//------------------------------// // Chapter 50 // Story: Fallout Equestria: Black Cat // by Rixizu //------------------------------// “No!” Lucky screamed her lungs raw, a lamp smashed against a wall in her hotel room. Ever since they’d taken the mission to kill Break Point, everything had gone wrong and now her brother was dead! Revenge! But how? She didn’t dare return to the Order with empty hooves. Wind Whistler didn’t tolerate failure, and her weak stand didn’t make her worth keeping around. What now? Water dripped down her face, almost rubbing her face almost raw in frustration. Empty eyes reflected back towards her from the bathroom’s mirror. Cursed had been an idiot, but he’d been her idiot. She looked up as a knock slammed against her door. “Open. You are under suspicion of the murder of Doctor 01001000 01100101 01100001 01110010 01110100 01101000 00100000 01010011 01110100 01101111 01110000 01110000 01100101 01110010. You will surrender and submit yourself to judgment. Failure to comply will result in termination, You have 30 seconds.” The unfeeling voice said behind the door. Too soon! While this was the obvious place to search first, she hadn’t expected them to arrive so quickly. She’d only returned for time and space to think. Damn these bastards for interrupting her. Damn everything. She’d only surrender as a corpse. Break would pay for Cursed’s death. They all would. After gathering herself, she stepped away from the door. She headed towards the far room, pressing against the floral wallpaper behind her. A smile grew as the guards broke through the door, charging inside, guns raised towards her head. “We’ve recorded that you have resisted arrest.” The head guard said. “Do you wish to record any last words before termination?” She’d allowed her brother to indulge his fancies. No more. She’d show these fools what her powers could really do. “Madness,” Lucky replied, and the guards screamed as her power invaded their minds. A guard fired his gun, blowing his comrade’s head to bloody chunks. Gore covered the stallion, but he didn’t care, continuing to scream in terror. The other guards opened fire and they slaughtered each other, firing at something only visible to them. The last remaining guard whimpered, curled up on the floor. Lucky walked over towards him, carefully stepping around the blood. She grabbed a discarded weapon and blew the stallion’s head off, her expression cold and dispassionate. Lucky had seen how powerful Break’s stand had been, killing her wouldn’t be easy. Her best shot was targeting the damnable mare when she least expected it. No messing around, and not even Wind Whistler would stop her. --- “No good.” Break’s muzzle formed into a scowl. “I should have stolen some healing potions while I was at the doctor’s office.” The massive earth pony stallion downed his remaining healing potion while Break changed his bandages. His previous ones had gotten soaked through with blood. While the potion closed wounds and dulled the pain, Ray’s wounds were serious. Break blamed her terrible first aid skills. She’d removed the bullets, but Break had done a clumsy job and thanked Celestia she hadn’t made it worse. “I’ll live,” Ray replied simply. “Okay.” Break wasn’t happy, but she’d provided the best aid possible considering the circumstances. “We have a problem.” Ray said, “the Omega told the Steel Rangers about you. I saw a Ranger leave town to summon a contingent to pursue you.” What now? They know Ray’s face. The rather public display during her rescue made that impossible to miss. I could escape on my own, but I’d leave Ray to die. As if knowing her thoughts, Cosas' soldier spoke his reply. “Leave, I’ll only slow you down. It makes no sense for us both to perish here.” “I can’t just leave you!” Break snapped back. “I won’t do it!” Break expected the big stallion to argue. Instead, he only nodded, giving her a grateful smile. “Okay, let’s consider our options.” The small cave she’d come across wouldn’t provide much protection against their enemies. “Where’s Scavenger?” “In the Knights of Heaven base,” Ray replied, “they accepted him into their number without issue.” “That’s a relief.” Break released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Can you contact him? How were you planning on meeting up?” “We planned to meet tomorrow at a local cafe. He’d discovered intel about a big upcoming operation, promising to offer more details later.” Break paced, her mind racing. It took over a day to reach the secret headquarters by hoof. Scavenger was likely already on his way or almost already here. The stallion hated being late. “Any interesting scavenging spots around here?” Break’s question earned a raised eyebrow from Ray. “Yes, due south. An old abandoned subway system. Locals found it recently. Ponies have only begun salvage work there and it’s still a hive of monsters. Why?” Thank Celestia for Ray’s talent for uncovering intel. “Scavenger couldn’t resist going there if he tried.” Break buzzed with excitement and hope. “Knowing him, he wanted to do some salvage work before rendezvousing with you. He’s coming to town, anyway. Why not earn some caps also?” Ray stood up. Even with his stony features, Break noted his dour mood had improved. “If we hurry, getting there should only take two hours. If we give the Steel Rangers the slip, we’ll have a powerful ally.” Break beamed. “It’s a plan of sorts.” She used Good Times, Bad Times to help Ray walk. It was a shame her stand power didn’t allow her to reverse gravity while holding somepony. Still, she buzzed with excitement, yearning to reunite with Scavenger after her horrible last few days. The three of them together might prevail against the mad, bloodthirsty Steel Rangers. --- Robin winced as Wrecking Ball threw him against a wall. The earth pony’s glare promised violence if their prisoner attempted anything. A makeshift gag covered Robin’s mouth, preventing him from screaming for help. Wrecking Ball searched from the alley for any Cosas guards. They’d escaped the Cosas home base, but also caused a great deal of noise and killed several of their numbers. They’d been thrown into a sticky situation. At least they’d extracted Robin, a valuable source of information. “Which way?” A Cosas guard said, too close for comfort. Aurora tensed, readying her stand for trouble. “This way, I think.” Another said. Wrecking Ball’s grip on his gun intensified as the enemy trotted towards them. The prospect of fighting the entire group of Cosas didn’t excite either of them. Aurora gave Robin a wary look as the approaching steps came closer. The stallion still hadn’t moved, but she didn’t dare drop her guard. The diversion would provide him a perfect opportunity to escape. Aurora considered freezing him, but size restricted her freezing power. Bullets were simple, but ponies were more complicated, only able to steal the speed of one pony at a time. If only her stand’s punching power was as powerful as Break’s. The accursed earth pony could crumple those two approaching guards in moments. “Jagged! Perfect!” The first guards said. “Cover me, I heard something from this alley.” “Righto! Over here, Tall Tale, I think we’ve found them. Cover the other side” The pony Aurora presumed was Jagged replied. Robin’s eyes lit with amusement, and Aurora cursed. The empty alley provided no hiding spots or cover, leaving them sitting ducks, and Cosas’ steps were fast approaching. “Count to three, then we’ll charge.” Wrecking Ball said. “Not ideal, but it’s our only chance. Use your power to cover me.” Aurora nodded. She didn’t enjoy the prospect, but they had no other options. After pulling Robin tight towards her, she pressed a combat knife towards his throat. A warning glare told him what would happen if he struggled. The Cosas captain didn’t resist, only replying with a frosty glare. Come and get it, bastards! Before Wrecking Ball could charge out, distant gunfire made everypony freeze and Aurora stumbled over herself for a moment. It sounded like railgun fire. “What the heck was that?” Jagged said surprised. “The intruders aren’t here after all?” The railgun fire continued and Cosas thugs ran towards it, completely forgetting Aurora’s alley. Whatever was happening, it was causing quite the ruckus. Was Zinnia under attack by raiders? Aurora peered over the alley’s corners, seeing every Cosas goon leaving to investigate. “Well?” Wrecking Ball raised an eyebrow. “Return to base with the package,” Aurora said after a moment’s thought, “I’ll go investigate.” It wouldn’t help anypony if they escaped, only to get swarmed by an army of raiders. Hopefully, nopony would notice him carrying a body through his back door.  “Understood, be careful. We can’t be certain if they saw your face.” Wrecking Ball roughly grabbed Robin and pulled him from the alley when nopony was watching.  Aurora used the darkness to keep hidden, refusing to take any chances. They still might pull off the operation cleanly. Her stand stood ready as she snuck through town. She moved faster than what she considered wise, but a large crowd had already formed despite the late hour. The Cosas weren’t the only ones drawn by the railgun fire. Ponies exited their homes, weapons drawn, expecting an attack. Aurora kept in the shadows, eyes peeled for any dangers. Her eyes lit up as somepony she recognized came into view. She left in the shadows, deciding it might look bad if somepony found her there. “Acrylic!” Aurora yelled to the stallion. “Aurora.” Acrylic ran up to her and took up a defensive stance. “No weapon? It isn’t safe! You should return inside.” “What’s happening?” Aurora played her best innocent face. “I’m not sure.” Acrylic shook his head. “It sounds like a war.” “Dang it.” A familiar annoying voice said. “Bentgrass what’s going on?” A Cosas thug said, and several of his fellows joined him. The barrel of the idiots battle saddle was still smoking. Where had he gotten one of those? “It’s the killer! I got a scuffle with him!” Bentgrass said towards the eager crowd, desperately looking for something. “He escaped though.” Aurora and everypony made a double-take. “Excuse me?” “I discovered a pony in the shadows attaching gum to the side of a house.” Bentgrass continued searching until finally surrendering, lowering his weapon. “I called out to stop, since it’s gross and spreads germs, and they flicked gum at me. It missed and I opened fire on them!” “Bentgrass, why?” The Cosas thug asked with strained patience. “Because weird juju is happening!” Bentgrass replied. “Think about it, somepony is turning ponies inside out and teleporting everywhere. My guts told me this pony was dangerous. He is trying to kill me with gum. I figure that’s how the killer killed people!” “What?” The Cosas thug wore a baffled expression, Aurora included. How had this foal figured that out? Had her two killers theory been incorrect? She’d assumed the method of murder was the work of another stand user. What if it was a byproduct of the teleportation power instead? Or the killer was trying to teleport Bentgrass away? Still, it was a shock this foal had somehow stumbled across the killer by complete happenstance. “They ran away after receiving several shots in the chest.” Bentgrass added. “They flicked more gum at me, but they all missed. Shame I couldn’t see the face. They hid in the shadows. We really need better street lights.” What a lead! If she found this wounded pony, she’d find the killer! Unless they teleport away somewhere. What a pickle. “Is this guy for real?” Acrylic wore a disbelieving expression. “Killer gum.” Aurora forced a laugh. “Crazy right.” The Cosas thugs nodded in understanding. “Look! The blood trail goes into the alley, and it ends there.” Another Cosas squinted his eyes. “Is that gum?” “See,” Bentgrass said a little smug, “crazy powers.” Much to Aurora’s dismay, the Cosas believed him. “Robin was right.” A Cosas said. “I feel stupid now for doubting him. Someponies do have strange otherworldly powers!” “Maybe.” Another said reluctantly, who stared at the gum stuck on the brick wall. Wonderful, the Cosas have learned about stand powers. “Nothing to see here!” A Cosas said, pushing ponies away. “Return to bed. Nothing to see here.” “Let’s get out of here.” Acrylic said. “Right.” Aurora landed a careful eye on everypony in the area. Much of Zinnia was out and about, giving her an excellent opportunity to find their target. The killer’s injuries would make them easy to spot if they still remained in town. It depressed her they might have disappeared into the ether, but if they returned, she’d identify them easily. I must compare this with Robin’s suspect list. He might be onto something. She’d compare the ponies she saw with Robin’s list. At least she’d know who wasn’t the killer. After wishing Acrylic goodnight, she returned to her hidden base and an eager Wrecking Ball drew to attention. “Well.” Aurora explained the incident and her suspicions. She didn’t bother hiding her story from Robin, eager to catch his reactions. “What a crazy turn of events.” Wrecking Ball leaned back in his chair. “Total accident found the killer. Good work. We might find them yet.” “If they aren’t long gone.” Aurora scowled. “They might have a safe house miles away.” “Still, it will slow the killer’s activities for a long time.” Wrecking Ball replied. “I wouldn’t dare show my face in town again.” “True. A sudden absence after the killer received serious injuries?” Aurora sucked in a breath. “Small miracles I suppose.” “Let’s turn our attention to these Knights.” Wrecking Ball ungagging Robin, who remained calm despite everything. “Are you Enclave?” Robin asked and Aurora flinched before she could stop herself. “Just as I suspected. I almost assumed them a myth. But the pegasi disappeared somewhere. Have you inflated Zinnia and other wasteland towns?” “Our identity doesn’t matter. What matters are your answers. They will determine your fate. Lie, and it won’t be a pleasant one. Scream all you want, nopony will hear you here.” According to Wrecking Ball, he’d built this room in his house for just such an occasion. It was soundproof, making it impossible for anypony to hear them. From the bloodstains under the chair Robin was sitting on, this hadn’t been the first time a pony found themselves here.  Robin gave them an icy glare. “I won’t talk, no matter how much pain you inflict on me.” He grunted in pain as Wrecking Ball struck him in the face, but the Cosas commander remained firm. “How do you know about stands?” Aurora passed her comrade a hot poker she’d heated using a small old fashion stove. Instead of denying the question, Robin gave the question some thought. Was he stalling for time? It didn’t matter. Nopony would arrive to rescue him. He flinched when the poker came towards his neck and hissed in pain when a hot cinder landed on him. Instead of talking, the Cosas commander only clamped his mouth shut harder. “Do it.” Aurora’s voice was crisp. She’d given him fair warning. The punishment was his own fault. A punch from her stand stole his body's movement freezing him still, inducing even more fear into the unicorn. He’d be helpless to even turn away from the searing agony. While unable to move, Robin’s eyes centered on the hot poker coming towards his neck and she finally saw a hint of fear, and his body gave an involuntary shutter despite being frozen still.