[Watch our step...] Sunset cautioned. Zero leaned over the lip of the canyon, his new shawl rippling in the cool breeze. Above him, the stars were frosty candles while the chasm below was a thirsty void. Only the whisper of a river and the muttering of wind over stone met his ears and the only light that escaped the abyss were a pair of meandering silver threads. The Ore railroad.
[Kind of picturesque, isn't it? Having the tracks follow the water like that?]
"The architects had no choice. Young Neo Arcania was hungry for the north's iron, but these canyons were still new. Still shifting. Bridges collapsed as fast as they were built."
[New canyons?] The Biocrystal puzzled. Any questions, though, died on her tongue. A rolling thunder began to thicken the air.
"Last chance to abort."
[Getting cold feet?]
"Being tactical." Zero corrected.
From their left, a giant metal eel swung into view. Awash in Enterprise purple and howling from its own speed, the locomotive skirted the winding tracks as deftly as a cat atop a fence. Zero and Sunset had only a moment before the transport was passing beneath them.
[Now!]
Zero dove like a hawk, his powerful legs throwing him past freefall. He skipped off a stone spur and hung in the air, plummeting toward the armored cars.
"Shoot!" The Hunter's momentum carried him beyond his target. Summoning the Biocrystal's strength, he thrust an arm behind him, coaxing his hungry fingers to find the lip of the car's roof. His hand caught, and his body slammed into the car's side.
[Huh...]
"What is it?" Zero hauled himself atop the slick platform.
[Just thinking. You know, for a brick, we flew pretty good.]
The Hunter crouched low to the armored surface, as much to keep his balance as to assess his situation. Already, there was movement beneath him and though it was still inactive, the domed shape of an anti-aircraft turret loomed couple cars ahead. In the rushing wind, Zero's poncho cinched around his neck like a noose.
[Here, let me get that for you.] At Sunset's voice, the shawl vanished into shards of light.
"Was that necessary?"
[Relax, I just downloaded it for later. What, you thought I got rid of your old clothes?] The Biocrystal chuckled. [That'd make un-megamerging kind of awkward, wouldn't it?]
Zero didn't answer. He didn't want to think about un-megamerging and he didn't want to talk about clothes. He had a mission and in the next second, it was all he or Sunset Shimmer could concentrate on.
A dull clunk sounded from ahead and a Paragon's cyclopian eye sprouted from a metal hatch. For a moment, its red lens glimpsed the Hunter clinging to the train's roof. In the next, it was split in half.
Zero lanced forward and plucked the android's limp body from the opening before diving into it himself. Sickly pink light filled the car, revealing three more Paragons but no hostages. The hunter unleashed his saber and impaled one robot before shoving it backward to skewer a second. By the time the third robot could raise its buster, the radiant sword had cleaved the guard from one shoulder to the opposite hip.
[They don't put up much of a fight, do they?] Zero felt Sunset's curiosity coaxing him into examining their victims, but he forced her to focus on the sealed door ahead.
"They're actually formidable-" The boy tapped the activation panel. "-to unarmed civilians. They're the Enterprise's enforcers. They're not sentient, but-"The door opened.
As one, eight Paragon eyes turned to face the intruder.
"Rumor is they're connected."
The saber flashed, buster cannons roared, and the inside of the train car became a malstorm of destructive light. Through the din of combat, the feeble pink lights shifted red and sirens began moaning through the air. Zero twisted like a hurricane, decapitating one foe before hurling its limp body into the path of an incoming buster shot.
[Duck!]
Zero bent forward just as a knot of orange fire passed over him and buried itself in the wall. With a flick of his arm, he answered with his own buster, catching the offending paragon squarely in its eye. The petroid collapsed forward, twitching, as the hot magic shorted every circuit in its brain at once.
"They know we're here." Zero stated, turning to the next door. The activation panel had become red and inoperable.
[No sign of your friends yet.]
"I think they're closer to the engine. It's more secure there."
[I could probably hack this door if I had an interface.]
"You already do."
The Hunter swung his right arm out and activated Sunset's saber. The blazing sword bit into the metal barrier with a savage hunger, chewing long swaths of sparks through it.
[How elegant. You planning to Qui-Gon Jinn your way through all these doors?]
"Just this one." With one last slash and a hearty kick, Zero sent the barrier flying into the next room.
"MAVERICK IDEN-KEEK!" The Paragon inside chirped as a large metal plate and a megaman landed on top of it. The new car didn't have many guards, but it also didn't have much floor space. The compartment was dominated by racks of energy crystal batteries, their tanks welded to the floor. A ladder led up to a hole cut in the roof where the feet of a lone Paragon soldier could be seen operating the train's turret. With the finesse of a tornado, Zero seized the purple android by its leg.
"MAVERICK ID-EEEeeewwwnng..."
[You're enjoying this, aren't you?] Sunset mused as Zero broke the soldier's neck.
The steely Hunter leapt up the ladder and seized the mounted weapon's controls. He was riding a razor's edge of time, caught between the element of surprise and the Enterprise's response. Within moments, the train's operator would realize that he had come for the prisoners and their lives would be jeopardized. If he wanted to save them, he had to move quickly.
Zero swung the turret's twin barrels toward the forefront of the train and took aim. The night was suddenly alight with bursts of globular fire, ripping the atmosphere apart and gnawing fiery holes in the transport's armor. Large swaths of the shiny metal roofs buckled and lifted free, clattering off the tracks into the river below.
[What are you doing!? Your friends are in there!]
Zero stopped and watched as the residual smoke washed off the train cars, revealing jagged, but functional breaches.
"That's our way in." He severed the turret's dome and cast it aside. The cold night air splashed his face once more.
[My gosh! You sound just like Rainbow Dash. And not on one of her good days!]
After the warbling alarms, the serenity of the canyon was unsettling. Zero's boots tapped a staccato through the night as he sprinted for the first damaged train car. A passing glance within revealed only more Paragons and their monocular glare. The next was empty save for the disemboweled remains of an Scorpio mechaniloid. Finally, just two cars behind the tempestuous engine, Zero found the holding cells.
Like a thread of quicksilver, he and Sunset Shimmer slid through the slagged wound in the roof and landed in a low crouch. On either side of them were tall canisters, glass coffins, each designed to hold a single occupant. Athena and Boreal were strapped into the two farthest chambers, staring at the newcomer with wide eyes. Save for the captives, the car was abandoned.
"What in Tartarus's rutting donkey dong is going on?" Boreal hollered. "Who the frack are you!?" An excitable Hunter with a colorful tongue, Zero had always found the young man tended towards the melodramatic. However, he could keep his head in a fight and that's all that mattered. Athena remained silent.
Instead, as Zero stepped in front of her cell, Athena's face went through a rainbow of emotions. Cynicism, confusion, recognition, surprise, relief, excitement, and finally sheer terror.
"Zero!" She screamed. "Zero! Get out of here! The warden's still here! Zero!"
[Warning!]
Even as the far door began to open, Sunset Shimmer was already drawing their saber and leaping for safety. A tempest of shapes and shadows poured into the room, choking the air with a swirling green miasma. Zero saw energy knives, claws, reaching for him and he saw teeth, rows of gleaming veridian teeth straining for his neck. He followed Sunset's lead as she vaulted them back through the roof.
Their assailant followed. Zero stood with his sword at the ready as the creature billowed onto the metal platform and assembled itself. Piece-by-piece it rose, each segment of its body levitating within a cocoon of smokey aura. Once complete, a twisted figure somewhere between man and wolf, grinned hungrily at him.
"Hahaha-Howwwl! Ha-Howwl! Yes... Yes, you. I smell you-I can smell you-smell delicious! Hahaha! Ha-Howwwlll!"
[Zero...]
"I know." This wasn't a regular security system. The tangle of metal and magic wasn't even a regular petroid. "It's some kind of specialist."
"Hehe..."
"[You! Warden! What's your name?]"
"H-hungry, so hungry. Wants to know my name? He-hee. She's not Master. Don't need to answer. She's prey! M-my prey!"
"Enough." Zero lifted his buster and unleashed a torrent of fire. The bolts soared through the night, ripping clean through the hulking figure. It twitched, it writhed, and finally collapsed onto the car's roof. However, just as the hunter lowered his weapon, the scattered pieces took on an eerie green glow and rose again.
"And I?" The figure sneered. "Am predator! I am Timberwulf! The predatoroid! Haha! Ha-haha! Haha-howwwl! Ha-howwwll!"
[Timberwolf? Well there's a blast from the past.]
"Watch out."
The warden attacked.
Crescent blades of energy tipped the monster's claws, but it was the teeth that it favored. Zero's sword parried every swipe, his buster punished every stray leg, and his fist shattered the beast's jaws, but he might as well have been swatting at shadows. Not one of his blows caused damage. No matter how powerful the Hunter's attacks, the segmented body would merely absorb the blow before collecting itself in time for the next assault. After a five-second eternity, Zero finally ducked beneath his opponent's guard and threw his whole weight into a palm strike at the ribs. All the appendages went dark as the chest erupted out of the creature's back. Within moments, though, the skittering body parts surrounded their core once more.
[Fascinating...] Sunset whispered. [Its central cauldron is almost completely unshielded! He's literally bleeding out in all directions at once just to hold his shape. No wonder the poor thing's starving.]
"He's never learned to fight." Zero added. "Never had to."
[Just a brute who thinks he's invincible. Might as well be.]
Timberwulf pulled himself together and charged headlong at Zero. The Hunter and Biocrystal were surrounded by a flurry of flying detritus, cutting and nipping at their armored skin. Sunset's saber tore the night in two, seeking to cleave the monster's core in half, but if nothing else, the warden was perceptive. The segmented body fell away, allowing the sword to pass clean through it. As fast as Zero could strike, Timberwulf could dodge. Even the occasional glancing blow was warded by the levitating plates of armor surrounding it.
"He was designed to survive any conventional attack." The Hunter noted, leaping back for a moment's respite.
[Our friend here could probably survive getting hit by a truck!] Sunset agreed. Zero frowned,
"The grill isn't what makes a truck dangerous-"
Suddenly, a thought struck him. Sunset Shimmer flicked their eyes past the hulking petroid to the train engine beyond.
[Are you thinking what I'm thinking?]
"I'm going to need that cloak back in a second."
"Prey! My prey! Tear, rip, slash! I'll eat you! Feast on your magic! Haha! Hahaha! Ha-Howwwlll!" Timberwulf charged just like before. This time, however, Zero rushed to meet him.
As the warden pounced, the Hunter slid beneath his foe, green claws raking past his face. Once clear, Zero and Sunset Shimmer sprinted for the front of the train. Timberwulf threw himself into pursuit.
"Run! Run you down! Haha! I'll cut your throat with my jaws! S-Slaughter! Ha-Howwwl!"
The stone cliffs were a rippling blur as Zero charged into the tearing wind. For a shattered second, Athena watched a bright red blur pass her, followed by a verdant comet. As soon as the boy touched the engine's roof, he spun and braced himself for the inevitable tackle. Timberwulf's jaws gleamed like an emerald furnace.
"Now!" Zero lifted his arms and his vision was bleached by a wall of white light. Energy became matter and the boy's cloak was snatched up by the wind. It flew into the petroid's face and clung like spiderweb, but it wasn't enough to stop his momentum. Timberwulf fell into the Hunter's arms, who twisted his shoulders and threw the predatoroid off the front of the train.
For the span of a heartbeat, the monster pulled free of the trap and found itself looking up at Zero. A moment later, it vanished beneath the engine.
Zero crouched as the whole train shuddered. Timberwulf's body was ground apart beneath the mobile fortress, its pieces tumbling helplessly. Suddenly, a sharp squeal split the air and the cars leapt like bulls. A cloud of green light blossomed in the darkness as the petroid's master cauldron was caught beneath a wheel and split open. The train sections jolted precariously and one skipped its rail. A harsh squealing filled the night as Zero and Sunset dashed for the prisoner car.
"Holy Helios smoke me! What was that?" Boreal greeted his rescuer. "What's happening to the train? Who in starfall are you!?"
"Zero! You're all right!" Athena shuddered with relief.
"Zero?" The young man stared at the crimson-clad figure. "What-"
"Close your eyes." Turning to Athena's cell, the boy extended his hand to summon the saber.
"[Hold up, Wreck-It-Ralph. This time, we do it my way.]"
"We don't have much time." But Zero mentally stepped back and allowed Sunset Shimmer to examine the coffin's interface.
"Who's that?" Athena queried.
"Sunset Shimmer." Zero said curtly. Then added, "The armor is sentient."
"Oh, ah... Nice to meet you, Miss Shimmer?"
"[Just call me 'Sunset'.]" For a moment, the Biocrystal locked eyes with Athena and Zero had the impression he intruding on a silent conversation. Sunset Shimmer returned to her project, frowning. "[You two have had a fun day, haven't you?]"
"If you include getting your ribs crushed by a Scorpio, Sunset, you have a weird definition of fun." Boreal sniffed.
"Oh, it wasn't so bad." Athena smiled from behind her glass. "We got first-class train tickets to the City and caught a kickass show on the way." Outside, the skewed train wheels were still shrieking.
[Hmm... In two hundred years, you'd think technology would get more advanced, not less. Who built this? A gorilla?] Aloud, the Biocrystal looked back up at Athena and asked, "[Seriously, though, are you all right? Is there anything you need?]"
"You can let me out of here, I need to pee."
Finally, Sunset Shimmer plucked a sequence of circuits and the pod relinquished its charge. Boreal rubbed his wrists and his spine with exaggerated motions, but Athena leapt to the floor as light as a feather.
"Thanks for coming for us, Zero. I know you crossed company policy for this."
"Thank Sunset."
"We're not out of the canyon yet." Boreal reminded. "Zero, who else is with you?"
"[Just us.]"
"Just...?" The man teetered.
"Auror, Horuz, and Cons are deceased. Doctor Xiel took the rest through a backdoor transceiver."
"And you just figured it was a nice night to go for a stroll and kick in some Enterprise asshats along the way?" Boreal leaned against his cell with a weak smile. "I don't know if that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard or the most epic."
"I'll take the second one." Athena grinned.
"[Yes, it actually went pretty smooth.]" The three humans swayed like windblown grass as the engine finally ground to a halt. "[Mostly.]"
From the fore doorway, a single Paragon leaned into the room, it's red eye winking green.
"Oh, crack!" Boreal dove for cover. Zero swung his buster upward, casting a trio of magic missiles into the newcomer. The android was thrown onto its back, two holes in its chest and one arm reduced to an ashen stump.
"Time to go." Athena announced, stepping over the paralyzed petroid. "I think this is where they took our things."
Sure enough, the next room contained the armory. Racks of magic cores, busters in three different calibers and even replacement sections of Timberwulf's body were arrayed in long chests or mounted on the walls. Within moments, the former prisoners were armed, charged, and once more arrayed in Hunter armor.
"Get to the engine room." Zero commanded. "Means now, Boreal."
"Just a second." The man strapped a few more energy tanks to his belt before slapping a fresh core into his buster and taking aim at the crippled Paragon. "I figure if we're going to be enemies of the New Moon Enterprise for the rest of our natural lives, might as well make it worthwhile." The blinking green eye lingered on the Hunter until it finally went dark in a shower of sparks.
One inside the train's control room, Zero activated the emergency release and separated the engine from the rest of the cars. Slowly and cautiously, they began to ride their makeshift getaway vehicle through the canyon.
"Oh, this isn't conspicuous at all." Athena mused.
"[I was about to say the same thing.]" Sunset said thoughtfully. "[What's our next move?]"
"Find a ford and disembark. Let the engine keep going. With any luck, the Enterprise will pursue it first."
"I know this country." Boreal spoke up. "We could lay low out here or make our way back to Rust. I've got friends there."
Zero nodded.
Athena remained silent for a while, staring at Zero's impassive face and the smoldering blue crystal on his forehead. Finally, she asked,
"So, how did you two meet?"
"Pardon?"
"You and Sunset. What happened yesterday?"
Using short, concise sentences, Zero recounted the major points leading up to the discovery beneath the mountain and the devastating ambush that followed. As for the Biocrystal, he only offered a basic overview of her abilities, refusing to speculate on the source of her power or even how she had saved his life. Sunset Shimmer listened quietly to Zero's account, but didn't add anything.
"But isn't it weird?" Athena pressed.
"What is?" Zero glanced toward his companion.
"Sunset Shimmer. You said the armor was sentient, but you act so relaxed. Isn't it weird having a girl wrapped all around your body?"
"She's a petroid." The boy said callously. "Genderless."
"[He may act indifferent, but that's just his way of admitting he hasn't thought about it.]"
"Oh, you don't have to tell me about his shameless posturing, Sunset."
"But seriously, man, isn't it awkward when you have to hit the john?" Boreal scratched his ear. Zero shot him a look halfway between "that's not your concern" and "are we really talking about this?".
"What about dirty thoughts? Does she have to watch your manly fantasies?" Athena grinned like a minx, doing her best to make Zero's cheeks match his armor.
"[Don't worry, Athena, Zero's been quite the gentleman so far.]" Sunset giggled.
"Pity." The girl nested her jaw on her fist.
"Hunters, this conversation is highly irrelevant." Zero's voice pitched dangerously as the armor around his left gluteus pinched him.
"[So what about you two?]" Sunset turned to the former prisoners, still laughing. "[How were you captured?]"
"Not much to tell." Athena shrugged. "Ambushed by Scorpios. Came right up out of the ground."
"[Like they were tunneling?]"
"No." Boreal shivered. "No warning. Like they were waiting for us. Plucked us up like a pair of bucking flour sacks and marched us down the hill. Honestly, I didn't think we'd make it to the City when they turned us over to that crazy dog! The Scorpio that delivered us got its core ripped out and eaten for a job well-done." A few moments of silence passed over the group.
"What does the Commander think about all this?" Athena looked up at Zero.
"We've been cut off ever since the ambush. Sunset says my radio's still working, but comms have been dark."
"Had she been listening to the encrypted channels?"
"[Oh, is that what this chip does?]" With a pop, a new line of radio waves was added to Zero's headset.
"You didn't recognize it?" Zero asked critically.
"[Hey, I thought it was an IFF tag.]"
"Not a bad guess." Athena assented.
Zero swallowed and glanced up at the dark sky. The star-flecked sea was devoid of any sign of Enterprise ships, but that didn't mean they weren't still listening for him. With a subtle nod, he activated the new channel.
"This is Hunter 'Number', can anyone read me? Any active Hunter units, respond." There was a moment of feathery static before an excited voice popped into existence,
"Merciful Luna! Z-'Number'? Is that you? This is Hunter 'Boomer'." Together, the train car released a collective breath. Nov was alive and active.
"Acknowledged, 'Boomer', I read you four-by-three." For all his excitement, Nov sounded muffled. "What's your status?"
"Operating under compromised communications. I've got to- sweet mother- standby. I need to find the Com- I mean, 'Monocle'." The speaker's voice became even smaller, accompanied by the sound of boots over a hard floor and what sounded like the whine of an airlock. A few painful seconds later, a stampede of footfalls filled the radio.
"Hunter 'Number', this is Hunter 'Monocle'." Commander Piece's voice filled Zero's helmet. "We have to assume this channel's been compromised. What's your status?"
"Operating in extreme heat. Have rendezvoused with Hunter 'Bard' and Hunter 'Librarian'. We're code 'wolfpack'. Please advise."
"Merciful..." A scratching sound told Zero that Piece was rubbing his chin. "... All of you?"
"And the... And our newest Hunter."
"I see." More static. "Hunter Number, I probably don't have to tell you this, but all operating cells have been ordered to go west until further notice. As for you and Hunter 'Newbie', your mission is still intact. In order to arrange an extraction, though, we need to reestablish secure comms. What are your landmarks?"
"Limited." Zero growled. "We may have to go west if we can't make it to White Campaign."
The radio line died all together. A second later, it returned with Piece's excited voice bellowing commands.
"Make for White Campaign! It may be your only chance. maintain radio silence as much as you can! You'll be put on the railroad when you hit White."
"Understood." Zero nodded.
"Damn good luck to you all."
The radio went dead.
"[What was all that about?]" Sunset wondered as Zero coaxed a little more speed out of the train engine.
"Secure talk." Athena explained. "References only the Hunter's inner circle would understand."
"[Ok, so what did he say?]"
"In short, we're up a pickled herring's derriere!" Boreal laughed grimly.
"The Hunters guild has been disbanded." Zero leered into the night. "Everyone's been told to 'go west'. Hide from the Enterprise until we can be reassembled as a new company."
"It's happened before." Athena nodded. "We used to be called 'Guardians'. But that was before I joined up."
"[But why 'west'?]"
"It's just a saying, Sunset. They say everything west of the mountains is nothing but a wasteland, so to 'go west' means to fall off the face of the Earth."
"[Code 'wolfpack'?]"
"Means we're not being forced by our captors to make the radio call."
"[The 'White Campaign'?]"
"A load of carp crap!" Boreal sniggered. "It's where we were hired to protect a prospector who thought he'd hit it big in the ice deserts north of the Freshwater Sea! He died."
"[So where is it?]"
"Rust." Zero answered. "We'll find the Resistance in Rust."