tires of one cause it to spin out of control, and flip, hitting a few of its companions. A couple of miles behind them, a massive explosion rocked the entire city. A large and bright sphere of purple flames, quickly turning red, emitted from the city's center. Nearby, a motorcycle sped up to them. "I was beginning to worry about you!" Derpy shouted. Maelstrom nodded, and tossed a spike-like object to Ino. He caught it, on hand still on the wheel. "Hurry up and smash that into the dashboard!" He shouted to Ino. He took it, and jammed the object into the dash. Up ahead, a bridge was all that remained between them and the pursuing city guards, and more importantly, the wall of flame quickly approaching them. "That bridge wont hold forever! As soon as we hit the peak, well be transported out of here." The bridge came closer, and so did the fire. And almost like magic, the far end of the bridge collapsed. It was a dead end. "This is where we part ways. Good luck guys!" They hit the bridge, and took of up the half still standing. As they got to the edge, Ino wondered if this would really work. a sudden surged of electricity emerged from the spike, and coursed through the vehicle. The Warthog hit empty space, and went into free fall. Then, the surrounding area disappeared. Everything flashed blue, and a forest was in front of them. 20 feet down of course. They fell, and hit the ground. The vehicle took most of the damage, rolling until coming to a crunching stop by a tree. Ino slid out of the totaled jeep, the air knocked out of him. Nestis walked around, and offered him a hand. Ino, after a moment, took it. Nestis helped him up, and Derpy trotted by them. She removed her helmet, and inhaled deeply. "Ah. Home." She looked towards Ino. "Welcome to Equestria."
