Liazo and the others hid behind a large c-can placed near the entrance of Moody Harbor Warehouse. The warehouse was swarmed with armed guards, and the grey sky above made the atmosphere all the tenser; a mist layering the ground and adding to the still mood. As they gathered, Liazo prepared his butterfly knives with a few flicks of the wrist, and Gin loaded up all of her flintlock pistols.

"You think those guns'll do the trick, sister?" Liazo shot Gin a doubtful expression, and she simply loaded another proudly.

"Oh, I'm good with flintlocks, mate," Gin gave him a smug grin as she loaded up her final flintlock (impressing Liazo with the speed at which she loaded them).

"So, do we have a plan?" Rainbow Dash inquired as she scooted Edgar over to talk to Liazo.

"Yeah," Liazo answered as he poked his head around the c-can and looked up at a band of thugs on the roof of the building, "Okay, I got it. Rainbow Dash, I want you to take out those guards up on the roof, and you gotta be quiet about it- make sure they don't get a shot off."

"Got it." Rainbow Dash nodded.

"Gin, you stay with me. We'll enter once Rainbow Dash gives us the word." Liazo informed her as he tucked his head behind cover. "We're going stealth, so don't fire a shot until I give you permission. We're taking them out silently."

"Aw..." Gin frowned as she holstered her pistol, which was out and ready to tussle. She brought her knife out with a momentary grin that faded as she stared at it for a while. "It's just not the same..."

"Edgar, I want you to stay here and out of sight, okay?" Liazo looked up at the hulking behemoth, who was trying desperately to stay hidden (the c-can was not as tall as him). "I want you to bust down the front door if things go south."

"Alright," Edgar grunted as he hunkered down into a ball.

"Let's get going then," Liazo peeked around the corner again. "RD, you're-."

"Back in less than a minute!" Rainbow Dash was gone before he could even finish his sentence, and the only evidence that indicated that she had been in that spot was a dust trail that dispersed as it rose high into the air.

"Damn." Gin whistled as she heard quiet jet-like noise echo in the air.

The supersonic pegasus landed on the roof behind an air conditioning unit; out of an approaching guard's line of sight. Rainbow Dash waited until he passed by, and before he had a chance to even speak, she put him in a sleeper hold. He passed out within a few seconds as she put his neck in a vice, and to her displeasure, the guard 's head hit the side of the air conditioning unit; alerting another guard who was in close proximity.

As the other guard ran over to the source of the noise, Rainbow Dash flew around him like a boomerang, and jabbed him in the temple; rendering him incapacitated. After another guard caught her in the act, she picked up the pace, and jabbed him in the throat to silence him, then gave him a swift shot to the back of the head. She emitted a loud cracking sound as she zoomed around the roof; taking down guard after guard until they were all no more.

"Nice... I must've broken some kind of record there." Within thirty seconds, she took down the entire group of spotters on the roof. Rainbow Dash activated her communicator as soon as the last guard dropped. "Yo, Liazo. The roof is clear. You can take down the guards in the front now."

"Nice. See if you can sneak in from the roof. We'll meet you inside." Liazo grinned as he peeped around the corner one more time to get a good idea on where each guard was stationed. "Alright. Gin, just follow my lead. If things go awry, just shoot. Understand?"

"Alright, mate. Let's roll." Gin poked her head around the corner with Liazo. "So who do you want to take out first?"

"We should take out the guards that are roaming around first. We'll leave the stationary ones by the door until we've dealt with the other-. Shit!" Liazo ducked behind cover again as a guard looked in his general direction and walked over to the c-can. Gin gave the nervous half-changeling a worried look. "Don't worry, he ain't sure. Edgar, as soon as he turns the corner, you knock him out."

"Yeah, yeah." Edgar groaned as he wormed by Gin and Liazo to the end of the c-can.

Edgar stood, or rather, sat at the ready for the guard, and as he poked his head around the c-can, Edgar's massive metal paw enveloped the peeping guard's face; silencing him. He squirmed about for a few moments before Edgar lightly tapped him on the back of the head; knocking him out cold, and making him look like a limp noodle as he dangled in the air for a while. Edgar placed him in a nearby trash bin; sloppily tossing a bag of trash on him to hide his unconscious body.

"Elegant." Liazo mocked Edgar's attempt at being stealthy.

"Oh, you try being a ninja when you're almost sixteen feet tall!" Edgar snapped back at the smug stallion.

"Let's focus, guys!" Gin rolled her eyes as she peeked around the opposite end of the c-can. "You two bicker like an old married couple."

"Okay, alright!" Liazo waved his hands in the air in defeat as he looked back at the two stationary guards. Luckily, they hadn't noticed them yet. "Alright, let's see here... there's... two more roaming around, I'd say. I'll take the one on the left, you take the one on the right. Sound good?"

"Yep." Gin nodded as she advanced towards the warehouse entrance, ducked behind a storage crate, and brought out a bottle of rum she was storing in her coat. It was almost empty, and she took one last swig of the remaining liquid. "That's good..."

Liazo tried running to the left, but he was stopped by a big arm that blocked his way. "What is it now?"

"We haven't established a signal yet for when you need me." Edgar reminded Liazo, and the half-changeling brushed his hair back in frustration.

"Oh, for the love of - okay, um... does "Ding-Dong" sound good?" Liazo sighed as he looked back at Edgar with a disappointed expression.

"I suppose it will have to do..." Edgar crossed his arms and motioned towards the warehouse.

"Thank you!" Liazo bowed and ran over to the other side opposite to where Gin was; vaulting over a stack of crates into cover.

On Gin's side, there was a thug leaning on a c-can across from the storage crates she was hiding behind. She stopped slouching and bent her head back to get a view of the guard. He was smoking a cigarette, and not paying much attention to his surroundings. Gin picked up a pebble off the ground and tossed it at his smoke; extinguishing the cigarette, and angering the guard.

"Alright, who fuckin' threw that?!" The thug called out to whoever threw the rock, and then he drew his pistol. "You better come out, dammit!"

As the guard pointed his gun over to where Gin was, he heard a "ding" sound behind him, and he turned around absent-mindedly; unaware that Gin had jumped over the stack of crates just as he looked away. Before he could even say another word, Gin took her bottle of rum and slammed it against the guard's temple; flattening him.

"Dumbass..." Gin chuckled lightly to herself as she stared down at the guard and shook her head in disappointment.

Liazo was stalking a guard walking down a corridor formed by a two rows of c-cans, and every time the guard would look back, Liazo hid behind another conveniently placed stack of crates; waiting for the perfect moment to strike. As the guard made his way to the end of the corridor, Liazo whistled him over.

"What the..." The guard trailed off as he cautiously approached the stack of storage crates; shouldering his rifle.

In an instant, Liazo sprang out of his hiding place and hit the thug's neck with his opened hand, which was to the side like a blade. The knuckle of Liazo's little finger impacted the guard's neck with sufficient force to disturb the blood flow to his brain, and the guard hit the ground with soft "thud" without a word. He ran over to another stack of shipping containers close to the entrance.

"Hey, Gin. You good?" Liazo used his communicator.

"The guard is out. Where should we meet up?" Gin asked as she looked over to the guards standing by the metal door leading into the warehouse.

"There's another stack of crates piled in front of the guards. I'm already there." Liazo informed her as he watched Gin vault over more crates and barrels to get to him. "Stay low."

As Gin sat down beside Liazo and put her back against the crates, she peeked a little. The guards were motionless, and there was no viable cover near them to get a good angle. Gin and Liazo knew they had to distract them somehow, but it had to be subtle; not enough to compel other guards inside the warehouse to go outside.

"We need to occupy them, so I can sneak around an-. What are you doing?!" Liazo uttered in shock as she watched Gin undo the top four buttons of her blouse, remove her jacket, and set her weapons aside.

"I'll be the distraction, just get going." Gin ordered him firmly, although, it took a while to regain his composure as he sat and stared at her cleavage for a moment with his jaw hanging open. She gave him a swift backhand across the face. "Quit gawking ya dolt!"

Liazo quickly snapped out of it and looped around another c-can to flank them, and he waited for the right opportunity. Gin grabbed her empty bottle of rum out of her jacket and stood up; pretending to stumble and stagger about like a drunken wench. At first, the guards raised their guns with caution, but as they analyzed the mare, they came to realize the threat level of the situation.

"What the hell-. What are you doing here, you bimbo?! This area is off-limits!" The guard yelled at Gin, who was tripping over her own two hooves. He ran over to her in fear that she might hurt herself, and tried helping her walk, but Gin batted his hands away.

"Wha-?" Gin responded with a lazy-eye as she hiccupped; moving her head around side to side as if she got lost in a cave. "Who are you guys?! I-... ugh."

"Listen, we don't have time for this, you drunken whore! We've got a job to do! Why don't you just run off, and-!" The other guard was cut off as he felt Gin take his head and ram it into her bosom.

"Say... you're two are cute..." Gin blushed as she licked the other guard on the cheek. "I'm sure two big, strong stallions like yourselves, haven't had the company of a mare like me before. What do ya say?"

"Well, I'm not opposed to the idea... are you, Frank?" The guard with his face buried in Gin's chest mumbled.

"Um, no... I'm cool with it." The other guard smiled weakly as she felt Gin's hot breath on his face.

"Good." Gin purred as she freed the trapped guard from her grasp and stumbled back. "Now, close your eyes and pull down your pants... I've got a surprise for you both."

"Aw, man are we gonna have our-!" The two guards were knocked out by Liazo, who hit them both in the back of the head. They fell to the ground with their pants undone, and as their heads slammed into the pavement, Gin bit her lower lip, trying not to burst into hysteric laughter.

"Oh, I love being a mare sometimes!" Gin grinned gleefully as she patted the two guards on the head and gathered her belongings, which were strewn across the ground behind the pile of crates.

"You are devious." Liazo gave her a nod of approval as he watched her get reorganized.

"I know." Gin giggled as she put her belt of guns back on and fastened her jacket. "So, what now?"

"Hang on... hey, Rainbow Dash! You there?" Liazo asked her through his communicator, but there was no answer. "Aw, hell... they must've caught her! We've got to get in there, and fast!"

Liazo and Gin opened the door quietly and stepped inside the warehouse. They were surprised to find that the room was completely empty. In fact, there wasn't a single soul in the room beside Rainbow Dash, who was tied to a chair on the other side of the room next to an empty conveyor belt where guns should have been.

"Rainbow Dash!" Gin shouted as she ran over to her and pulled the gag out of the pegasus' mouth.

"Aarrghh! Guys! There're two other ponies in here! They aren't normal either they're-." Rainbow Dash trailed off as she heard hoofsteps coming from a nearby metal stairwell.

"Hello, Liazo... my beloved." A seductive voice as smooth as butter cooed.

"No, not you." Liazo felt a chill run down his spine as he heard the mare speak.

She was the most beautiful mare Gin and Rainbow Dash had ever seen. The graceful earthpony wore an exquisite single-strap, red sequin dress that went down past her hooves, and her long and wavy blonde hair hung down past her shoulders. The burgundy-furred mare had as much makeup on as Rarity, and they could tell, that even without her extensive navy blue eye shadow and mascara she still would've looked stunning.

"Yes, me..." The mare whispered as she walked towards them with one hand on her hip. "How have you been, darling?"

"Just peachy." Liazo gritted his teeth as he glared at the mare with hateful eyes.

"Oh, Liazo... you're such a handsome and passionate lover, don't look at me with such spite!" The mare blushed as she circled around him. "I don't want our differences to come between us..."

"Who's this creepy broad?" Gin gestured over to the mare.

"Maria Catelli... Godfather Fonzi's daughter." Liazo grumbled as he kept his eyes locked on the mare.

"Oh, you do remember me!" Maria's eyes widened, and she blushed even harder as if she were getting a charge just by hearing Liazo's voice. She licked her lips greedily as she kept circling him.

"What are you doing here, Maria? Where's all the weapons?" Liazo demanded as he grabbed her shoulder, but he looked away once he heard another pair of hoofsteps drawing closer. "Oh hell..."

A malicious looking, lime-furred stallion approached the group with deranged eyes. He was tall, taller than Liazo, and he was built like a tank- big and burly. He was wearing a wife-beater and black jeans, and his short-cut black hair made it look all the more genuine. He tugged on his gold chain necklace as his face contorted into a sick and twisted grin. "Well, well, well... if it isn't Liazo! And look, he brought some friends to play with us!"

"Hey, Marco. Glad to see you've still kept the good old cliché Romian-thug look. You really rock that gold chain." Liazo taunted the hardy looking stallion, who was not impressed at all by his sarcasm.

"Well, I like to keep it traditional, you know?" Marco smiled as he cracked his knuckles. He closed his eyes for a moment, then as he opened them, they transformed. His eyes were almost completely red, and the only remnant of what used to be his regular eyes were green rings that looked like his irises. "Now, I'm only going to say this once. Get outta here."

"No chance, Marco." Liazo put his butterfly knives away and stood still. "My team and I want info."

"Well then, I guess I'll have to knock some sense into ya." Marco chuckled as he stared down Liazo.

"I'm so sorry about this, my love." Maria frowned as her eyes morphed too; hers had blue irises instead of green.

"What are you two going to do to-." Rainbow Dash was cut-off by Liazo, who put his hand up to silence her.

"Rainbow Dash, Gin... I want you two to get out of here." Liazo demanded as he turned his head towards them. His eyes were like theirs as well, only his had silver irises. "These two are dangerous."

"But Liazo you-." Rainbow Dash was shushed by Gin.

"We should listen to him. I don't think have a hot clue what we're dealing with, here." Gin convinced the driven pegasus, who had to agree.

As Gin and Rainbow Dash headed for the door, it was blocked by a giant mass of flesh that sprouted from Maria's shoulder like the roots of a tree. The flesh was in fact hundreds of squirming hands and arms, and they clawed at the air blindly as the two approached the door. "Nopony's going anywhere."

"I'm going to have a lot of fun killing you all." Marco grinned maniacally as a fibrous tissue began to sprout from his back and envelop his body; forming an armor composed of muscle and tendons.

"You ain't killin' anypony tonight." Liazo exhaled deeply as two silver tendrils shot out of his back and whipped around like octopus tentacles. He taunted the two monsters; waving them over. "Bring it."

Marco roared as he charged at Liazo, and he swung at him just as he came within range. Liazo however, dodged without any effort, and jumped over him with ease; slicing at his back with sharpened mercury tendrils. Marco's armor repaired itself quickly, and the muscular beast grabbed Liazo and tossed him into the side of a water tank, cracking through the thick steel, and releasing a large amount of water into the warehouse- enough to soak the whole floor with a thin layer of fluid. Liazo's bones and muscles snapped back in place as he recovered from the blow, and he got revenge with a barrage of mercury needles that shot out of his tendrils; puncturing Marco's defence as spines lodged themselves in his chest and arms.

"Die!" Maria screamed as she spawned hundreds of limbs that sought-out Rainbow Dash and Gin.

"Quick, untie me!" Rainbow Dash demanded as Gin began cutting the rope with her pocket knife. She cut through just in time, and Rainbow Dash jumped into the battle with her.

Rainbow Dash moved so fast, the hands couldn't catch up with her. She practically teleported as she evaded the constant onslaught of hands and claws, and in a flash, she was within striking distance to Maria. Rainbow Dash hit her with a supersonic fist that made a loud "wham!" as it impacted her; sending her backwards, but not staggering her completely.

"You stand in the way of my beloved Liazo! Therefore, you must perish!" Maria growled as she knocked Rainbow Dash aside with a wall of flesh.

"Oh yeah? Well, the only thing you're standing in the way of is..." Rainbow Dash vanished momentarily, then appeared behind Maria; giving her a swift kick to the side which launched her into the wall. "My hoof!"

As Gin pulled her pistols out, she looked over to Rainbow Dash with a raised eyebrow. "That was weak, sister... you've got to work on your material."

"Yeah, that sounded a lot better in my head!" Rainbow Dash admitted with a smile as she saw Maria lying in a heap by the wall.

Liazo and Marco were constantly matching each other blow for blow; Marco focused on raw power, and Liazo focused on agility and precision. While Marco put up a decent fight, he was beginning to turtle, and Liazo caught on quickly. He jabbed Marco through the chest with a massive mercury-blood spine. Outraged by that, Marco grabbed Liazo and pinned him down on the ground with a muscle wrapped hand. "Any last words, Liazo?"

"Just two..." Liazo grinned mischievously as he spat up a little blood. "Ding-Dong!"

"What the hell is that?" Marco belly-laughed as he squeezed Liazo tighter. "Those are your last words? That was so pathet-."

A giant metal fist smashed through the wall with untold force, and struck Marco like a freight train at full speed, slamming into his body with a deafening "boom!", and propelling him through the water tank, and then into the wall on the opposite side of the spacious warehouse. With another two punches, the wall was reduced to rubble by Edgar, who stepped inside with an angered expression.

"Ding-Dong." Edgar groaned with a voice like rolling thunder. "How badly do you want me to hurt him, Liazo?"

"Flatten his ass!" Liazo ordered the brute as he got to his hooves.

"Alright then! First Restrictor Band: Removed!" Edgar bellowed as one of the three chain tattoos around his neck disappeared. Edgar went down on one knee for a brief moment as he took a deep breath, then, as he stood up, steam erupted from his back like a raging volcano; letting out a squeal as it escaped his body.

"What's happening to him?" Rainbow Dash asked Liazo, who was regaining his strength.

"Edgar's got a nuclear reaction going on in his body at all times. In order to increase his strength, he lets air flow into his body to fuel the reaction, and he uses water vapour in the air to cool himself down. That's why all that steam is shooting out of him like that." Liazo explained in detail as he watched Edgar pound away at Marco like a punching bag.

With one last roar, Edgar took Marco's arms and ripped them right off; causing him to wail in horror as blood shot out of his armless torso. He fainted not long after. "Damn... you!"

Liazo took one last deep breath and approached Maria along with the others, who was in the midst of recovering from the crushing blow she received from Rainbow Dash. Liazo grabbed her dress and picked her up; shaking her lightly in order to snap her out of it. "Maria, where the hell are all the guns?"

"They're... in the northern district now... you're too late." Maria squeaked softly as Liazo brought her closer. "I don't know anything else!"

"Don't lie to me Maria! Where's that teleporter Sergio told me about, huh?" Liazo demanded as he pointed over to Edgar. "Don't make me tell him to rip your head off!"

"Okay!" Maria cried as Liazo put her down. "It's underground, that's all I know! Our father told us to stall you in order to get the guns there safely!"

"So, where exactly is it?" Liazo asked her; looking back at Gin and Rainbow Dash.

"It's under the Liberty Square Monument- the forefather statues! It was built in secret six years ago!" Maria confessed.

"So, that's how those slimy cultist bastards got in the city so easily!" Gin thought back to Liberty Day.

"Liazo, can you hear me?" Masami's voice buzzed in the halfling's ear. "Long distance communications just got back online!"

"Talk to me, sugar..." Liazo replied as he backed away from Maria. "What's up?"

"The Ministry of Science was attacked three hours ago. The cultists took Twilight as well." Masami informed Liazo and the others through their communicators.

"We've got to get her back!" Rainbow Dash said with a determined look on her face.

"No, we have to regroup back at the house. Spike is unconscious right now, and we don't have a plan yet. Have you guys figured anything out?" Masami wondered; a layer of worry in her tone.

"We know how the cultists are getting in the city," Liazo answered her.

"Good, that's a start," Masami sighed. "Get back here with everpony else."

"Alright." Liazo and the others shut his communicator off. "C'mon guys, let's get moving."

"What about Twilight?" Rainbow Dash said in desperation.

"We'll get to her eventually, but right now, we've got to reorganize ourselves." Edgar chimed in; patting Rainbow dash on the back.

"Then let's get out of here." Gin said as she opened the door.

As Liazo exited the building with the others, he looked back at Maria, who looked at him with tired eyes. "You're not like them, beloved, you know. You're one of us, Liazo... a gola..."

"I'm not one of you." Liazo frowned at her as he began closing the door. "If you two get in my way again, I'll kill you, and Fonzi."

Author's Notes:

Things are getting interesting! As always, I hope you enjoyed!