# Snoot Queen

Title: Snoot Queen
Status: Complete
Characters: Anon, Fang, Stella
Rating: SFW
Classification: One Shot
Author: F4L
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A torrent of red energy fills the air, promising destruction to anything it touches. A slender figure gracefully leaps behind a metallic pillar to take cover from the onslaught. Using the moment of respite, she focuses on the weapon in her hands. The gun is engulfed with a bright orange glow, a symbol of the raw power its wielder commands. Before the weapons fury can be unleashed, the owner is charged by dozens of seething machines. They care not for losses and move with a singular purpose, to expunge the intruder. Many are cut down, but for every one blown to bits, two more take their place. When enough of the metallic monstrosities are close enough to the woman, they simultaneously self-destruct.
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The force of the explosions sends her clear across the room into her companion. The man instinctively grabs hold of her and retreats under the covering fire of the rest of the group. The machines sense an opportunity and unleash everything they have. Their efforts are fruitless, as the man carrying to woman forms an impenetrable bubble shielding the entire group. Even the woman, her body all but broken by the suicidal robots, has begun recovering. Shrapnel wounds disappear, her mangled wings regain their splendor, the damaged visor protecting her amber eyes becoming like new.
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Everyone begins focusing their firepower on the machine's leader. A bipedal metal horror larger than a house and with weapons powerful enough to level them. Yet the imposing monstrosity is no match for the group. After several seconds of being bombarded by all manners of explosives and fantastical abilities, it explodes in a shower of sparks and metal. Without their leader, the smaller machines prove no match and are quickly mopped up.
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"Well? What do you think?"
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"It was kind of fun, but you said the game had great music. I heard nothing for most of the fight, Anon."
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Before I can begin uttering the phrase 'smol indie company' the sound of an angry Stella fills our ears.
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"God damn it! Another week without it dropping! Fuck bongo and fuck this game!"
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Fang gives me a puzzled look, "What's she talking about?"
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"Doesn't matter. Let's go see what you got."
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Fang moves her character to the final boss chest. Next to it are two dodecahedrons. One purple and one yellow. The moment Fangs' character passes over the yellow one Stellas' anger increases tenfold.
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"Come the fuck on, on her first clear?! Fucking typical!"
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Stellas' shouting is replaced with the sound of plastic hitting a wall and a frustrated scream in the distance. Some days I wasn't sure if Stella was just pretending for the viewers or if she genuinely had anger issues.
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Every step on the gruesome surface threatens to either pull off or simply dissolve her boots. The woman's black armor was slick with gore. Venturing inside the eldritch abomination was, unfortunately, necessary to end its life. Only one task remained, bringing the artifact to their allies. It needed to be purified or the nightmare would never end. A member of the team picked up the stone and everyone else followed them up and out of the creature's gullet.
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The courier made it to the end of the gigantic tongue, when they vanished, leaving the artifact behind. Another member picked it up and the group continued onward. Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Immediately after exiting the gigantic monster, they were set upon by dozens of lesser creatures. A horde of twisted, twitching shapes covered in black ink charged them, determined to avenge their master. The un-burdened members provided covering fire while the runner focused on placing one foot in front of the other. Not long after, the second artifact carrier was plucked away by an unseen force.
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The woman suddenly felt an overwhelming need to pick up the orb. Unable to fight her compulsion she grabbed it and continued the previous runners' journey. Her mind was flooded by promises of wealth, power, and prestige. Anything and everything, all she needed to do was wish it. Thankfully, before she caved, the woman was transported to a different place. The same place her compatriots were sent to.
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They were desperately trying to push back the black tide that threatened to drown them. The woman focused on her anger and let it blossom. From her wings erupted hundreds of molten knives, each finding their mark in one of the inky monstrosities. Seconds later the black wave crashed back into the trio. From the churning mass rose a towering horror. It roared and spewed forth a torrent of flame at them. Her two companions were hit dead-on by the attack and expired within moments. The woman collapsed on her back, both legs and left arm ruined from the creature's attack. Suddenly, the black monstrosity shifted and was right upon her, its massive blade high above its head and ready to cleave her in twain. Before it could bring down the blade, the creature was slammed into by a bright blue comet, or rather a man temporarily transformed into one.
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He pulled the woman on her already mended feet and moved to where one of their comrades had fallen. She went to the other and focused what little power she had left. In a few seconds, her teammate was standing before the woman, good as new, and mad as hell. For a few moments, it seemed like they could hold back the waves of nightmares. Yet, the atmosphere became increasingly oppressive and began sapping everyone's strength.
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Even the fifth members' appearance did little to help the situation. Their weapons ran out of ammo and were only good as bludgeons. The woman leaped on the back of a towering horror threatening to crush the man that saved them not even a minute ago. She tore at its throat with her claws in mad desperation, with little effect. Before the giant could bring down its foot a blinding light engulfed the area. The last member made it to their allies just in the nick of time, saving the rest from certain death.
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"I can't believe it! We won!"
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Fang was ecstatic at our triumph. As much as it pained me to give bongo money, seeing her so thrilled was worth it.
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"Yeah, yeah. Whoop-de-do."
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Stella was far less pleased. The green steggo was starting to regret she convinced Fang to stream the game. Stella never expected Fang to exceed her viewer record in the few hours we were playing.
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"Anyway, Fang, how are you enjoying your newfound celebrity status?"
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"My what?"
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"Don't play dumb, just look at how many people have tuned in."
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Fang takes a glance at her streams stats, "Oh, is five hundred a lot?"
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Stella stops talking, but from her angry muttering, it's clear she's still upset about getting upstaged so easily. I send her a text promising I'll fix this.
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"You did great babe."
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Hearing my voice sends Fangs' stream chat into a panic. The moment I appear on camera and pull her into a tight hug, the viewer numbers drop like a stone. Works every time.
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Absolute chaos fills the once pristine hallway. Metal bends and warps, pipes rupture and spill their contents, stray gunfire pokes holes in the walls causing hundreds of small atmospheric leaks. Six figures run frantically towards the slowly closing blast door on the other side of the hallway.
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They are pursued by dozens of insectoid creatures, all hell-bent on taking them down with them. With their pursuers rapidly gaining on them, the midnight-clad woman leaps into the air. Power courses through her and a bow of pure energy materializes in her hands. She lets loose a single arrow, instantly killing the first creature it hits. The thing's corpse doesn't even hit the ground before tendrils burst out of it and shackle every other pursuer. The beings struggle to break free, granting the fleeing party precious seconds to get to the almost closed blast door.
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One by one, the group ducks and slides through the ever-narrowing opening. The woman is the last one among them to pass through. She tucks her wings to her body and just barely manages to slip under the bulkhead before it fully closes. Moments later, there is a pounding heard from the other side of the door, followed by a loud crash. Another loud impact quickly follows, this time slightly deforming the blast door.
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The beast on the other side can rage all it wants, it doesn't have long anyway. The team was assured this room would somehow allow them to survive the crash. Strapping in and hoping they weren't deceived is all they can do right now. A large hand grabs the black-armored woman by hers and gives it a reassuring squeeze. Seconds later everyone is knocked unconscious as the station makes violent contact with the icy moon's surface.
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An unknown amount of time passes, but finally, there is movement inside the twisted wreckage. The woman pushes herself up from the floor, vision blurred and ears ringing. Her teammates also begin showing signs of life and together they slowly make their way out of the wreckage.
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A little while later the group reaches a small clearing strewn with the guts of the deorbited space station. They walk past a particularly large pile of scrap, which suddenly explodes, revealing the creature they were escaping also survived the fall, although not unscathed. Its lower body was replaced with a hovering mechanical platform. The cybernetic abomination screams with rage and charges the group.
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At first, all weapons seem ineffective against the mechanical horror until a lucky shot hits one of the platforms' engines. With its weak point identified, the six quickly get to work. Before long, all the other engines are destroyed and the thing crashes to the ground. Static fills the air and within moments several large pieces of scrap are flying through the air towards the group. An unlucky member doesn't dodge a hunk of magnetized iron in time and is knocked unconscious.
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The black-armored woman begins running towards the creature, deftly dodging the metal storm determined to cut her to pieces. She leaps over the crippled monstrosity as it tries to slice her to ribbons with its metal claws. The woman plants her shotgun to the base of the alien's neck and pulls the trigger. Hunks of metal crash into the ground, no longer held aloft by the twisted alien, its head slumping forward as it hopefully expires once and for all.
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"Eat it, bitch!"
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Fangs' joyous expression is mirrored on Stellas' stream. This time, she is just part of it, instead of having her own. Something about not stealing the steggos viewers. The ptero looks at her phone to check Stellas' chat. One viewer has proclaimed he was 'Fangs' little pogchamp', whatever that meant. An argument quickly broke out, many other viewers were not willing to give up the coveted title without a fight.
Fang puts down her controller and embraces me. Just as we're settling in for a cuddling session she can't help but ask something that has been bothering her for a while.
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"Anon, what's a 'pogchamp'?"