“I’m telling you, olive oil.” The green stallion said. “Works every time!”

“Bentgrass, are you pulling my leg?” The other stallion replied. “That’s useful for rashes?”

“Of course, Critical!” Bentgrass waved a dismissive hoof. “Baking soda works too, but that’s impossible to find.”

Aurora leaned against the wall she was hiding behind, listening as these two blathered on about useless nonsense. Wrecking Ball sat beside her, staying alert for any unwanted observers. Despite being spread thin by their aggressive expanding and raider problems, their headquarters remained well defended. Their boss took security very seriously, knowing any lapse might mean his life. Much to Aurora’s relief, the Cosas had placed little protection on this area, finding its defense not as vital preferring more to defend their boss instead.

Come on, switch already. Their plan hinged on their inside pony opening the door for them. She knew killing these random guards wasn’t an option. It would cause too much attention. Her stand hovered ready for trouble but preserved it as a last resort if their stealth failed.

The Cosas’ security impressed Aurora. Thick steel bars on every window, each entrance guarded by two armed ponies, constant patrols, and strategically placed torrents to cause intruders trouble. They placed the little buggers in blind spots to catch intruders unaware. Unlike the Enclave, the criminal gang didn’t have cameras, but it hardly mattered.

After suffering through another hour of Bentgrass’s inanity, a new stallion and a mare walked up to the guards. Bentgrass and his cohort waved hello.

“Time to leave already?” Bentgrass stretched his limbs. “Felt shorter. Been well, Icon? The wife had a new foal, right? Congrats.”

Critical’s eyes light up. “Really? You lucky son of a gun!”

“Well.” Icon rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed.

“You must tell us all about it!” Bentgrass pulled Icon close, eager to hear the story.

“Uh, is this appropriate, we’re still on watch?” The other guard with Icon asked.

“Why not? It’s a slow night and we can keep you company!” Bentgrass’s mouth broke into a wide grin. “Nowhere else to be, anyway.”

“Same.” Critical added. “We can stay all night.”

Celestia, give me strength! By waving her hooves, getting Icon’s attention. Her hooves made a cutting gesture, trying to remind the stallion of their mission.

“I’ll tell you later.” Icon said. “Best not keep you from your bed.”

“Nonsense, I’m not tired. Come on, spill the beans already!”

Aurora facehooved and looked to Wrecking Ball for guidance. He only shrugged his shoulders. They’d gone through several hurdles to get these two specific guards to watch this entrance. Waiting another day wasn’t an option, or at least not a desirable one.

“Sides, there’s a crazed killer on the loose!” Bentgrass shook his head. “Ponies can’t walk alone nowadays. More than ever, I’m glad I joined the Cosas. Somepony has to protect ponies from the chaos!”

Icon fought back his frustration when an idea popped in his head. “If you aren’t tired, how about you patrol the streets? With you on the job, the killer doesn’t stand a chance.”

Bentgrass’s eyes widened in realization. “Dear Celestia, you’re right! Gotta dash. Zinnia needs me!” Without another word, he zipped away. Critical waved an awkward goodbye before also leaving.

“Thank goodness!” Aurora flew into view, approaching her contacts.

“Annoying, right? At least with ponies like him inside the Cosas, they won’t be much of a threat.” Icon’s voice contained obvious disdain. He was a lanky unicorn stallion but carried himself with confidence with a ruthless glint in his eyes.

“Our time is short.” Wrecking Ball said. “Where’s Robin? I saw him wandering around the halls twenty minutes ago.”

Icon scratched his chin. “Last I saw him, he was heading towards the lounge getting some coffee. He hasn’t been sleeping well the last few days and staying later than usual. I’ll call if he comes this way.” The stallion gestured to his walkie talkie.

Aurora gave an appreciative nod before entering the compound with Wrecking Ball. The building used to be a school before the war, but it surprised her how many student lockers remained in the hallway. In fact, except for its rundown appearance, a pony would never guess a criminal gang used it as a base of operation. She asked Wrecking Ball about this.

“That’s Cosa Nostra for you.” Wrecking Ball replied. “It’s a slight psychological trap to lure the intruder into a fall sense of security. Don’t let it fool you. This place is deadly.”

Aurora nodded, and the sight of smiling flowers on the walls unnerved her. The hidden traps slowed their progress. It put Aurora on edge, fearing Cosas thugs stomping into their path at any moment. As warned, torrents hid everywhere, usually in random lockers. If one looked closely, a slight red light glowing from the locker’s slits. It took them four times as long to pass through the hallways. Worse, some corridors were impassable because of death traps.

From the corner of her vision, she noticed a dim light move their way. After taking to the air, she grabbed Wrecking Ball, hiding on top of some lockers, flatting themselves against the wall. She hoped the darkness would hide them if the sentry wasn’t looking too carefully. Wrecking Ball grabbed his weapon, ready to kill the pony if pushed. She’d rather fail the mission than get killed or caught. A yawn escaped the pony and Aurora recognized the pony’s voice. It was Robin again.

Such a pain. Maybe Wrecking Ball is right and we should just kill him.

She thanked Celestia the stallion didn’t search around, instead heading towards the bathrooms.

“I doubt we have long,” Aurora whispered, “how much further to the computer room.”

“Just down this hallway, first door.” Wrecking Ball pointed towards a corridor going left. The door quickly slid behind them as they entered.

The room was full of terminals of various models, obviously scavenged from elsewhere. Impressive tech for wastelanders.

While Wrecking Ball searched for a suitable terminal, Aurora asked a question that burned in the back of her mind. “Why so many?”

“Cosa Nostra is trying to salvage as much data as possible.” Wrecking Ball walked up to one of the newer, more pristine models and turned it on. He surrounded it with a black cloth to hide the monitor’s light. “He’s saving whatever history and data he can for prosperity.”

Aurora’s eyes widened in shock. “Really?”

“He’s criminal scum, but even he sees the value in history and science.” Wrecking Ball replied. “He fancies himself to build a technological empire.”

“Is he thinking of ponykind’s future, or wants only power?”

Wrecking Ball shrugged. “Maybe both? Hard to say with his type.”

Could he become a threat to the Enclave? If the surface gained a technological empire, what should the Enclave do about it? Destroy it before it becomes a threat? Yet, that might destroy hope of ever rebuilding society on the surface. She stopped that line of thought and shook her head. Why was she worrying about this? She was a soldier. This was a topic for politicians and admirals to decide. Focus on the mission.

She watched as her partner clicked away at the keyboard. She had scant knowledge of computers, leaving Wrecking Ball to his specialty. It took several minutes, but he finally broke through the terminal’s security.

The stallion wore a smug smile. “See, told you they’re security wasn’t up to snuff. Okay Robin, what have you found?”

Some more clicking and Aurora kept her stand ready in case Robin came around. No light had entered the halfway yet, so she guessed he might have gone elsewhere.

“What in the?” Wrecking Ball exclaimed in alarm.

“What is it?!” Aurora replied in a harsh whisper.

“Read this.” Wrecking Ball gestured to the screen.

It’s highly probable a stand user committed the murders. Their power allows them to move from point to point using an anchor. I didn’t realize it at first, but each crime scene contained a piece of gum lodged somewhere. I assumed the murderer was just a gum chewer, but after finding the third piece of gum, I realized this must be what the killer uses to teleport. It fits with the obtuse nature of stand powers. Unfortunately, gum chewing isn’t the best lead. Still haven’t found a link between victims. I believe the murderer only likes to spread fear.

“How does he know about stands?” Aurora asked, her mouth going dry, head spinning with the possibilities. The Cosas lackey had progressed further than she’d expected. “Could he be a stand user too?”

Wrecking Ball’s mouth formed into a hard line. “Seems likely.”

Aurora cursed. How had she underestimated the stallion? Unlike her, Robin also had access to the killings in Yellow Star’s Destruction, giving him more pieces of the puzzle. Well, it wouldn’t happen again. She realized that they had to kill him now. His powers made him too dangerous, but first, they would interrogate him. He might know anything about Break’s mysterious stand group.

The file contained little facts that Robin had gathered in his investigation for his theories. The Cosas commander was meticulous in his data gathering. Much to Aurora’s surprise, Robin had found a timetable when the killer operated. It appeared random, but a further investigation revealed a hidden pattern.

Like Aurora had suspected, the killer attacked right after work shifts usually ended. Though teleportation made finding the killer more difficult. Creating an unbreakable alibi would be a simple thing. They could literally hop into a bathroom, teleport to their victims’ home, commit the murder, then pop back with nopony the wiser.

On the other hoof, they still needed their accomplice to commit the murder itself. That might open up some possibilities.

“Hold on.” Wrecking Ball tapped some more keys. “He has a list of suspects.”

“Oh, dear.” Aurora winced when she saw the list. It contained the names of many ponies in Wrecking Ball’s company. The boss himself was a top suspect. Robin also pinpointed some of Enclave’s spies finding their activity suspicious.

“He needs to die. We can’t have him learning about the Enclave’s activities.” Aurora said. “He’s too sharp. Hopefully, nopony else has read this file. Make a copy and delete it.”

“Already done.” Wrecking Ball extracted a disk from the terminal.

His stand powers are a problem, but nothing I can’t handle. He’s here and all alone. Best I take care of him now.

“Got your silencer?” Aurora asked.

“It will cause a commotion in the Cosas, but your right. Robin is too dangerous to live.”

“It’s a good thing I’ve come prepared then.” A voice broke the dead silence of the Cosas’ headquarters. Aurora winced as the light suddenly turned on, blinding her. Despite the pain, she was already moving, but a sharp pain erupted in her side as a bullet struck her.

Aurora screamed in pain clutching at her side using her stand powers to freeze the blood flow. She flipped over a table and added pressure to her bullet wound. After blinking several times, her vision returned to her. Wrecking Ball was thankfully unhurt, huddling next to her.

“Are okay?” He asked.

“I’ll live.” Aurora regained her bearings, ready to fight this bastard who’d blindsided them. How has he snuck upon them? If he didn’t use his flashlight, sneaking up on them wouldn’t be that hard. It could also be his stand power. He might have injured her, but it was two on one and he was unaware of her being a stand user.

A curse escaped Aurora’s lips as other lights flickered on, drawn by Robin’s gunfire, an effect she was sure was intentional. They couldn’t afford to get bogged down by Cosas lackeys. It surprised Robin when Aurora went out into the open.

“Aurora? I thought I saw wings. Are you asking for surrender?” Robin asked, keeping his gun trained on her, but unwilling to fire on her yet.

“Will you give it?” Aurora crept several inches closer. Whatever Robin’s stand was, she won’t give him time to summon it.

“Sure.” Robin gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Come peacefully, and we’ll be lenient. Your crimes aren’t too severe. Just tell me who you work for, and you’ll leave in peace.”

At least he doesn’t know about the Enclave.

“Foal!” Aurora’s stand struck forwards and punched Robin in the chest. He froze like a statue, a shocked expression frozen on his face. Even the smallest twitch had been stolen from him.

“What? A stand user?” Robin said through frozen clenched teeth.

“Yeah, I’m not the killer if that’s what you’re thinking,” Aurora replied. “sorry, but I have to kill you. Another stand user running around is too dangerous.”

Robin chuckled, his eyes showing with sardonic merriment. “I’m not a stand user, sorry.”

Aurora blinked. “What?”

“Like I said, not a stand user.” Robin gave out a self-deprecating laugh. “If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been so nice.” He jerked free when her stand’s time limit expired, but she only froze him again.

“You serious?” Aurora gave the Cosas commander a weary look, ready for any stand activity if he was lying.

“You part of the Knights of Heaven crowd?” Robin asked. “Investigating the murders to add another psycho to your ranks?”

Knights of Heaven?! This guy knows about Break’s group? Aurora’s surprise was so profound that she almost forgot to refreeze Robin when her stand power expired.

“What do you know of that group?!” Aurora glared down at Cosas commander, gesturing to Wrecking Ball who pointed his gun towards Robin’s head. If this scared the stallion, he didn’t show it.

“You’re not part of the Knights?” Robin said nonchalantly, not even blinking when Wrecking Ball pressed the gun barrel towards his temple.

“Answer the question.” Aurora glared into Robin’s eyes, showing he was serious.

Robin only responded with a cold glare. “If I were you, I’d run. Reinforcements will arrive soon.” Sure enough, the sound of trampling hooves was coming towards them.

Damn it. Aurora’s injuries didn’t escape her notice. She had a powerful stand, but not enough that she could fight dozens of armed ponies.

“We have no choice.” Aurora gestured towards Robin. “Grab him and secure him. He’s coming with us.”

Wrecking Ball muttered something about their cover being blown, but nodded and grabbed Robin, tying him with nearby extension cords he’d found.

“You’re coming with us.” Aurora took to the air and shattered the nearby window and her stand ripped the protective bars away. “One way or another, you’re explaining to us about these Knights.” Robin didn’t struggle, allowing himself to get captured. Aurora guessed he mustn’t be a stand user, or he’d use his powers by now. If they were lucky, they could kill Robin, learn about the Knights of Heaven, and protect Wrecking Ball’s cover. This operation hadn’t gone as bad as she’d expected.

---

Break’s eyes widened to pinpricks when the vial smashed against the ground, ruining any hope of saving her life from the poison.

“That’s that, I suppose.” Cursed beamed proud of himself.

“It’s over, Black Cat.” Lucky shot several more rounds of her pistol towards Break. Unlike her brother, she refused to leave Break’s death to chance.

Break hissed as a bullet scraped against the side of her head, but her stand protected her from the other bullets. Her momentary distraction almost got her killed.

I’m dead. It’s over, I’ve failed. Break flew back in a panic, desperate for any way to save herself, trying to avoid the bullets flying towards her. She winced when her back smashed against the medicine cabinet, breaking several vials inside.

No, I can save myself. Break deflected more bullets and tore open the medicine cabinet, desperate to remember the chemical’s name. She cursed when her mind went blank, unable to tell the complicated scientific names apart.

“It’s useless, love.” Cursed lazily raised his stand’s arm towards Break.

He believed his opponent dead and wasn’t in any rush. He sent a lazy shockwave towards Break. But she had a plan. Unbeknownst to him, the cabinet had wheels and she used her gravity powers to push it away to safety well before the shockwave struck her. Lucky cursed and fired on Break, but she deflected them without issue.

The cabinet rattled as it smashed into the dome’s side, but nothing broke this time. While Break couldn’t place the chemical’s name, she remembered its color. It had been purple, and only three chemicals shared that color.

What was it again? Something Tetrasomething? Cursed sent another shockwave towards Break and her fragile cabinet, but she saw it coming and pushed her ride through the door into the street. Many ponies gave her a strange look. They screamed when Lucky continued to fire on Break, running for cover.

“Stupid whorse!” Lucky screamed. “Die already!” A hit of nervousness formed on her face already worried about the attention her actions were bringing towards her.

This must be it! While Break wasn’t completely confident in her choice, the word tetra was the only word she remembered. Her stand broke open the glass case and she retrieved the chemical. Only one vial remained, leaving her no room for mistakes.

Cursed threw another shockwave towards her, but swiveled out of the way and the cabinet shattered to pieces, spattering strange chemicals everywhere. Break landed on the ground and punched the cabinet’s remains towards the stallion. He cried out in fear and jumped towards safety, but the piece of furniture clipped the bottom half of his body and he screamed in pain as he careened in the air and crashed painfully face-first into the ground.

She wasted no time flying back towards the doctor’s office and noticed that burly guards were already running in their direction. How only did she have? The drug wouldn’t work if not administered within four minutes of getting poisoned.

Lucky realized Break’s plan and fired on the various medical supplies to stop Break from finding a needle. A quick scan of the wreckage that remained of the doctor’s office provided no fruit and Break panicked, only to remember the needle from earlier. She spotted it still in the doctor’s hooves and stopped gravity midair, landing next to his body rushing towards his hoof.

“No!” Lucky fired towards the doctor to stop her, but Break’s hoof grabbed the needle before the bullet struck it.

Another shockwave came towards her. Despite his injuries, Cursed wasn’t out of the fight. Break reversed gravity and flew towards the ceiling, perching there. Somehow she’d avoid that last shockwave. Not wasting any time, she injected the needle into the vial and extracted more than she needed, but it didn’t seem important with her life hanging by a thread. Lucky dragged her brother back into the clinic, realizing her bullets were useless. Cursed was her only hope of stopping Break. She saw Cursed’s head in the dome, but it was too late. She only hoped she’d guessed the right chemical and she hadn’t missed her deadline.

“Here goes nothing.” The needle burned against her leg’s fur and she felt the drug being injected into her bloodstream. Break landed on the ground and gave the two siblings a cold stare. Much to her satisfaction, a cold sweat gathered on the sister’s forehead.

A few tense moments passed as everypony waited to see if Break would drop down dead. They eyed a nearby digital clock on a desk, watching as every second passed by. Guards were getting closer, but nopony seemed to notice. An entire minute and a half passed, and Break felt none the worse for wear.

“You have got to be kidding me!” Cursed exclaimed. “How are you not dead?!”

Break sighed in relief, glad the crisis had passed. It left her against two stand users, but at least she wasn’t dying of a nerve agent.

Lucky put her hooves into her face. “This can’t be happening.”

“Freeze!” The guards rushed into the doctor’s office, pointing their weapons towards the disruptive ponies. “You will drop your weapons and put your hooves up. Failure to comply will result in termination.”

What now? It left Break conflicted. She considered leaving the two stand users to confront the guards, but she feared what damage to innocence they might cause left alone. And it remained a mystery why they targeted her in the first place.

“Screw that!” Cursed fired several shockwaves into the guards sending them flying. Break reacted by grabbing a nearby chair and her stand smashed it against the stallion’s head.

“Terminate.” The head guard’s tone was monotone, taking Cursed unexpected attack with surprising calm. The unharmed guards spread out and fired in random directions, shooting everything within the doctor’s office without mercy.

Oh crap! Break deflected the bullets and flew towards the ceiling where she’d be a smaller target. While her ability to deflect bullets was impressive, Break held no illusions about being invincible, and being attacked from all angles wasn’t ideal.

Lucky received several bullet wounds in the side and black leg, but ducked behind some medical machines, trying to gain some cover. Cursed got shot in the gut and joined his sister in getting some cover.

“Targeting.” The head guard said. “Take out Black Cat first. Priority target” They pulled out a grenade and pulled the pin. Instead of throwing it, they held it tight, waiting for the right moment to release it.

Break released her hold on gravity falling back towards the ground hoping to catch the guard off guard. Her eyes widened when the pony threw the grenade towards her and reversed gravity away from the bomb. A wave of fire didn’t release as expected, instead the room filled with a painful, blinding light that blinded Break and hurt her eardrums.

Stunned, Break crashed against the wall. She panicked as the guards pointed their guns towards her. In this weakened state, it was difficult to say if her bullet-deflecting power would be much use.

Gunshots rang out and much to Break’s surprise, guards collapsed in a bloody heap, each sharing a single bullet in their head. A new large imposing earth pony entered the room wielding a shotgun. It was Ray!

“Who are you?” Lucky winced as a bullet drove her back into her cover.

Ray, a stallion of few words, gestured to the exit with his head and Break followed without question, still dazed. The Cosas heavy gunned down any of the exposed guards with ruthless efficiency. The rest ran from the dome to safety.

“You aren’t escaping!” Cursed dove from cover and sent a shockwave that threw Break off her hooves.

The large stallion crashed to the ground and Break smacked into him. Both of their ears bleed from his power. More guards ran to surround them and pick off the easy target. Break winced as a bullet flew past her face. She’d recovered enough to defend herself. Her ally wasn’t so lucky and had received four gunshots for his trouble. Cursed sent another shockwave towards her enemy, but Break used her stand to throw Ray to safety while she fled in the opposite direction. Lucky exited the dome and pointed towards Break’s direction.

“Just die already!” Cursed exclaimed, but he was so distracted by Break’s dodging, he forgot about the guards who fired upon him. After exclaiming a large string of curses, he used his stand on the guards who ears bled from the attack.

Break flew back towards Cursed, flying towards him. The stallion threw his stand back towards Break, but it was too late and Good Times Bad Times pulverized him with several punches.

“Get away from my brother!” Break winced as Lucky’s wild shooting whizzed past her head, too close for comfort.

“Die!” Cursed threw his stand’s arm towards Break’s chest to deliver a point-blank shockwave, but toppled over in pain when Ray shot him in the gut and continued to shoot the stallion.

“Cursed! Bastard!” Lucky fired onto Ray, but he found some cover behind a nearby building and dove behind it.

“Terminate!”

Break gasped as a live grenade landed between her and Cursed. In a desperate rush, Break took to the air and threw Cursed away from her, hoping to throw him from the blast zone. The stallion didn’t see the explosive, however, and regained his hooving and pulled out a knife hoping to stab Break from behind.

“No, you fool, run!” Lucky said, but it was too late, the grenade exploded almost point black under Cursed. Break winced from the intense heat from under her, but somehow she’d avoided getting burned. Once the smoke cleared, little remained of the stallion, reduced to a burning bloody husk.

“Cursed!” Lucky screamed and sobbed, incensed by her brother’s death. She ignored her cover and ran out into the open hoping to kill Break. Before she could warn her, the guards pointed their weapons towards the exposed stallion and shot him in the chest.

“Lucky.” Cursed extended a weak hoof towards his sister with his final breath before the light faded from his eyes.

Break could only stare in horror as the stallion lost his life. The guards' shooting returned her senses, gesturing towards Ray towards the town’s exit. He nodded, running towards that direction. The guards didn’t seem to notice him instead of focusing on Break. She stayed clear of them, watching in relief as Ray made his way to safety. It didn’t stop the guards from throwing more grenades towards Break, hoping to catch her in the blast radius. They once against held onto the explosive until the last second before throwing them. Break predicted they might try this and flew high enough the explosion couldn’t hit her. Once she saw Ray had left the town she flew away hoping her ally would make it to their rendezvous point safely. The guards continued their pursuit, refusing to give up happily wasting bullets and grenades hoping to kill her. Lucky slipped away unseen into the night, taking advantage of the distraction.