The Eternal Nightmare[Closed]

Nova watched the pack of ghouls get significantly smaller from their efforts rather quickly. Nova also noticed that two of the ghould had actually breached the defences and were now heading towards the defender(s).

Nova brought her hunting rifle to once again aim at one of them, before firing another single shot at one of the advancing ghouls, hoping that it would be enough to slow it or finish it off, depending on the situation.

{Firing Hunting Rifle at Ghoul 3 , Guns: 64 , Using 16AP }

Atriark quickly ejected the nearly empty magizine and quickly loaded in a new one. He set his iron sights on the two ghouls inside the fortress and fired, spraying bullets at them.

(Guns 55. Firing at Ghoul 3 then 7 if/when Ghoul 3 dies. 3 bursts 36 AP.)

Arc and Nova pulled the trigger like one, firing at the same time and the same target, one of the two remaining ghouls running into the fort. And like one they fired, like one they hit, the bullet from the rifle blowing off it's front left leg, and the slow globs of plasma that followed finishing the work, turning the creature into green, steaming sludge, burning a hole to the wagon on which it got splashed by the conservation of momentum. Nevertheless, this left the other one galloping inside the fort, and lunging for the poor zebra that held it.

Before Atriark could pull the gun towards the intruder and blast him apart, the ghoul got too close and started to bite and kick, a ferocious attack without any finesse, one of only pure anger and hate of everything. Atriark skilfully dodged all but one attack, getting slammed to the temple. Then the ghoul staggered, being thrown off balance by how his hoof stopped on Atriark's skull, and the zebra through the mild concussion saw the opportunity, pressed the SMG to it's head and pulled the trigger.

On the other side of the cartfort, Spectrum and Violet were still dancing with the two remaining ghouls. Flash, seeing Spectrum get hurt, sent a precise shot towards both of the ghouls. It was enough for one of them, but the had still enough fight left in him to stand back after the shot, going after Spectrum. This gave Violet enough time to get close again, and the ghoul suddenly found itself without front hooves, and soon, its life.


Battlefield report
All ghouls dead.
Atriark lost 13 HP, now has 213/226 HP
Spec has 172/223 HP

Magazine status(Listed are only weapons without FULL magazines)

Arc Weld
Plasma Rifle[8/12]

Atriark
.45 SMG[12/30]

Lightning Flash
Sniper Rifle[1/5]

Nova Surge
Hunting Rifle[3/5]

Rad Boom
Twin Assault Carbines 2x[4/24]

Shooting Spectrum
Plasma Pistol[13/16]

The second the two ghouls near Spectrum were taken down and the situation had calmed down, Lightning quickly got up, folded his bipod neatly, tossed it on his back, before unfolding his wings and leaping into the air. Speeding up quickly, the pegasus flew over to Violet and Spectrum, "Spectrum! Spec! Are you ok?!" Naturally, his tone was rather panicked.

Looking over his marefriend, he could see that she had a wound bleeding on her wing. Pulling out a clean cloth from his saddlebag, the pegasus knew a little about medicine, thanks to his mother who was a doctor. However, it was better that he let Violet or Winter take care of Spectrum. The least he could do, though, was pick up her gun and clean it. He will do that once he knew Spectrum was going to be ok.

As the last of the ghouls were killed the mare let out a sigh that turned into deep breathing rhythmical in and out making her shoulders rise and fall as she stay rooted to her spot. As Flash approached her she swiftly turned glaring at a carcass of a ghoul before giving it a swift buck making a wave of pain erupt from her torso but finding it all worth while despite it not even moving a inch other than to sift slightly.

With that fit of rage done she turned to face Flash, a snarl on her face still seething from the events that went down and her mind nagging her on the germs that must be breeding and multiplying in her wing, But seeing the concern in Flash's eyes she didn't lash out at the him, but at the same time she stood rigid and un-responsive in her shock. The only thing breaking it when he put the temporary bandage on her wing, looking from him to her wing she finally broke the hold her germaphobia had on her and in one deep exhale her whole body shuttered as her knees nearly gave out beneath her and her eyes burned with un-shed tears.

She knew full well this was the land they lived in now since leaving the stables as such she knew she her wounds were nothing new, giving Flash a big smile she picked herself up mentally standing straight "Thank you Flash, I only need a little pick me up and I'll be fine" She felt woozy and the pain emanating from her ribs discouraged her from moving or raising her voice "Can we call over someone to check me out, don't feel like moving till I have a once over" she smiled through the pain trying to play it off to Flash seeing how upset her battered up state made him a mess of a Stallion.

_________Quick Update HUD_______________
HP: 172/223
DT: 13
-- OUTFIT EFFECT: +5Melee, +5 Gun

AMMO:
Firefly -- 60 - 0 = 60shots
--- 5 Full clips
Plasma Pistol -- 16 - 3 = 13shots
--- 4 full clips

Arc mentally cheered when the ghoul dissipated into a green sludge. Then, hearing the burst followed by sudden silence, he looked on the cartfort, contemplating the possibilities. He rolled on his back and looked at Nova.

"Nova! Cover me, I'll go take a closer look, see if the ghoul inside is dead!" said Arc in a shushed tone. Not waiting for response, afraid that there might not be time to be lost, he rolled back on all four, placed the plasma rifle on his back and unslinged the repeater, a much better weapon for closer range. He then got up and dashed to the fort, taking cover near the entrance, looking at Nova to see if she saw anything from her position.

Flash wouldn't need to call out for some pony to help Spectrum. Winter had seen her get hurt and quickly rushed to her aid. "Let me see" she said softly before she looked to Flash, giving him the look which said 'Cover us'. She took a look at the bite first, it was deep but not fatal and fortunately ghouls didn't carry any kind of disease, not that it meant it couldn't become infected. She took out a medium strength potion before levitating it to Spectrum, "Drink this and you should be alright, take a break before getting back into the fight, ok?" she said, making sure the Pegasus drank the whole potion.

(Medicine: 100, +85 nat (+) +100 potion = +185 points healed. Combat Medic: +5 defense while healing)

Lightning knew how much Spectrum hated to be dirty and get infected with germs. So, there was no doubt that she hated the ghouls for biting her. But she probably was in a bit of pain after getting kicked and bleeding. He was thankful that his presense had made her snap out of her rage and calm down. The pegasus couldn't help but let out a low sigh of relief before smiling gently back at her. "Just hang on, you'll be ok."

As if on cue, Winter quickly ran over and took over the healing process. The look he got from the unicorn already conveyed the message that she wanted which was cover. Lightning didn't mind doing that. His skills wasn't in healing but in combat. A dark and bloody skill but his skill nonetheless. Drawing his .45 pistol and standing guard, he kept a close watch to their surroundings, glancing anxiously back to Spectrum and Winter now and again.

Once the sound of gun fire died, the Stable 113 zebra reloaded his SMG, slid it under his saddle bag, and went to retrieve his Hunting Rifle. Atriark hopped off the car stack he was on and found his .308 by it's base.

After checking to make sure nothing broke, he slung it over his back and headed for the small, makeshift gate to the Car Fort. Atriark drew his SMG once more and had it out as he pushed the door open slowly.

Arc, standing next to the entrance, saw the door slowly start to open. He motioned to Nova to cover him and stepped closer to the door, staying silent, seeing how the SMG poked from the door, RPCW aimed along his head in case the person stepping from the cartfort will be hostile.

Darn. Please don't tell me we got Spectrum harmed just to save a raider...

Atriark pushed the door open with his gun and stepped out of the Car Fort. He was hesitant, not sure if those who had killed the ghouls were friendly or hostile. He had completely forgotten to bring up his EFS in his mad dash from the ghouls and into the Car Fort, so he was running blind so to speak.

Stepping out he was greeted with a barrel of a laser rifle aimed at his head. Atriark took a instinctive step back, his .45 SMG pointed at the unicorn holding the rifle.

He heard him. Fuck. Arc hoped to get him unawares, but that plan went down the drain, seeing how the head with SMG in its mouth turned his way. The magical field around the prism repeater started to shift around the trigger, starting to press on it.

The signal from the eyes reached the brain, and the neural patterns let an image of a familiar zebra emerge in Arc's mind.
Oh. Fuck. No no no.

The field stopped depressing the trigger just in time. His eyes stared at Atriark, the head thinking of how close it was from killing a friend. The repeater shifted away and pointed to the sky, away from the zebra.

"Atriark."

The shock passed.

"Atri! You... what happened? I though you... are you okay?"

Atriark quickly shoved his SMG under his saddle bag when he heard a familiar voice, having nearly dropped it in surprise. "Arc? What are you doing here? What? What did you think happened to me?" the zebra runt asked, speaking fast. He didn't care, he was glad that somepony had saved him.

Arc let out a sight, calming down. He floated the repeater to his back and fastened the sling. "Not relevant now. Anyone else in there, hurt?"

Arc turned around and waved hoof towards Nova on the hill, signalling all clear for her, motioning to come down.

"I thought that... you just didn't showed up, because... I don't know. Really, didn't wanted to think why you were not coming. Glad that you are alive." he said, smiling at Atriark.

Nova nodded as she watched Arc move towards where the ghouls were attacking just moments ago. She watched as e drew closer and kept her sights trained on the entrance. As Arc entered she could simply watch and wait for now. When Arc signalled the all clear she nodded and rather than walking down the hill simply flew to his location, noticing the one they had saved was Ark. Nova smiled to them both slightly as she landed, despite the situation.

"Good to see you Ark. Good thing we got here when we did."

"I'm sorry I didn't show Arc. I wanted to. But no, there are no other survivors. Ghouls got to somepony 'round back." He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Hey Nova... Arc, who's all with you?"

Arc closed his eyes, leaned on the wall of the cartfort with his side and sighed. "So another victim of 'Too late' again..." "Well... Flash and Winter you know, Atri. Then there's me and Nova. Then Shooting Spectrum, Rad Boom, Night Shade and Violet. I needed to move with the plan, so... well, we set out without you. Thought you decided to ditch it, or had some more important things to do... Listen Atri, I'm sorry. I really am."

Arc took a deep breath and stood back up, looking at Atriark. "Listen... I still want you on this... how are you feeling? I could always use someone like you with me, if you are in shape to go with us."

Violet sat on a rock and watched Winter work on fixing up Spectrum. She could tell the older mare was better at medicine then she was. That was fine, she was still the sneakiest pony around. She could contribute that to the group.

Her glowy, silver eyes kept a lookout for any other nasty critters coming to snack on their flanks. Liz walked up to her while she did this, the young gecko sensing that the fight was over. She merely gave the lizard a smile before pulling out a cloth. Humming to herself, she started cleaning the blood and gore off of her blade, getting it to a satisfactory cleanness before sliding it back into its holster by her flank and waiting for everypony else to get ready to move on.

Atriark looked around and then to Nova before turning to Arc. "I'm fine. Just took a hoof to the side of the head. I'm lucky you and your group showed up, or else I'd be ghoul food. So, helping you is the least I could do. You don't have to be sorry Arc. You arrived when and you saved my life. Mourn the equine lost, but don't blame yourself for his death. That is my burden. His death wasn't any fault of yours." Atriark got a distant look in his eyes and patted Arc's shoulder and headed towards the group Arc had assembled, a limp in his step.

"Yeah... got here just in time..." said Arc, finishing the sentence with a sight that almost looked like his body deflated a little. "Well... I guess we're staying for the night, the weather is getting worse and worse, day is almost done..."

Arc walked away from the two, took a deep breath and yelled. "EVERYONE! IF I CAN HAVE YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE!"

Provided the others would come, Arc would have said. "Alright... seems we got them all and this place is relatively secure. We're staying overnight, so... well, there's still some sunlight left. If you want to, you can go look around, or hit the hay inside, up to you. I'll stick around to see if the place could get more secure for the night. Or at least try to fix the gate."

Lightning kept a close eye to his surroundings but seeing Arc move to the gate of the fortress, his curiosity got the best of him and he began to gaze in that direction. Surprisingly, only one familiar zebra came out. 'Atriark,' he thought to himself, giving a small smile. The second Winter finished her healing on Spectrum, the pegasus holstered his pistol and gave the pegasus mare a quick hug. Turning to Winter, he gave her a nod and a smile, "Thank you."

Soon after, Arc Weld called out to them and with a quick wave of his head, Lightning walked over to the others. Bowing his head to the newest addition to the group, he would say, "Well, well, well. Hello, Atriark. It is certainly good to see you. Looks like we arrived in the nick of time as well."

The blue stallion would perk his ears up to listen to what Arc wanted and as much as he would love to sleep early to make up for what he didn't get in the morning, he knew that he would have to stay up to keep the others safe. Especially considering he was one of the few ponies that had long-ranged weapons and plus, he had experience in being a guard. Lightning nodded lightly toward the brown unicorn, "Arc, I can stay up tonight and keep an overwatch on the top of the wall. Not the first time I have stayed up all night. Being a guard for Stableton once, I know what to look for. Plus, I got this rifle to keep the enemy at bay."

Arc looked up and watched the rain for a moment, before looking at Flash and smiling a slightly tired smile. "No Flash, get some sleep. I appreciate this, but I depend on you to be alert tomorrow. I'm not in a mood to sleep anyway, after what Atri just told me... I'll be watching."

Arc tapped the plasma rifle on his back and chuckled. "And this has some pretty decent reach too, no need to worry."

Violet’s silver eyes turned to the structure as Arc informed everypony that they’d be staying for the night. She wasn’t exactly a pony prone to going to bed early, in fact she was usually up rather late at times, it was easier to skulk around and sneak up on ponies at night. So she knew she’d have plenty to of time to look around, even after most of the other ponies slept.

“Hmm...Alright! Liz?” she turned to her gecko. “Why don’t you go out and find a nice radroach or something while everypony gets settled in, get something to eat.” The gecko growled in response before turning around heading out to find something to eat.

Smiling, Violet turned back to the cartfort and trotted inside. While everypony else undoubtedly got set up for the night, the filly looked around the fort, exploring and seeing of the previous occupants left anything useful or interesting for her to find.

Nova noticed Arc's behaviour, thinking a little as she listened to him speak, remaining quiet herself. When he announce they were staying, Nova nodded before she flapped her wings and took to the air. Before flying off, she spoke.

"Going to do a quick sweep of the area, check there are no more ghouls." Nova then quickly took off and continued to think as she looked.

Nova knew something was up with Arc and wanted to help. She knew he needed it right now. And also knew that he probably didn't.

Rad saw the last few ghouls go down, it had gone pretty smoothly apart from Spectrum getting hurt, but it looked as though Winter had that covered. He dropped down out of the sky and landed near the fort. "Stayin here eh? Sounds like a plan." He looked at the makeshift fortress, it was nice and defendable at least.