Token Evil IC

Despite Recon's best attempts, the door spike remains in a precarious position, and Changeling A going back to kick it loose doesn't help any.

Changeling A then looks between Broken and Recon for just a moment, and focuses on Recon. It begins feasting on her energy, draining her magic.

There's a loud rattle at the door, and then with a loud BANG of green flame, a third changeling - visibly more imposing and built than the other two - rushes into the room, hissing angrily.

The infiltrator seems to have a flickering aura about it, and the two suspect it might have something to help with not being hit by attacks. Between Broken and Recon, it picks the marginally less imposing one and throws itself forward at Recon. It chomps down with sharp teeth, and with a hiss, starts drawing out energy from Recon,

Combat Wombat:

Summary
Recon takes 6 damage, Changeling A heals back 4 HP. Recon is Drained (save ends).
Recon takes 9 damage and loses 1 energy. Changeling infiltrator gains 1 energy.

Initiative order
Recon
Changeling (A)
Changeling Infiltrator
Broken <- Next
Changeling (B)

Faege wrote:"They are not going to help, my friend, because that would be - how does it go again? - 'Overkill', as the new recruits like to say." Brightheart says, carefully examining their opposition. "They are Knights of Solaria Platinum, the best of the best within the holy orders. Even I have only seen them a few times in my career."

"They work in teams of six, as you can see. Each fill a unique role, and they function as one unstoppable unit. Hmm... this could cause some problems."

"How do we get them to not cause problems?" inquires Krix...

Broken frowned a little as one of the Changeling's somehow managed to dodge his barrage and actually had the nerve to counter attack... using that bloody draining magic thing again! It was starting to get rather annoying now to feel his magic slip away... Still, he managed to keep his composer as he quickly answered the voice in his head with  his own soothing tone How could I possibly forget about you my dear? Alas it seems that Celestia cannot even prevent her own castle from being infested with bugs. I would almost be tempted to let them live to undermine her further if they weren't in our way... and so sun damn annoying.

Another bug had joined the fray that was bigger and no doubt physically stronger then the others, but Broken's attention landed on the Changeling that had tried to drain his magic... and witnessed with a degree of announce the damn bug trying to do it again, only this time on his metal meat shield. This was not going to do at all; One couldn't have bugs running around ones future castle after all.

Turning his attention to the Changeling that seemed to be trying to drain him, Broken's horn glowed brighter for a moment as three separate clouds of star filled mist left his mane... only for two of them to form themselves into two very solid, wicked looking daggers by his side. With barely a flick of his horn, the two daggers flew towards the Changeling at speed. The third cloud of star mist quickly drifted over to the metal changeling, seeping into its body as the magic went to work countering the 'drain' that the Changeling had tried to create. No sense in letting a useful meat shield go to waste after all.

Combat:

Status:

Changeling B's eyes glow once again, and with yet another impossible dodge, bends its way out of the path of the magical daggers, which disperse after solidly embedding themselves in the wall.

"It's uselessssss..." Apparently the changeling is female, as her hissing sibilant voice suggests. "We have three pairsss of eyesss covering every corner of the room. Attacksss like that will never hit ussss..."

The draining effect is more relentless now - every time it is thrown off, the prevailing green haze surrounding the changelings just latches back onto Broken and Recon, sapping away at their strength. Changeling B directs this energy towards Recon, before whipping around and biting onto Broken's leg, drawing power from him as she does so.

"No matter how ssstrong you are, we will wear you down... and crush you to bitsss..."

Combat Wombat:

Summary
Broken takes 6 damage, Changeling A heals back 3 HP. Recon is Drained (Save ends)

Initiative order
Recon <<<
Changeling (A)
Changeling Infiltrator
Broken
Changeling (B)

"I believe we should all cooperate and strike them down one at a time. If we break the links in their chain, they will crumble easily." Brightheart muses out loud. "However, we will need to make sure that just as they work as a group, we too engage in jolly cooperation."

Looking around at the others, he explains, "If they are as elite as I believe, then negotiation and bribery will not work. All that's left is glorious, honorable combat!"

The changeling was right. The three of them and their hive mind outmatched Recon and Broken in a fight.

Fortunately, Recon didn't attack with the intention of winning. She'd been commissioned to gather information and expose changelings in hiding, not confront them directly. She'd gotten all the information about these that she was going to, so it was time to punch out.

Recon's horn lit, and the air around herself and Broken shimmers as they disappear. Then Recon zips past the infiltrator and out the door, immediately donning the guise of a drone wearing Royal Guard armor as soon as she's in the corridor.

Combat Breakdown:

Status:

Broken was not happy; He was deeply frustrated! He knew how he could neglect the advantages of these lowlife creatures and finally make them suffer but he just couldn't gather the energy to use the spells required to manifest his will and make it reality because these pony shaped LEECHES kept draining him!

The very idea that he was going to be defeated by such pathetic creatures...


It would seem that his... meat shield had other plans then being bled dry by insects. As the shadows moved around his body and hers, he watched as the metal changeling disappeared from sight. Invisibility was a trick that he hadn't learned before but he wasn't about to let the opening that he had been provided close because he wasn't quick enough to take it. The nightmare magic still pumping through his body, he bolted for the open doorway, bypassing the changelings as he left the room behind. He didn't know how long the invisibility was going to last for but he was going to make the most of it before the nightmare completely faded from his system and he was forced to contend with his weakened body once again.

Dice Roll:

The two easily lose the changelings and leave the room, initially running iwth no aim but eventually starting to gravitate towards the vault, where they presume the other teams (and thus either help, or people to trick) are. Before that, however, Broken's nightmare magic runs out quickly and he reverts to his more sickly physique. They make a quick pit stop at a supply cabinet to fashion a makeshift cane, and take a quick breather while they're at it.

(Short rest - Energy returns to 4, all status effects cleared. Health remains the same unless heal checks)

Faege wrote:"I believe we should all cooperate and strike them down one at a time. If we break the links in their chain, they will crumble easily."  Brightheart muses out loud. "However, we will need to make sure that just as they work as a group, we too engage in jolly cooperation."

Looking around at the others, he explains, "If they are as elite as I believe, then negotiation and bribery will not work. All that's left is glorious, honorable combat!"

"You had me until 'glorious, honourable combat'. Can't I use a..." Krix glances at seemingly nothing while choosing not to say 'sacrificial lamb', "...scout to lure one here and deal with them. We should try to pick off as many individuals as possible before any fighting."

Normally, Recon couldn't care less about a pony's overall status. This "Broken Dreams", though, had proven useful, even if only as a pawn. So when he shrank back into this sickly colt in need of a crutch, Recon decided to humor his impairment. If anything, it gave her a moment to think.

"Changelings don't normally have hive minds like that," she says as they fashion the colt a cane. "The closest they have is a one-way channel from the queen for giving them commands, and that's all they ever need. Those changelings are using magic to create theirs. A relic, or perhaps an enchantment placed on one of the drones."

With the pony now educated and his questions quelled, Recon says, "If you're satisfied with your crutch, let's regroup with them. Quickly. I might have an idea."

After their pursuit had been lost in the hallways and tunnels of Canterlot castle, Broken allowed himself to slow down just a little... and instantly regretted it as he released his hold on the nightmarish magic that was pulsing through him to enhance his weak, pathetic body. Limbs that had only moments ago been able to gallop degraded to the point of barely being up to support his own weight within seconds while his breathing grew more haphazard as he found himself trying to catch it again. Each step forwards was measured and sent a pang of pain coursing through his system, but Broken carried on at his slow pace quietly; His pride had already suffered enough pain with his failure to stomp out a couple of annoying insects, he was not going to harm it further by crying out in pain or asking for help to walk!

Thankfully they didn't have to go far; There was an old supply cupboard right in front of them.

Taking advantage of it Broken opened it up and quickly sorted through it, prioritizing easing his ability to walk once more. While it was a far cry from the frames that he connected to all his legs to help support his weight and move akin to a normal pony, the broken off chair leg that he found was a decent enough substitute that it would do for now. With movement taken care of, Broken looked through the supplies that were available to him in order to try and patch himself up. Wouldn't be the first time after all. He offered a quick glance at the metal changeling (Even if it did appear to have flesh and blood now) and considered offering to patch up any damage it had suffered... but decided against it. Machines were beyond his field of understanding and he wasn't going to ruin a perfectly good disposable assist by his own foolishness.

As the robot started to talk, Broken offered it a respectful nod at the idea of combining their efforts... but his mind was already going in another direction. "We could do that... or we could track down where Princess Celestia currently is and inform her of the infestation in her castle, where the nest can be located and inform her of the fact that her guard around the vault has been compromised." Letting the idea hang for a moment, he quickly explained "We don't know how deep this infestation runs and an angry Alicorn is a great deal of firepower to have on ones side. It would also raise the both of us in her good graces... and give us both access to her vault when she goes there to see if anything has been taken. At which point I'll provide a distraction so you can secure what we're after and we blame the disappearance on the changelings."

With a confident little smile, Broken added "The beautiful part of this is, I can ensure that the fallout from the discovery of a changeling infestation will not only cause wide spread panic and chaos across all of Equestria but Celestia will be to busy purging her guard and government to really give a damn about what we might have to do for our... patron next." After all, all it would take was a government leak to the press to start a changeling hunt Equestria wide.

Dice Rolls:

The twins fidget as they peer at the guards. "Tough Enemies Ahead." "Therefore, try luring it out." They seem to agree with the kobold, not terribly prepared for "honorable combat" with such imposing adversaries. "And if that doesn't work, then maybe one or two of us should remain back here and try to sneak by when they're distracted with you more capable warrior types?"

"Caution... better part of valor."

Although Iota rarely indulges in stealth and subtlety, it is because it does not possess the finesse to do so rather than any sort of code of honor. Determining that honorable combat is perhaps the less optimal strategy, it nods in agreement to the others. "Agree with distraction. Disagree with sneaking. Possibly locked door... more than likely locked. After all, is vault."

It draws its sword nonetheless, gripping it securely. "But, will follow orders."

"That was actually what I was trying to do when those traitorous imbeciles captured me." She can't quite resist the urge to scoff at them. "Thousand times the moron. Fine. We'll go with your idea, but let's save your diversion. Remember that there are dozens of villains all trying to storm this castle and get into that vault at once. We'll wait and see if their fight is enough to cover breaking into the vault."

"We'll work out the details as we go. First lets find the almighty Eater of Cakes and get her off her flank before we see how things go." Broken answered before looking around, raising his ears a little as he tried to work out where Celestia was likely to be at this point in time. Hearing some kind of commotion involving her nearby would be a happy coincidence, but one didn't work in and around the palace without getting some idea of what the Princess's daily schedule was like and thus what part of the castle she was likely to be at a given time.

Dice Rolls:

Broken is almost certain he hears Princess Celestia's voice from across the hallway. Almost, 100%, certain. It's not where she usually shows up - that would be getting ready in the throne room for receiving petitioners for the day, but Broken knows Princess Celestia's voice when he hears it.

Blinking a little in surprise as he looked down the hallway at where he had sworn he had heard Celestia's voice, Broken felt the tiniest twinge of doubt. He was certain that was the sun bitch herself... but right now she should have been in the throne room, enjoying a snack and a cup of tea before having to deal with ponies whining about problems that they could figure out for themselves if they weren't mindless sheep. Yes they were dealing with changelings, but the idiotic bugs couldn't be talented enough to mimic a member of alicorn royalty so perfectly... right? He was... 99.9% certain they couldn't...

Turning to the metal one, Broken asked "Just how perfectly could a Changeling mimic...say... Princess Celestia?"

"Under normal circumstances? Not well enough to make it worth the risk. Of course, we're not dealing with changelings under normal circumstances."

Her disguise disappears, and her previous Little Walker disguise takes its place.

As she follows the voice, she says over her shoulder, "I'll find out."

An idea came to him as quick as lightning! Holding a leg out to stop the tin can's advance, Broken quickly said "Wait. If this is a trap I have a better plan." Focusing his magic, Broken's mane seemed to take on a twinge of the ethereal star linden night that it had taken before. The 'mist' started to drift from his mane, slowly coiling around itself as it slowly started to take the shape of a pony. After almost a minute of hard work to shape the form just right, the 'mist' solidified into the form of a flesh and blood pony... in fact, it looked to be the exact mirror image of Broken himself, through surprisingly in a somewhat worse condition then Broken himself; Namely that his 'clone' appeared to have an additional injury in the form of a dislocated jaw that was hanging loosely.

Broken couldn't help but feel somewhat proud as he looked at the starlight clone of himself. It was more akin to a golem then an illusion and the ability to produce such creations was a secret that no one in Canterlot was aware of... after all, it was a technique that had been created by Nightmare Moon herself before she was sealed away. Of course his usage of the spell was flawed since it was created by an alicorn with alicorn magical reserves; Nightmare Moon could spoil her creations, giving them 'personalities' and a wide range of abilities like flight or magic in order to achieve whatever her goal was while he himself couldn't match that level of flair. Still, for all intents and purposes his double with serve his intention rather well... but first...

Glancing back at the supply cupboard, he looked to see if he could locate something to write on and something to write with. While his creation couldn't talk (the broken jaw was to justify it being silent), he could still telepathically puppet it to write what he wanted it too. No harm in having all bases covered if this turned out to be the real Celestia after all. "You see a quill and paper anywhere in there?" He asked his companion.

Abilities and Dice Rolls:

Recon looks at the construct, then at Broken.

"You're going to test her sympathy?"

She had something snarky to follow that, but decided against voicing it. Instead, she continues forward toward the voice, until she is close enough to make out what it was saying.

Broken scoffed a little at the tin can's question. "You say that like its a bad thing." Shaking his head a little at the foolishness of the robot, he felt the need to explain "When you suspect that there is a bear trap set up in the tall grass, you don't walk in and hope for the best. You get a long stick and try to set it off from a distance." Smiling a little as he found the required writing tools that the 'clone' required in order to write down whatever he told it to, Broken gave them to said body double before introducing him as "Meet Stick." With a quick telepathic command, he ordered the construct to start making its way towards where the sound of Celestia had come from... making sure to stress his manner of walking in order to add to the illusion.

Looking between his allies, Brightheart shrugs and steps back. "It is not my usual way, but you all are hardly usual company. Very well - I see the wisdom in your plan. Let us proceed with the distraction, then, so that we may clobber the poor fool who comes a knocking."

Krix reaches an arm out into the air, and pulls a kobold from nowhere, the small reptile making a quiet yelp as it is seemingly forced into existence. Krix wraps an arm around the kobold and points to the corner. "Behind this corner is six specialised guards," Krix whispers to the kobold, showing six digits to his minion, "Make yourself known, and lure one or two of them here. If three of more of them chase you, go a different direction and just keep running, understand?"

(Mook (4/5 Uses Remaining))

The kobold squeaks nervously, but ventures forth nonetheless, rounding the corner and facing whatever grim fate it possesses.

There's a thump, a squeak, a muffled "Oi!", and then an earsplitting crack of thunder and lightning, and the kobold sprints back around the corner as quickly as its little legs can carry it, its front slightly singed from what seems to be a near miss from a lightning bolt. A moment later, one of the pegasi rounds the corner as well, with a murderous glint in his eyes - which quickly turns to shock, and recognition, as he sees the assembled group.

There's a brief window of opportunity as the pegasus processes the scene before him, just about to open his mouth and warn the others.

---

The clone marches forward, towards the source of Celestia's voice, as Recon tails it at a distance, trying to parse what Celestia is saying.

Then a set of massive teeth, looking exactly like the material of the walls and ceiling, snaps shut around the clone, and Recon realizes that 'Celestia' wasn't really saying anything in particular - it's perfect mimicry of her voice, but the words are completely nonsense, only appearing legitimate if one didn't pay attention. There's also no Celestia at all, just a disembodied voice.

Also, holy shit, the corridor grew a jaw.

It opens again, and the teeth disappear back into the ceiling and floor, revealing the same old corridor sans clone, like nothing had happened at all.

Recon watches the...teeth?...retract in shock.

The castle just ate a zombie.

Still otherwise frozen where she stands, Recon extends her horn (not bothering to alter her earth-pony appearance to compensate) and scans the area in front of her with her magic. Then she retracts the horn, spins in place, and plods back to Broken.

"It wasn't her." She glances around, and leans in to whisper. "The Royal Guards and the fellows we just escaped from might have heard you scream like a little filly just now, so it might be good for us to not be here if they come to investigate."

Rolls: