Doctor Brown returned his friend's binoculars, watching her hang on the answer along with their brooding, thought-heavy leader. The trio nodded all at once. Silent Hill and Doctor Brown looked toward their war chief and readied their weapons. One, last evaluation of their surroundings reminded the party of their advantage.  It was a hidden bunker plagued by natural, blinding dust storms. It was the closest Silent had been to the fabled twin cities, whose walls were floating domes or towering barriers between the storms and the puritans inside. Both Silent Hill and Bubblegum took the lead, while Doctor Brown handled the flank. He glanced down at the raider pinned beneath him, both temporary seating and mumbling curses in his weakened state. Normally, he wouldn't have cared. But the colt started chuckling and calling him a 'colt-cuddling faggot.'

Doctor Brown pushed his glasses up and stomped his muzzle into a mess of teeth and gums. The group deployed in a delta formation, crouching low as possible and readying their hooves to strafe into various attack patterns. A harsh, whistling gale stung their skin, forcing them to remember the safety of the initial trench they took to reach Purple Heart. Dust and snow kicked up behind them as they stormed the nearest moving silhouette. Brown reached his target first, handling a baseball bat with memory foam around the handle. Twas' a New Celestia Republic soldier, dressed in standard winter fatigues. His head was protected by another standard piece: an old world footsoldier helm. It even had the strap under the chin and semi-spherical shape.

He tapped the colt's shoulder, hoofsteps hidden by the guise of rushing wind. A heavy clunk flung the NCR Grunt backwards. The downed soldier rushed to his hooves, raising his forelegs to block an incoming swing. In one, diagonal motion, Doctor Brown shoved his weight into his bat. He struck the grunt below their chin, scoring a lucky critical. Falling the NCR grunt only made him wobble back to stable hoofing. Wild, sloppy haymakers flew past Doctor Brown's narrow muzzle, forcing him lower and more rigid. He wasn't used to fighting up close and personal. The colt managed to sock him on the side of his snout. Lukewarm, winter-chilled blood trickled down his lips.

In that very moment, his eyes were an absolute darkness: an empty void without mercy or feeling. He took a crouch so low that he could barely be scraped by their hits, not to mention stricken. He reared his legs up and sprang forward, smashing the end of the bat into his nose. The blunt trauma made his enemy knock out, prompting him to slam it into his temple one more time. No vitals, he confirmed, his head against their chest. And the blunt object splitting his skull open helped too.

Thankfully, there were only two more encounters with the sentries. Silent made short work of them before finding the bunker hatch. She carefully ruffled through Bubble's bag and sifted through a novel about sexually active 2D ponies, tiny tentacle abominations and a roll of toilet paper. However confused she was didn't matter, because they found the key they were looking for. It was all black and made of hard, rigid metal. Silent Hill put it in, turned the valve and struck the key into the lock mechanism. It slid in and seemingly vanished inside it. The valve split down the center and so did the hatch, showing handles on the underside for closing it behind.

Entering the underground space held very little surprise. It was typically damp and leaked moisture from loose cracks in the concrete. Another quality to the first, long stretch of bunker was ejected ammunition. Most of it happened to be energy and microfusion cells. Along the ground were neighboring 5.56 cases and cigarette buds, both fairly fresh compared to the ice cold battery husks crowding near their hooves. They passed the third, empty and winding narrow corridor. If it were an ambush, Bubblegum started, giving them an unholster gesture, she'd give them a stable formation and tactics.

"Silent. You're middle. You can use your B.A.T.S to blast anyone catching me by surprise. Brown. You're in the back. Get ready to toss some pineapples or slug some NCR. I'll be here at the front. If I start running, run faster. If I engage, spread out and keep your backs to the walls. Side strafe and take out targets by concentrating your fire. Understood?"

All that sound tactical advice drew a bead of honey from Silent. Something about being told what to do was just... right. Being told how to do it so well, now that was a whole other level of being warm. They took her complete and helpful advice, sticking tightly in a line formation and pointing their guns separate ways. Bubblegum herself had their trust plasma pistol readied by the bite grip. She froze in her tracks, signalling them to stop. Her forehoof kicked in-place, met with an eerie, metal clang. They all watched as an immediate darkness followed their last steps toward an open doorway. Along the walls were stationary, rigid bodies. Most were fallen in their power armor. Some were just recruits that were massacred in the wrong place at the right time. None of the uniformed soldiers had weapons.

Bubblegum Grins was the first to analyze their condition.

"Rigormortis is in effect and the corpses are ripped open in various places. If you sift through the flayed ribcages you can see the intestines are missing. Someone or something managed to tear through their power armor..."

Silent Hill scratched her head and took their rifle out to talk. A supple heat started beneath her coat, itching and biting her with stress. Something wasn't right, from the frequency to the lack of perceived life. She shared her improvised theory on the matter, checking her ID-107 for any loose or worn components.

"You're onto something. This whole place feels like some sort of trap. I can't believe they're all dead and not even in the main chamber. Look at the wounds, though. They were killed fighting. We can tell from the claw marks in the armor mean they were attacked by a thing. Not a pony. But a thing. My guess is that it's a mutie."

The third party member nodded quietly, assessing the impenetrable darkness beyond their last, seemingly ominous step forward. Even the doorway seemed to lack hinges or sliding gaps for a door of any kind.

"This is no work of any diamandas canis. Or those underground relatives you handled the other week ago. This is the work of a creature with a distinctly honed claw calcium. It is not natural for claws long enough to exceed five inches to be able to splint metal." He explained, readying a grenade in his forehoofs and a baseball bat between the teeth.

Battle time. A unified nod led them toward the same doorway with the same, cautious anxiety. Something lay beyond that dark hallway. And it needed to be addressed together. Doctor Brown already warned tossing a grenade might harm potential friendlies. And Bubblegum said not to rely on the electromagnetic locator on the WristBelle. Instead, she utilized it's turquoise flashlight function. Ten feet of visibility kept the dark away at all times, never once interrupted by flickers or external shadows. Beneath their glowing visage were dried blood stains and large, yet hooved footprints. A majority of the abandoned and surprisingly wide-open area revealed pipes and decommissioned computer setups. There were even a few screens and control panels lining the walls, concluding that the very bunker they resided in was a hidden cryostable. The farther in they went, the more it also told that the cryostable belonged to the beast that slaughtered the ponies before. Everywhere were claw marks, cloven, bloody hoofprints and bones of ponies curled up against the walls.

Silent Hill spotted an active terminal among the mess of broken ones and chemical apparatuses. She theorized, from the scattered medical supplies and petri dishes, that it uses to be a biochemistry laboratory. Mostly for research, evidenced by the many displaced clipboards and pencils as well. Though curious about the nature of their location, she only checked the terminal once. Silent Hill found varying lines and clusters of code spew, sighting but only a few of the recent password attempts so far. It was accessed fairly easily by nothing but an override of the login screen. She worked around the login screen by rebooting the terminal and accessing a command prompt. By inputting a few opening commands, such as accessing the internal storage, which was A: in her case, she forced the information out by simply downloading the contents to her WristBelle. The files were properly reformatted from the outdated autoproxy design, which had it's own network and modem plus router and all that junk built into it's bulk of a frame.

Doctor Brown sat watching their flank as he heard an audio recording.

'Doctor Osmosis here. Day ten of the Chimera Experiment. We've captured the subject once again to study it's overwhelmingly complex and bizarre anatomy. Most of the data has been sent down to Dr. Hearse. He assured us that our experiments weren't encroaching on any laws imposed by Canterlot Genetics or Celestia's Bureau of Biochemical Research...

But I doubt that. Dr. Hearse told us that the feds expected a good final release. But all that aggression and chemical imbalance can't be a good thing. Overall: it's been ten days and the subject still isn't improving in terms of logic and emotional stability. Me and the rest of the team will be administering frequent doses of dopamine and endorphins. We'll add sedative to this as well. Doctor Osmosis, out.'

Amazing, she thought, smushing her muzzle with her forehooves.

Somepony thought it was a good idea to house a severely dangerous and capable thing in an isolated and anti-social environment. They needed all they could get. So Silent listened to one more audio recording, one that wasn't damaged by bad data or memory glitches.

'This is Doctor Osmosis. Day two of the Chimera Experiment. They had this one shipped from Las Pegasus. It's genetic structure is reminiscent of a chimpanzee's, while also sharing strains from a Jackson's chameleon and godolphin arabian equus breeds. For one, it creeps me out. Two, it's completely out of it's habitat. You couldn't put the subject in a more unfitting place for training and military use. They dumped one extraterrestrial, one pony and one jackson in the FEV. This was the result. I'd say it's appearance is the second most concerning thing about it. The first is having to train it to certain audible stimuli. You can hear it raging and screaming whenever they apply the cattleprods. I'm worried treating it this way will make it turn on us someday. Osmosis signing out.'

Silent Hill wondered why, when she opened a fusebox and flipped the switches toward the middle, everything became operational again. Everything. Even a nearby jukebox. Even the sign above their heads that said 'subject: free, remain behind the blast doors.' Frigid, crawling fear slithered up her spine. Doctor Brown took a minute of silence to stabilize his shaken, unresponsive hooves. They all knew then that the blast doors made to keep them safe were ruined and torn off their hinges. It was settled that they'd assume Attack Pattern Delta and stay in an arrow-like formation. Just then, a storm of metallic, echoing bangs started in the stable not minutes away. It sounded like either a large beast in armor or somepony donning Grand Pegasus Enclave tech. They were ready. It rushed closer to vivid proximity, ringing their ears in contrast to the deafening silence prior. Bubblegum half-pressed her trigger before... another pony met the end of her cathode barrel.

it was an enclave officer with a familiar, beige and jet black uniform. A tear slipped their eyes as they begged them to run. She was a mare just a smidgen older than most travelers, likely around her early thirties. An undeniable horror drew jittery, in-place steps from her dust-caked legs. She stayed finicky even in her eyes, which were restless blue-greys joined by a mess of bleach blonde curls. Bubblegum Grins gently guided her behind them. Because right then and there, her and Silent's ears perked right up.

The pair suffered an unmistakable tremble in their forehooves and ears. Unlike Silent, who was unaware of her Celestia-given gift, her pink companion had the full idea. It shook her bones, that twitch. It struck down to the marrow with how foreboding it was.

Bang. Clang. Bang. Clang.

"Silent, Brown, take this girl away from here. None of you can risk your lives but I sure as hell can."

In unison, their jaws dropped.

"What?!" They shouted, an angry, ugly scrunch starting in Silent's face.

"You're part of this team, too! You can't just die here! What would we have done if you didn't find that plasma rifle last time...! You have to live because we don't know the battle field like you...! We- we couldn't replace you. Who's gonna keep us from fighting each other a-and who's... gonna keep us happy?"

Bang. Clang. Bang. Clang. The enclave officer buckled in her knees, begging them to run. She herself even glanced toward the exit plenty of times. Yet, in her recognition of who Silent was, she stood her ground in heavy dread. It was coming for them. That thing was galloping forward best it could to take them away. Her watered eyes met the dim glow of pink, focusing and defocusing concentric lines. Bubblegum answered and slowly turned her back on her friends.

"I don't know. But I hope it's me. I'm sorry I didn't do more with you. But time for talking's over. Take her away and search for the remnants. I'll miss you."

"Bubblegum... Bubblegum don't do this. Don't do this- please-"

Doctor Brown took her by the left foreleg and waist, forcing her back even as she struggled. 'Let me go!' Silent barked, forcing him and the new girl to drag her off. She kicked and screamed till her throat was scratchy and hoarse. The echoed screams and ravings of someone saying goodbye haunted them. Bubblegum felt her heart break as the second mare to ever miss her cried out her name. Even though it was all she could do, Bubblegum felt right putting her plasma pistol down and setting it aside.

Bang. Clang. Bang. Clang.

"Alright you son of a bitch... if I'm dying today, I'm dying with my mitts out." She growled, sighting a titanic, imposing shadow around the corner.

The beast was a beast and likely had no sword or weapon or armor. They'd meet as equals and let fate decide.

It approached her and reared it's ugly, fleshy head. The beast had skin instead of a coat. It's torso had swollen pectorals and tight abdominals. It's muscular upper-half had eyes resembling a monkey's. Except, it was more intelligent. More venomous, as if it were coming back to reclaim it's throne: top of the food chain. The beast had fingers that ended in claws sharp and thick enough to tear the walls apart. Bubblegum Grins met the centaur's monstrous scowl with her own, razor-sharp grin.

"Alright mutie! Let's go! Beluae- Monstrum...!"

It lit up with surprise and lowered itself even further. The beast had intelligence after all. It tossed away a weapon it had prior, a laser lance from before slung over the back. She understood. For some reason, the centaur understood her honor. Her years and years of conditioning her body to become more than equine. It understood what it meant to really be strong.

They charged, both crouched and efficient, not an inkling of drag holding them back. The Centaur swiped at her chest, barely grazing the fur when she leaned backwards. Bubblegum bled from the scar across the bridge of her nose. It burned. She angled herself so her hips and torso twisted, exposing her right ribs. And when the monster slashed at her opening, she took a pivot to the side and performed a smash. The momentum from it's swipe slammed into it's stomach, where Bubblegum's hoof dug itself in. He roared and took to one, heavy gag, ruptured thoroughly by that one, well-placed counter punch. It only took that much to launch Bubblegum forward and into a supermare punch. The Centaur reeled back, it's stomach ripped apart by hooves heavier than concrete.

Bubblegum's hooves actually crippled it's abdominals. He scurried back and carried his laser lance into battle. A low hum swooped past her ears. Another slash singed the fur off her flank. He swung and stabbed to heart's content, kissing her coat with raging heat. It was a dance of fluid contortion in her body and wide, powerful swings of his arms. His hooves joined in firm, booming stomps, picking pace just barely matching her's. Bubblegum found her rhythm and studied his eyes between little twirls and slips below the centaur and his turning hips. The world became seconds slower and her body moved to her enemy's. He leased a flurry of sharp, singing slashes across the air, inching closer and closer to her flexible, twisting body. Duck after slip and bob after feign, she evaded his blunt ferals. They were essentially haymakers. Feral lefts and rights. She saw them coming from a mile away.

Her enemy tore through table after table and terminal husk after beaker, splattering the floor in rotten mixtures and compounds. A foul stench occupied the laboratory, keeping their senses dulled. It flung a table at her and she leapt into a cartwheel, avoiding his missiles with her muscles ready to rip clean off. When he ran out of things to toss, he stamped his hooves and rushed over, tearing away at the air.

She avoided all but one of his swipes. A single, three-clawed streak wounded her chest and drenched her coat in blood.

Bubblegum grins leapt off his arm and onto his back. He couldn't reach her. His arms were too thick and heavy from sapping, long-winded motions. A haymaker to the temple made him stumble. Then, another. And another.

"How's that?!" The mare barked, grating her voice with grain and grit.

He started buckling and losing control of his legs. Hammer after hammer traumatized his eardrums and left him entirely discombobulated. The centaur felt his eardrums pop as one more, compact hook did him in.

"Go down... go down...! Go down!"

She struck him under the chin, executed a hammerfist on his snout and dismounted, only to bring him down by the neck. It snapped quietly and left her a bloody, sweating mess on the floor. In a few hours, she'd probably die from bleeding out. But that was okay, she huffed to herself, smiling wide open and choking on her surplus of blood.

She saved her friends. And she'd done alright.

Now it was time to say goodbye and bleed till morning came.

Bubblegum Grins closed her eyes and faded.

Next Chapter: Begin Again Estimated time remaining: 46 Minutes