Style Quest: Varick to the Future

In 20XX, Neo Drakethorpe fell to the Gevudan virus. Once the nanobots breached containment on Eventide, they quickly started converting organics and machines into vile amalgamations of their previous forms. Now, one resistance group stands against the tide of nanobots to stitch the world back to how it used to be. With grim determination, the TAILORS fight against the growing army of cyborgs. Agent N-7 Varick was a mahogany-furred Clydesdale with a yellow mane and tail, wearing a dark blue vest accented with a lighter blue shirt and darker pants. The clothes looked normal in the light, but in the dark, glowing magitech lines could be seen running through the suit.

 

“Agent N-7 reporting to the Boutique,” Varick quietly said as he ducked behind a wall. A soft button press on his earpiece made a blue translucent hologram of a visor screen appear in front of the horse’s eyes. “Sectors seven and eight have fallen to some new machine the virus has evolved. At this rate…” Before the TAILOR could finish his transmission, the screen went red with a warning as several drone-like cyborgs appeared overhead.

 

With practiced ease, Varick pulled his laser pistol from inside his vest. Glowing red and blue lights accented the black metal gun. With the assistance of the visor, three carefully aimed shots quickly dispatched the drones. Varick started running down the streets as he pulled several gun parts from his vest. Those were just scouts, meaning larger ones with laser shields were coming. When fully assembled, the laser pistol looked more like an oversized crossbow that Varick affectionately referred to as the Needle Caster.

 

A loud crash sounded as the new sector boss burst through a building into the horse’s path. At one time, this cyborg monstrosity might have been a linnorm, but all of the machine parts grafted to it by the Gevudan virus made a huge horror almost unrecognizable. With the press of a green button, the Needle Caster hummed to life. Varick pulled the trigger rapidly, firing a dozen hand-sized needles whose paths curved and twisted, seeking out their target. Knowing these wouldn’t do much more than annoy his attacker, the TAILOR ducked behind a pile of debris. Not a moment too soon, the linnorm cyborg fired a laser barrage.

 

“Agent N-7 to Boutique! I need an airstrike on my location,” Varick shouted as he read the analysis of the enemy on his visor screen. There were no obvious weak points, and the seeker needles barely scratched the armor.

 

“Sorry, Agent N-7, we can’t launch an airstrike for about five minutes,” a feminine voice answered as a static of a snow leopard with blue and green heterochromatic eyes. “Get out of there. It’s too dangerous to hold that thing off for that long.” Agent N-9 Raine was right; it was too dangerous to fight this thing, but there was no way to evade this monstrosity.

 

“Copy that, Agent Raine,” Varick growled as he hit the brown button on the Needle Caster. Peeking around the edge of the debris, the TAILOR fired several needles that struck the giant cyborg with the force of a projectile with the power of an object ten times their size. Each needle dented its target’s armor before knocking the linnorm monstrosity onto its back. As he turned to run, a battalion of soldier-class cyborgs blocked Varick’s path. With a press of the blue button on the Needle Caster, the TAILOR fired a rapid-fire barrage of frozen needles that quickly cut down the robot hybrids.

 

The sky turning red above Varick signaled that the linnorm cyborg was back up and charging its lasers. With his cover already decimated, the Clydesdale emptied the Needle Caster of all the rapid-fired ice needles to no effect. All the projectiles bounced off the armor of the mechanical monstrosity. None of the hard-hitting brown needles remained in the weapon, and the seekers didn’t have much effect. In desperation, Varick overcharged the magitech circuits in his clothes before redirecting all the energy to a translucent shield that appeared before him.

 

“M-3’s calculations better be correct on this one,” the blonde horse swore as he braced behind the shield. A large barrage of lasers bounced off the barrier before a massive bunker-busting laser cannon fired. Alerts lit up all over Varick’s visor as the shield started failing under this heavy attack’s intense heat. “Come on. Hold for just a few more moments.” The shield did just that and held up for a few more moments, but it wasn’t long enough. As the shield failed, the TAILOR fell prone, narrowly avoiding the beam weapon.

 

Rolling on his onto his back, Varick hit the red button on his Needle Caster. All the tech in his clothes and visor had failed. In a bad position and out of options, the TAILOR pulled the trigger and emptied his weapon of all the ammo inside. Needles burning with blue and purple flame struck the linnorm cyborg up and down its body. Armor melted, and flame lit up like a beacon. The exact thing needed for the Boutique to launch its air strike that had just come online. While his opponent was reeling from the flame, Varick ran for his life, sliding into an empty building as the volley of missiles struck home. Explosions rocked the vacant building briefly before the Clydesdale dared to peak out.

 

“Agent N-7 to Boutique. The target has been destroyed. Returning to base,” Varick reported as his visor flared back to life. He started the long jaunt through the back alleys and rooftops to home base. Agent M-3 would be angry that Varick had used up all his expensive ammo again, but they had destroyed a sector victory, so maybe she’d cut him some slack this time.