Three more explosions shook the surrounding area before Onion and I made it down the side of the collapsed building. Gun fire filled the distance in bursts, at times leaving a quiet wake behind them. A few times I thought that maybe it was over, that whoever was protecting Hope had beaten back their aggressors, but every time, the gun fire picked up. Luckily for me, all the action was going on the opposite side of where we were, and I have not seen any signs of mammals, good or bad, this whole time.

"I do hope you have a plan Miss."

"Is it a well thought out plan? No, no it is not."

"Didn't we already have a discussion about going into situations unprepared Miss?"

"Relax Onion. I'll think of something once by the time we get closer."

The truth of that matter was, I had no plan. There were too many variables present, and all of them were unknown. In my mind I pictured some poorly made militia trying to defend their home from a large group of raiders. Knowing who the enemy was made it easier, but this could be the other way around as well. Maybe some thugs had already captured Hope, and this eternal force was simply its citizens trying to take it back or, even worse, Hope was already run by bastards, and another group of bastards is trying to take it over.

I could sneak through the back, get onto the roof, or simply perform a frontal assault, but no matter what I did, I did not know where the enemies were. I checked my sensors but we were still too far away to pick up anything, and cover was decreasing exponentially as we got closer to the town. From the back of the building, it looked as if it was kept in pretty good shape. A few patches here and there, but otherwise it was a very stable structure. That means this attack must have just recently started, or else those explosions might have already caused significant damage to the outer structure.

Minus the rails, the entire area in front of my side of the structure was flat. I couldn't tell if it was another park at one point, or if the previous structures were simply destroyed in the war. That's when I noticed something, glimmering in the distance. While it was still cloudy, occasionally a burst of sunlight breaks through for a moment, and this one just so happened to cast itself on what looked like … water.

"Onion! I think there is still water over there."

I knew that something as minuscule as water shouldn't have distracted me so easily, but it was the first sign of water I had seen since leaving the Burrow that didn't belong to some thugs. I was starting to get low on water and was hoping to find some in Hope, but if I can get some for free, all the better.

We kept under one of the larger tracks, using it's shadow to hide our presence. Just because I couldn't see anyone, didn't mean that no one could see me. Since we had left the city streets, the number of obstacles such as cars and debris had dwindled dramatically, making our movements much more fluid instead of having to constantly watch my steps. Onion simply drifted over all the obstacles with ease, making me think that maybe I should have made a much larger robot to chafferer me around. Of course that thought never occurred to me in the Burrow, where everything was a ten minute or less walk from any point. Wonder if he would object to adding some wheels …

An explosion made me remember why I was sneaking around in the first place. Smoke continuously billowed outfrom the opposite side of the structure. As I got closer, I started to realize how big it was. According to Onions pre-war maps, this was once a transportation hub that connected trains and their passengers throughout the different districts and to the boroughs beyond the city limits. With its size, it must be able to accommodate hundreds of mammals of all shapes and species, so no wonder this place was turned into a town. My thoughts were distracted once again when I reached the closest pool of water.

"Miss, the radar detectors are going crazy."

"Damn it! This water is not drinkable."

I looked at my radiation detector and saw its counter ticking between ten rads a second and sixteen rads a second. This weren't lethal numbers, but with that many ticks a second, it would build up quickly into something much more potent. The last think I needed was radiation poisoning, especially after those Guardians patched me up from all the radiation I had been exposed to since leaving the Burrow.

The pool was rather large, and it was so murky that I couldn't see the bottom, so swimming past it would be out of the question, and the only thing connecting this side of the pools to the other side were the rails, unless I wanted to go all the way around, which in that case I am sure someone would spot one of us. Gunfire told me that I needed to make a decision, and fast.

"I may have an idea Miss."

"What is it Onion?"

"I performed scans of this railway structure above us, and I noticed that it's support beams were in dire need of repair."

"I don't think anyone would care if it fell Onion, with no trains and all."

"There might not be any trains for it to support Miss, but my calculations show that if we weaken this pillar further, the entire structure will collapse into the pond, and potentially make a bridge for us to use."

"That's … actually a good idea, however, we would need a decent sized explosion, and it might grab the wrong attention."

I had one grenade left, but I was not sure if I may still need it. I've learned that simply having a grenade is weapon enough, but I just needed a small explosion, one that … oh yeah! I dropped my bag and went through it until I found what I was looking for. Back when I rescued Bo and his family, I kept the two collars that I took off them. I had to use one on that damn glowing ghoul, but I remembered I still had the other one. I pulled it out and walked over to the support that Onion was talking about.

Sure enough, it had cracks lined all through it, and rebar was sticking out of the concrete in places. It's a good thing there were no trains anymore, otherwise there would have been an issue crossing this. I was simply going to put the collar near the pillar, but I could tell that the explosion would not be large enough to cause a complete structural failure, I needed to get the explosive inside the pillar somehow. Then I began to wonder how this thing worked. I sat down and pulled out my tools and started looking for an access panel.

"Miss, what are you doing?"

"From what Bo told me about these collars, they have a very small explosive charge in them that pretty much keeps the blast radius around the neck of its victim. I figured if I could somehow extract the explosive compound from the collar, it would be small enough to shove into one of the cracks in the support, allowing me to create an explosion from the inside out."

"Didn't he also say that they can explode when tampered with Miss?"

"Yeah, but I already made sure that the trigger mechanism was disarmed. If your so worried, did you want to do it?"

I extended the collar and the tools out to Onion but he drifted backwards a few inches, "No thank you Miss, I've already experienced enough explosions as it is."

I chuckled as I continued working on the collar. Things did happen to get messy around me, and explosions are typically the messiest thing. I managed to pop off the back of the collar, paying attention to the light on it, making sure that I didn't do something to accidentally turn it back on. Inside was a small plastic sheet that covered everything. Peeling it back revealed the inner workings. A small computer chip that I figured was the wireless detonator connected via two small wires to a small yellow square of what looked like clay. I went to remove the wires when the light suddenly turned on and started to flash. Fuck!

I went to activate my Pip-Boar, but as I took my paw off of the wires, the flashing stopped and the light died out. From the looks of it, if I tried to remove the wires, it would detonate. From what I knew, the clay must have been a type of plastic explosive, and that the two wires were creating a circuit on it. If the circuit is broken, boom. I tried to remove the detonator but once again the light started to flash as I tried to remove the wire connecting it to the collar housing.

This was going to take all my effort to figure out. What I should be doing is coming up with a plan B, but complex problems like this always seem to garner my attention more. There must be something I was missing. I opened up the knife from my multi-tool and slowly slid it under the explosive. That did not trigger anything, so, being very careful, I lifted it up.

Thought so. There was a third wire connecting to the yellow compound, that's how it worked. In order to detonate, it needed an electrical charge to initiate the detonation, but it also needed a backup to prevent tampering. It would take a considerable shock to create the explosion, but the two wires on top must be constantly sending a weak signal, using the explosive as carrier. If one of the wires were to get cut, it would create a feedback loop through the other two wires causing the detonator to trigger. Despite what it was designed for, it was a rather ingenious design.

If this were to succeed, I would have to trick the detonator to think that the circuit is still complete as I remove the explosives. I took my knife and carefully scraped off the plastic housing of the top two wires, exposing them. I tested my idea by placing the backside of the knife across two exposed wires, creating a bridge between them. No light. I grabbed a small scrap electronic that I had in my bag and ripped off two wires from it and stripped the ends of each, along with the middle of one of them. I wrapped one of them to the middle, creating a 'T' shape. I curled the other ends and gently placed it down so that the wire made contact with the other two simultaneously. Once I was sure there was no signal to the detonator, I wrapped the ends of the wires. Now I just needed to take care of the third wire.

I carefully lifted up the explosive again and used my screwdriver to prop it up enough to reach the last wire. Scraping off the wire cover was much more difficult. I had to make sure that the exposed wires on top did not come into contact with anything else, or else risk breaking the circuit. Once I had enough of it exposed, I grabbed the last loose wire end and touched it to third wire. No lights. Bingo!

Once I had the wires all attached, I started to slowly pull out the ends that were embedded into the clay. Unlike before, there was no light. I had managed to create a backup circuit so that even if I removed the explosive from it, it would not trigger the detonator. Once the explosives were freed from the casing, I proceeded to shape the square into something more useful. I was able to thin it down into a rope like shape which allowed me to push it deep enough into the cracks. Now I just needed to detonate it.

The obvious choice was to use the detonator that was left in the collar. I had to basically rewire the thing to get the explosives out in order to plant it inside the cracks on the pillar. It would be tricky to reuse the detonator without accidentally having it go off in my face, especially with how short the wires were. I didn't have anything longer, but lack of materials rarely ever stops me.

To start with, I attempted pry out the module that contained all the electronics and power source. All I needed was to remotely activate the detonator, all this extra fail-safe and anti-tamper stuff were pointless. With no threat of sudden death, the process was much smoother. It only took me a few minutes to separate all the necessary parts and I put the rest of it back in my bag. A bomb-less collar probably has no use to anyone, but my mom always did say I was a scrap hoarder.

Wiring it to the explosives was similarly easy, although I had to be careful not to touch the two stripped wires together. I had no tape, so I did my best to keep them on opposite sides. Once I was happy with my work, I retreated to safety and booted up my remote function. Since I had previously connected my Pip-Boar to this collar, it's signal was still in the database. Since there was no way to test my work, I simply had to hope for the best.

"Okay Onion, take cover."

There was not much cover around us, so we simply moved as far away as the signal would allow us, and hid behind a sturdier pillar on an adjacent track. I used my scope to make sure the coast was clear and that no one had seen us, and realized that I had not heard the sounds of explosions or gun fire the entire time. Sure it only took fifteen minutes or so, but the suddenly eerie quiet started to worry me. There was nothing I could do until I got past this rad filled water, so I did the only thing I could do, I pushed a button.

I covered my ears with my paws, not sure what to expect, but turns out it was all for nothing. There was no boom, flash, or other signs of an explosion. I looked at my Pip-Boar to verify it was still connected and pushed the button again. Still nothing. Was there a delay in the signal? I never had any issues with it before. I waited a moment before getting up to investigate.

"Huh. You think that collar was a dud Onion?"

"I'm not sure. I do detect trace amounts of explosives. It's possible the connections shorted out, or you did not secure the wires properly?"

I started to walk towards the pillar, "are you saying it's my fault? When it comes to electronics I am …"

As I got closer to the pillar, the explosives finally detonated. Thankfully I was far enough to not get hit by flying debris, but I was close enough for the shock-wave to knock me on my ass. Why is it that I always end up on my rear or my face?

"Elevated Heartbeat Detected. Potential Threat Found. Activate B.A.T.S.?"

"Oh shut it already."

There was a billowing of smoke from the explosion that spread both up and out. It was hard to make out if it worked until I heard a creaking noise, followed by a loud splash. My radiation detector beeped a few times as water splashed near me, but it was well within safe limits.

The smoke finally cleared enough to see that my plan had worked. The entire bridge structure was lying in the water, although a section of it had dipped below the surface. It was a short enough distance that I should be able to make the jump with relative ease. The tracks collapsed sideways, giving me a good area to boost myself up from the stub that was once a support beam. I turned to make sure Onion was ready when heard something land a few feet away from me, was it some debris? I took a look as saw a flashing light. Fuck.

"Watch out Onion!"

I managed to get away as the grenade exploded. The explosion knocked me against the downed pillar, but it did not cause me any injuries. Who the fuck was launching grenades at me? I saw my scope on the ground, I must have dropped it when the first explosion knocked me down, and surveyed the area. There still was no sign of any mammal until I saw a small flash come from the roof of the town. A few seconds later I was greeted by another grenade, but since I was no longer off-guard, I was able to dodge its explosion much more efficiently.

"Fuck. Someone has us targeted with some kind of grenade launcher," I switched to another screen on my Pip-Boar, "and they are still too far to pick them up."

"What should we do Miss?"

"Well, even if we had a long range weapon, I have no idea if it's friend or foe attacking us, so I would rather not retaliate until I have a better understanding of the situation."

"I hope you have a plan Miss."

"Oh, I do. You're not going to like it though."

"You better not …" Onion cut off as a grenade landed uncomfortably close to him.

I looked towards the pillar and shouted, "Run!"

I bolted towards the pillar with Onion in tow. The third grenade exploded, but I was already in the middle of landing on the length of track leading across the irradiated waters. I kept my eyes on where the grenadier was and noticed that it took a few seconds between shots, so either they were a horrible aim, or it was a single fire weapon. Another flash announced the immediate arrival of a grenade, but this one landed in the water. The explosion was much smaller, with the water absorbing much of the blast, but it did create a fount of water that caused my radiation detector to go nuts for a second.

I reached the gap and without stopping or thinking, I squatted down and pushed myself up into the air. At the same time, I saw a flash from the roof. The attacker must be getting better with their aim, because right near the apex of my jump, I felt the grenade fly past me, exploding on the 'bridge' behind my location. I looked back to make sure that Onion was okay and saw him floating only a foot or two from me. I had about ten or fifteen feet left before I cleared the water, so I forced my legs to move faster.

The unknown assailant got one more grenade in before I was able to finish crossing the pools. Once I was on a more stable surface, I booked it to the building wall. Either the grenadier ran out of ammunition, or they lost line of sight to me because there were no more signs of aggression. I looked up but could not see anything other than the wood and metal that formed a patchwork wall. I took a moment to catch my breath as I tried to find any signs of an entrance, but this entire area was solid. They probably only wanted a single entry way, and that must be the one currently under attack.

To both the left and right of me were some kind of balcony that extended slightly away from the building itself. From the layout of the four tracks that connected to this side, it looked as if this middle area was designed for much larger trains than the other two, since the tracks that dead-ended at the patchwork walls were much narrower. Since either direction looked the same, I started to move around the left side of the building.

The pool of water reached around the side, with the balcony overhanging it. I needed to get on top of that outcropping to continue around the building, but it was much too high for me to jump straight up. Thankfully, the edge of the pool increased in height to the point where I should be able to climb onto the balcony with little difficulty. Once I got to the top, I needed to move carefully and try to identify the situation before I acted.

With a semblance of a plan in mind, I started to work on it. The anxiety was building the entire time. My mind drifted towards the fact that I had not heard any gunfire or explosions, save for that unknown assailant, so I had no idea as to the current state of affairs. Did the attackers win, or did the defenders? I still was no closer to even knowing who was the actual enemy, and until I did I was going to refrain from any violence. If I ended up attacking someone from Hope, that would end any chance of me gaining entry.

I climbed onto the edge of the pool, being careful that I did not slip and fall in, and found that the concrete forming the structure's walls had been fractured enough to give me a good grip to hoist me up onto the balcony. Now that I had been able to catch my breath, I noticed that between the patchwork, much of the stone structure had large faults in them. I wondered if those quakes reached all the way out here as well.

I got to the top without any incident, although I had been concentrating so much on not being seen, that my grip almost slipped which would have caused a rather un-welcomed plunge into the waters below. There were still no signs of any mammals so I continued my slow approach to the other side. I peeked around the first corner, but all it was only a small alcove. The sun was on the other side, so it left it much more darkened then the surrounding area. I was about to glance past the second corner when I heard voices.

"This cease fire is driving me crazy. I joined up to kill and loot, not sit around babysitting some crappy pre-war mechanical something or other."

"The boss has his reasons, no matter how crazy they seem. I'm guessing he thinks if he can find more of these things, they will help us take over this whole city."

"How can a hunk of junk do that when not a single mammal has been able to make claim to it."

"Dunno, but once he gets his mind on something, you may as well follow along. You remember what happened to Sammy?"

"Don't remind me. I am glad that phase is over with. I may enjoy killing, but cannibalism is where I draw the line. Let's just see what's up with the boom show back here and then head back to camp before the action starts up again."

The voices were getting closer, and from the sound of it, I knew who the bad guys were. I didn't enjoy killing, but it is often a necessary evil. Once you start to enjoy it is when your mammality begins to fade. I always need to remember what side of the line I am on, even if both sides are grey.

I pressed myself as close to the wall as possible, trying to hid in the shadows. I signaled Onion to power down his levitation unit to avoid any unwanted attention. I pulled out my gun and held it at the ready. There were only two of them, but if I wasn't careful, that number may increase exponentially. I still had no idea how many I was dealing with.

I heard the noise of walking as they neared the alcove I was in. They were light, making a small tapping noise with each stride. This means that they were a smaller species, but I had no idea what they were. My curiosity was answered as I watched the two rams turn the corner. They were polar opposites from each other physically. One had a large fluffy wool coat that his armor was barely keeping in check, while the other scrawny with small white puffs sticking out from the legs and arms. They both wore similar looking outfits: worn down cloth jumpsuits with metal plates attached across the chest. The larger one had a very large hammer while the other one had some kind of assault rifle. I looked at Onion and nodded.

"What the …"

They were too busy talking to each other that they didn't notice me and Onion lunging at them. I punched the smaller one square in the face while I heard the crackling sound of Onion's stun baton going to work on the larger one. My target was so caught off guard that he dropped his rifle and I scooped it up and pointed it at him, although for its size, it was probably obvious that I was having difficulties keeping it leveled. I glanced over at the other ram and saw him convulsing on the ground, the metal armor must have helped amplify Onion's already strong shocks.

"Make any sudden movements and I will reply with a bullet to the brain. Got it?"

"I …"

"I will be doing the talking. Who are you, and why are you attacking Hope?"

I heard coughing as I saw the larger ram's mouth beginning to foam up. Why the hell am I concerning myself with this fucker's health? These guys are attacking innocents. I figured that the ram in-front of me would be cowering in his armor at what we just did to the both of them, so I was caught off guard when he started to laugh.

"You fucking idiot! Do you realize who you are dealing with here?"

"Um, some murderous thugs?"

"Wrong, you cunt. We are the Berserk-kings, and you have gone and made my friend here very angry."

The ram that was seconds ago convulsing on the ground was now standing erect. The veins on his neck were bulging and I could see a fiery rage in his eyes. He was big before, but his presence felt much larger now. His mouth was still foaming as he picked up his hammer and swung at me. I jumped away as it slammed into the ground, shattering it and leaving a very large crater. This is not good.

Onion was trying to electrocute him again, but it did not seem to faze him. His focus was on me, and me alone. What the fuck, I wasn't even the one who hurt him the first place! I still had the gun, but it's size and weight were making it harder to dodge the incoming attacks. He swung again, this time to the side and the hammer embedded itself in the buildings wall. A large crack traveled up as he struggled to free the weapon. Time to act.

I pointed the rife at the ram and went to fire when I felt something hit my back, knocking me to the ground. Onion rolled passed me as I struggled to get up. I felt a hoof land on my back, forcing my face into the pavement. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the larger ram finally freeing the hammer from the wall. I was in trouble.

"Imminent Threat Detected. Activate B.A.T.S.?"

"YES!"

It had been a while since I had to use B.A.T.S., so my skin jumped at the feeling of the needle injecting the chemicals into my arm. I felt my reaction time getting better, my heartbeat normalizing, and the world around me starting to slow. I was not sure if this was an addictive substance, but I felt at home under these conditions. It felt … good.

The ram on top of me was reaching down to pick up his gun as I twisted my body and kicked his leg, causing him to start tumbling. Once I was free from his hoof, I rolled out of the way as the hammer came smashing down where I was and where his friend now was. I don't know if things happened too quick, or if he simply was too drugged up to care, but he continued his full swing, crushing the skull of the smaller ram.

The chemical was going to wear off, so I only had one shot before I needed to take cover. I considered grabbing the rifle, but I doubt I would be able to ready it fast enough as the ram was already lifting his weapon into another swing. For a big guy, he moved rather fast. I decided upon my handgun before realizing that I didn't have it. Fuck! I must have dropped it in the scuffle. I looked around for it as the chemicals started to wear off. Not wanting to meet the same fate as the deceased mammal, I jumped out of striking range of the melee weapon. That's when I saw that my gun was right next to him. Well that fucking figures.

I doubt I could keep this up much longer, my opponent seemingly getting faster and stronger with each passing second. I narrowly missed being hit again when I heard something land between me and the rampaging ram. I knew that sound and I knew that flashing light. It was the same type of grenade that I was just dodging earlier. I jumped out of the way as it detonated - the ram taking its full force. While I did not take damage from it, it forced me to the ground, landing on my back for once. I heard a loud thump as I saw the ram collapse.

The explosion also happened to send my gun in my direction, coming to a stop near my leg. Chalk that one up to fate I guess. I was already feeling tired, and I did not even know if that grenade was meant for him, me, or both of us. I plopped my head onto the ground and sighed. Movement caused me to look towards the direction my head was pointing and my heart stopped. This fight made me forget why I was trying to be cautious in the first place.

I landed in a manner that I could now see a good chunk of the other side of the building. Standing there, in a huge mass were dozens mammals, big and small. They all had their attention on me, every one of them dressed in similar garb as the two rams. I should have been concerned with the sheer size of the force, but the only thing that my attention on was what was in the middle of the mass. I was in awe.

Bigger than any mammal I have seen so far stood a monstrous piece of machinery. With a domed head on top an enormous frame, it was the largest, and most intimidatinglooking robot I have ever seen. The sun glistened off the reddish-brown plating as it spun in my direction. The crowd parted ways as I saw the three wheeled legs that supported it start to move, coming to a stop. The entire thing was now oriented towards me. Red lights began glowing behind a caged faceplate on the head as it lifted itstwo arms in my direction.

A voice boomed out from the robot snapping me back into the moment.

"Looks like we found the source of the ruckus boys. Time for some fun."