Zero peeked in, AR2 at the ready as they pointed it in multiple directions, scanning the area. A single Razor Train sat in the station, and nobody seemed to be around. But they knew it couldn't be the case. They knew the Rebels weren't stupid enough to leave the place unguarded in it's interior.

They followed around to the front of the train, looking to the other side. Nothing made a noise. The helmet's advanced auditory implants kicked into overdrive, tuning out the distant noises and focusing on anyone or anything around them.

As they head onto the other side of the platform, their readiness was rewarded. A rebel popped upwards from behind a bench, wielding a MP7 and a look of gritty determination, only to be silenced with a pair of pulses before they could fire off a shot.

Zero waited for a few more seconds, listening in every direction with perfect clarity. Nothing stirred. Perhaps they did send almost everyone outside. Likely not expecting the Overwatch team to succeed, even if Zero felt it was pyrrhic.

Thus, they looked to the train itself. Rebels had attempted to cut open the main car, but were only halfway finished. Zero pushed in a part of the metal plating, revealing a Combine lock. A simple authorization later, and the door opened.

Most of the car was empty, it's main cargo being a single full-body transportation pod in the back. They checked the car's surroundings again for a moment before approaching. Another lock greeted them. They opened it, and the pod opened, revealing it's inhabitant.

It was a woman, slightly disheveled. Blonde hair was cut in an obvious, mechanical way, clear that it had been clipped specifically for them to fit in the pod. Violet eyes darted around before landing on the Elite soldier in front of them.

"Oh. I see the rescue party failed. I'm honestly not even surprised." they spoke, their surprisingly smooth voice tainted with annoyance.

Zero unlocked the second layer, readying the weapon only to find that they had heavy shackles on too, restricting hand movement. Zero noted this as peculiar, as it was quite rare such methods were used in addition to the full pod.

The woman sighed at the raised weapon. "Relax, I'm not going to go around killing the likes of you with my bare fists and no armor."

Zero lowered the weapon. "Follow. Close, and don't even try to run."

"Fine." they spoke, following behind as Zero opened the other side's door, allowing them a clear passage out of the station.

The woman noted the lack of other members. "I didn't think 'Deathwatch' soldiers worked alone."

"We don't." Zero retorted flatly.

"Better than I expected from the rescue, then." they replied. "Killing nearly a full squad of you cyclopses is impressive."

Zero ignored the insult as they walked outside, switching to comms.

"Overwatch, this is Team Four-Six-Zero leader. Prisoner secured, ready for transport, over." they spoke through the radio, unheard by the woman.

Nothing came back but static and fuzz.

"Repeat, this is Four-Six-Zero, prisoner is secured, over." they spoke again, with a little more force.

What greeted them however was an explosion. Both heads looked up as the top of the Citadel looming above them exploded. Zero paused for a quick moment before grabbing the woman's arm forcefully.

"Move!" they ordered, moving back into the train as huge chunks of debris rained from the Citadel's peak, a wave of energy moving outward as the Citadel's spire collapsed due to the actions of one man.

Zero quickly sealed both doors after the woman entered, just in time as the station's ceiling-mounted windows were shattered because of smaller metal pieces, leaving the two sealed in a nearly pitch dark traincar, rocking violently as the shockwaves from the explosion and it's resulting energy moved outwards.

Countless noises filled the air outside as fighting paused, replaced by panic as huge pieces of metal sliced through city blocks, killing or maiming Combine and Rebel alike.

The train car rocked, but Zero knew that it was this or nothing. The Razor Train's metal was far tougher than anything in the surrounding building.

They waited it out for a few minutes until the rocking finally stopped. Zero carefully opened the train car. Devastation awaited them. Countless fragments of still-burning metal were strewn about the floor along with a field of broken glass.

The sky was a dark orange, the Citadel's peak burning a dark red as it's top became jagged and shattered.

"I guess all that preaching about Freeman had some merit to it after all." the woman chuckled. The Elite, meanwhile, was wondering how this day could get any worse.

They still had an objective, even if the methods to complete such had changed dramatically. Get the prisoner to somewhere under Combine control, so they could be handed off to wherever they were needed.

However, considering what had happened miles above them, another objective came before that. Get out of City 17 before a meltdown.

"Follow." they ordered, heading towards the building's exit.

"And why should I?" the woman retorted. The Elite stopped, turning back towards the prisoner before the woman continued. "Your Citadel just blew up, and evidently, your overseers are dead."

"What other choice do you have?" they responded. "You are just as alone as I am at the moment. We're near the Citadel's base, and judging by a quick calculation, it's going to explode and soon. You don't even have proper access to your hands, and i'm not going to release your bonds."

"So, logic dictates you have two choices. Come with me, have a chance at surviving, or die alone, helpless, and unable to avoid the Citadel's collapse." the Elite finished.

The woman paused for a moment, weighing the choices before reluctantly stepping forward. "You have a point, i'll give you that much. So what's your plan?"

"Three options." Zero spoke as they headed outside. "Find a train station headed in the right direction, find a APC and try to get as far as possible, or get deep underground and get out that way."

"First one's probably the best." the woman spoke after thinking it through a bit.

"Agreed." Zero affirmed. "Would be best to just follow the train line here, get to a main station. Need to take a small detour first."

"To where?" the prisoner asked, simply looking to the Elite seemingly not paying attention their way.

Zero looked across the park, over to the building where Three was positioned. "To get something useful."


Zero moved up to the building's second floor quickly. One's corpse was near the stairs, their head eviscerated by buckshot. They couldn't pause, however. They pushed on, moving over to Three's body. Buckshot shot a hole roughly through their body armor and what lied underneath, a mess of gore and metal. However, the helmet was intact, which was what Zero was hoping for.

They crouched down after holstering their weapon, taking hold of the distinctive red eye. They pressed into it in a pattern before it came forward, allowing Zero to unscrew it.

The woman just watched with a mixture of intrigue and a dash of confusion, though they didn't make the latter evident. As the optic was pulled out, the depth of the optic was evident, going deep into the skull, making the extent of augmentation of the soldiers obvious.

More interestingly, however was when Zero did a similar action to their own optic, leaving the metal socket exposed before putting the other optic within.

The woman patiently waited, simply asking "Why?"

"Better optic for the situation." Zero replied as they finished affixing the eye into themselves. "Mine is more for managing multiple squad members and visual feeds. Theirs was spotting and scanning. More sensitive, focused."

After finishing fitting the optic, they moved over to the dead rebel, still pinned to the wall via crossbow. Three's rifle sat on the ground close by, Zero examining it before holstering it alongside the AR2 on their back.

"Move." Zero stated, head tilting towards the door as the Pulse Rifle was once again in their hands.

The building was left deserted once more as the two left it.

"How much time do you think we have?" the woman asked as they began to move through the nearby alleyways.

"Two hours is most likely." Zero informed.

"That's a lot of ground to cover." the prisoner noted.

"Then be quiet and focus on the task." the Elite spoke a touch more forcefully, and a general quiet amidst the still-raging war set over them as they weaved through the maze of alleyways that made up the city this close to the Citadel.


Author's Notes

Astute readers can already probably guess who the prisoner is, considering the name of the story. She's going to be quite a bit different than you'd expect, however. A lot has changed since the invasion of the Union.

It'll likely be explained later, when the proper chance occurs. There's a city to flee, first.