Edited as of (7/6/18)

PB: Da-Awesom-One

DULLED FANGS

-Joel Ambrose-

'How!? How could this day get any worse!?' I wondered frantically as my ears pounded at the sudden audial assault, scrambling to my feet the instant the first shrill alarm bell sounded, followed shortly by flashing red lights filling the train car, which was also followed by an explosion that rocked the train, and set Faraday screaming.

For the most part, aside from the rather abrupt departure, the trip had been exactly as advertised: boring and slow going, with little to do but stare out at the passing scenery, or try to make some semblance of conversation with the other occupants, not that that was going well. The fine choices of that option were an intellectual that cringed every time I looked her way, still likely shell-shocked and muttering to herself, an old man nursing what must've been his fifth or sixth bottle since boarding the train - as if awareness and thought of continued attacks wasn't a thing - and a moody Faunus, who, last I checked, was idly scratching a little doodle into the wall with one of my knives to take the edge off her nerves.

As a result, I'd spent most of the last few hours pacing the various cars I was "allowed" access to, and thinking over our enemy, just as Fortuna had taught me, allowing just enough paranoia to cross the threshold while still keeping a firm hold on reality. Reality being that those weren't bandits that had attacked us. Their training and patterns were too professional, despite appearances; too drilled into memory. And Ben had said it himself months before at the site during our first outing: bandits were businessmen. They weren't stupid. Any way you looked at it, that attack was doomed to fail, likely even if the Specialists hadn't played a role in the response.

We'd received confirmation from Altrosa, sounding honestly chipper, if a little exhausted over the radio, that the survivors had broken off soon after the train had left, and that he, Slater, and the bulk of the aerial support were en-route.

'They wanted to separate us from the air defenses! Catch us while we were... Damn it all!'

I pulled aside a young uniformed trooper dashing past us, his face a mask of panic and confusion. "What's going on!?" I called over the alarm. I honestly thought it was going to set my ears bleeding until Max let out a howling scream, and smashed the buzzer with her axe, blissfully cutting off the siren aside from a few dull thrums from the other cars.

"W-we have reports of a pair aircraft knocking our bird out of the sky, a-and is offloading armed troops towards the front! F-from what we gathered before they jammed communications, it seems they were trying to breach the conductor's car, and halt the train!" he stammered out, glancing at us all as he tried his best to straighten up, not looking at me.

"Do we know anything else? Who are they? Bandits, raiders, what!?"

"W-well, I... I-I know what the reports said, but..." He choked up, and I noticed he was gripping the rifle he held so tightly that his hands shook. He was also backing away from me, like I was some sort of Grimm.

"Out with it, son," Bill spoke up, striding up next to me, keeping one eye consistently on Faraday even as he moved, the woman clutching at her arms curled in her seat. "What're we dealin' with here?"

The young man opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off as the door to the cabin burst open. Four soldiers burst into the room, followed shortly by a red-faced Pips, a vein pulsing above his eyebrow as the group fanned out, weapons brought to bear on...

Me!?

I backed off with my arms raised, but ready to move if they did.

"Joel Ambrose! You are to stand down, and disarm yourself immediately!"

"The fuck are you lot playing at!?" Max shouted, splitting apart her axe into its twin gun form, and likely would've started shooting if I didn't stop her with a raised hand. She didn't fire, but she sure as hell didn't lower her weapons, keeping one firmly aimed at the lieutenant, while the other shifted from sweating soldier to soldier, picking out targets.

"Bring your pet to heel, traitor, or we'll be forced to...!"

The lieutenant didn't get much further than that, my partner snarling furiously, teeth bared and her ears flat to her skull as her Aura began to flare ominously. "The fuck did you just call me, asshole!?" Her fingers twitched towards the triggers, even as some of the Atlesians turned away from me in favor of the active threat she posed. "Try to say that with a mouthful of lead, you bald bitch! SAY IT AGAIN!"

"Max, just stay calm! Let me...!"

Before I could finish speaking, a loud gunshot rang through the space, freezing us all in place.

"Let's all be civil, now shall we?" Carson intoned to the room at large, holstering the silver smoking pistol, lined by a blade that was the length of the barrel and ending at the trigger guard, and with what looked to be a cowboy spur at the bottom of the handle, in a hip holster at his belt with a styled flourish. "Now, Lieutenant... wouldja kindly explain to us the reason why you and your people are wastin' time pointin' weapons at my charges while we obviously have more pressin' matters to contend with?"

He cocked his head towards the broken siren, one of the soldiers moving to step forward. Whether or not it was to restrain him or something else, I never discovered, as the man froze at a glare from the Indentured Huntsman, his green eyes flashing in a way that would have even made a Beowolf think twice.

"Well?..."

The Lieutenant looked ready to burst a blood vessel for maybe the tenth time since I'd met him in half as many meetings. But after a few seconds, he finally managed to restrain himself, his dark eyes shifting from the insubordinate Indentured Huntsman to me, narrowing to slits. "My reasoning, Carson, is that this boy is a traitor, who has sold us out to his subordinates within the Red Hand! Those Bullheads have already brought down our escort ship, and I expect them to be the reason for our lack of reinforcements! That's not even including the multitude of our men and drones in the back cars already in the hands of unknown assailants! Meanwhile, what must be the majority of their forces are traversing above us, either by spreading out along the roofing this way, or moving to take the...!"

"The Red Hand's here!? They're the ones attacking us!?" I cut him off abruptly while stepping forward, heedless of the sudden series of clicks and clatters of weapons all around me. Max's growling reached a fever pitch. "But why!? That doesn't make any sense!"

The man let out a hoarse laugh, all force and no humor. "You really weren't aware? Doubtful. Even a child could see that this is some sort of half-baked escape attempt! Your plan was to use the crew and cargo as leverage to buy your way back into their good graces, and slip the Council's leash all in one go. I suspected such a thing might occur...!"

"No, it really doesn't make any sense, you pompous ass!" I interjected, not even listening to the bigoted blowhard at this point. "Even if their operational standards have changed since I left, the Hand wouldn't consider pulling an operation like this! They don't waste men as a diversion, devote Bullheads and this many troops - maybe even Trappers - just to come after me, when they could just as easily scuttle the train from above, and save themselves the trouble!" That got a few nervous whispers, which were quickly silenced by the bald soldier. "No... They want to take it, instead, even with the heavy Atlesian military presence on board, including three trained Huntsmen... Which can only mean..."

'I'm not the target... But if it's not me, then...? Wait... The cargo!' I looked over my shoulder at the chestnut-haired doctor currently ducking behind her seat, who let out a fearful squeak out when she noticed me staring.

"What the hell's in that case you brought on board!?" I asked her, fists clenched at my sides angrily.

"W-whatever d-do you mean!? Y-you've been notified already, haven't you? I-it's just a p-prototype power cell for the Atlesian Pala... Ah!" She ducked low as a knife extended in my hand, one of the spares I kept hidden in my glove for cases like this.

"Kid, settle down, now..." Bill muttered dangerously, but I ignored him.

I'd had a bad feeling about this mission nagging at me since the moment the Headmaster and Ironwood presented it. The heavy military presence, Ben and Reika's disappearance, the attack... One thing after the other, and I didn't bother to speak up when I should have! 'Dammit, Ozpin! It's the cave all over again!'

A quick order from Pips had the troopers ready to fire, but they were stopped, their weapons shifting upwards under seemingly their own power, even as the confused and frightened men and women tried to bring them down, tugging with all their might.

Max had them handled, her face scrunched up in concentration, while shooting me furtive glances as I marched past Carson, who didn't bother stopping me, but kept a hand on his gun all the same. After slamming the heel of my shoe into the back of the seat where she lay crouched with enough force to almost dislodge it from the floor entirely, the small woman scrambled into the aisle away from me.

I wasn't planning on hurting the doctor, or I'm sure Carson would have been able to keep me back. I'd just had enough of being jerked around, and wanted the truth for once.

"These aren't the sorts of people who would send a Trapper and a contingent to attack a heavily-fortified train just for some over-sized battery! So I'll ask again... what's in that case!?"

"I-I... I-it's all...!"

"Doctor Faraday, you are not cleared to reveal that information!" Pips shouted, before he was shoved back into a chair by some invisible force, glaring at Max in a way he probably thought was threatening. "Someone shoot that damn animal already!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Max leveled one of her weapons on the soldier with a strained, yet wide grin on her face upon noticing the sweat beading down his brow. "But I'd actually like to hear this, and your screaming might make that difficult for some of us!" One of her ears twitched dismissively.

I sighed, compressing the knife again, before taking a knee before the scientist. "Okay, look, I'm sorry for scaring you. Lost it for a bit there..." I raised my hands, turning them so she could see they were empty now, having slipped the knife back into my glove. "And contrary to what the lieutenant and his men might believe, I didn't have any part in this. I'll do my best to complete my mission, which, as I understand it, is to keep you and the people on this train safe. But for me to do that, I need to know what it is I'm risking both my partner's and my own life for... Please."

"You shouldn't need a reason! Your orders should be eno...!" I could hear the man yelling behind me, only to let out a yelp when a trio of holes appeared just to the right of his head, cratering the cushion of the seat next to his with a heavy thump as he leapt back, snarling.

The Dog Faunus only gave him a coy wink. "Sorry. Finger's are getting a bit twitchy, here."

Thankfully, it seemed my words had had some effect. Her mouth opened and closed briefly, before she relented with a weary sigh, wiping at her glasses. "...It isn't a power cell, is it?" I asked again, calmer this time. "What are they after that's so important?"

"Doctor...!"

"...Y-you're... Y-you're right," she said after a few seconds, replacing her glasses with a stony look on her face. "...What sits in the storage cabin isn't a new power cell, but the culmination of my own research... A Dust-fueled explosive capable of changing the face of Remnant forever. 'Nature's Wrath,' in truth..." Eyebrows went up across the room, the only ones apparently unfazed were Pips and the scientist herself. Carson even cursed under his breath. "'...Project Endgame.'"

"Isn't that a little overdramatic?" Max asked, shakily dropping her Semblance on all but the lieutenant. We definitely weren't the only ones shocked by the revelation, as even some of the soldiers were muttering barely-audible curses, looking to their commander for clarification rather than aiming them at me as they were supposed to. "So it's high-yield? That isn't exactly a new concept. I've seen a thrown-together piece use Dust cores to take out a mountain. What makes yours so special?"

"This device doesn't just force an unstable structural reaction from whatever crystals or powders that are stuffed inside, like most weapons or engines. It splits a specially-formed artificial solution that I developed at its core at the atomic level, creating an exponentially more powerful reaction."

I was no specialist in the mineral resource that had uplifted Humanity. My own understanding and application was limited to using it as a supplement for Aura in combat, and even that was a dangerous far cry from what I'd seen others like Weiss or Professor Goodwitch pull off. What I did know firsthand, however, was how dangerous and unstable it was at the best of times, and what even a pinch of it could do if handled incorrectly.

'Boom...'

"Y-you understand why we can't let this weapon fall into the wrong hands, don't you?..." Faraday said somberly at the look that must have etched myself on my face, hands wringing themselves together. "The prototype we have on board is easily capable of wiping a city the size of Vale off the map, and likely a good stretch of the surrounding area as well, not even accounting for the worst of it... W-we weren't even going to let it near the city. A-a ship was already prepared for Atlas!"

Max laughed, but there was no humor in it. Only stunned disbelief. "What? A city buster isn't bad enough?"

The chestnut-haired woman, however, didn't seem at all amused, and certainly not joking either. "Aside from the chaos wrought in the initial detonation, the blast would also send enough charged Dust particles high enough into the atmosphere that the sheer quantity itself would evoke catastrophic climate change on its own... We detonated a similar device with a quarter of the destructive power this one is capable of months ago, and it created a glacial formation in the middle of the Vacuan desert that still stands today... Similar tests have produced all manner of events. I even saw fire rain from the sky once..." she spoke almost wistfully, eyes glazing over.

In other words, it could literally change the face of Remnant as we knew it...

"...Why? Why even create something like that?" I found myself asking, backing away quickly from the madwoman before me. "Who would even...? You had to have known it was a bad idea, right?"

"General Ironwood insisted on a solution! A safeguard of some kind!" she replied, leaning back against one of the seats as gunfire and a distant explosions rang out towards the front of the train. "Like the name Endgame suggests, it would be used as a last resort against the Grimm, or anything else that might threaten Mankind if we were ever pushed to the brink, with few pieces left to play! A-a means to even the odds. A chance to push the boundaries of what could be done... W-what self-respecting scientist could resist the opportunity to work with some of the greatest minds...!?"

"...And Jacob Ambrose?" I asked, fearing the answer even as I asked, my brother's words on the "side projects" Ironwood had him working on at the forefront of my mind. "Was he involved in this!?"

"Your brother?... H-he's the one who presented the idea. He was the one that suggested me to the Atlesian Council, even!"

She flinched as I kicked at the dented seat beside me, this time dislodging it from the floor with a crash that startled everyone, whirling around to face those assembled. Carson looked towards the doctor as if he were going to be sick, while Max glanced at me nervously.

"Please, they'll also be after me as well! I'm the only one who can replicate the mix, and knows the process of how to set it off correctly!"

Bill shook his head in disgust, green eyes settling on the small woman. "Well... least I know why I was given orders to make sure ya weren't captured, even if it came to... Well, you get the idea." Her eyes widened, tears trickling down her face now. "I won't. But at least I know the reason now... Y'all just had to keep pushin' it, didn't ya?... Damn it, Altrosa..."

"Why weren't we told!? Why didn't Ozpin...!?" I started out, before the truth hit me, my eyes narrowing on the soldiers around me. "So... he didn't know? Then it was chain of intelligence scenario? Compartmentalization; keep it in the higher ranks!?"

I nodded towards Max, the girl releasing whatever hold she had on Pips, her shoulders slumping as she swayed slightly. I was acting a hell of a lot more calmer than I felt, that was for damn certain.

'Jake, just what the hell have you done here!?' I couldn't believe it. Penny was bad enough, but this!?

"...Then I guess we know what we have to do," I said to the soldiers, each of them staring back at me with their own grim, guilty expressions. "Some of you will stay here and hold this position, while most of you, along with Max, will be going towards the front of the train, and keep them from halting it. As long as we're moving, we have a chance out of this. Meanwhile, I'm going to head to the cargo hold, and join up with the other Specialists. We'll secure the prototype, and hopefully deal with whatever's back there, Trapper or not." I looked to Carson, the Huntsman bowing his head approvingly. "You'll need to stay with her." I pointed at the now-sobbing Faraday.

"Sounds like a solid enough plan. I approve wholeheartedly," the Huntsman said, kicking at one of the bottles at his feet. "They won't touch a hair on her."

"Now, wait just a moment! Who put you in charge here!? You're under confinement!" Pips leapt from the chair, pistol in hand, though as he looked around at his soldiers who were already moving ahead behind the Faunus girl, he held his tongue and his bullets. "The General will hear of this! And just wait until Specialist Commander Altrosa returns!" he spat venomously, eyes burning holes in the back of Carson's head. "You can be sure of that!"

"Hope they do. They'll hear how the kids I brought aboard pulled their asses from the fire!" the former outlaw laughed, plucking up Faraday like a child, and depositing her in a seat, sitting across from her and gesturing to another vacancy. "Might as well join us, Lieutenant. I got a feelin' it's gonna to be a long day for y'all after this little debacle."

-Maxine Argus-

'Shit! How many of them are there!?' I swore internally, ducking low to avoid another burst of gunfire that blew out the window behind me, darting forward to cleave a deep furrow in my attacker's chest, shivering a bit as blade bit into muscle.

I'd already told the troopers to stay behind me and secure cabins as we went, pressing forward myself. I either forced what Red Hand I could off the train, or injured them badly enough that they were no longer a threat.

"Focus on the Faunus!"

Swearing vehemently, I leapt for cover again as the car lit up with renewed gunfire. 'Bombs, terrorists... I didn't sign up for this shit!' No, I didn't, but here I was caught up in some other damn mess. 'What happened to good old fashioned Grimm, huh!? Or robots, even!?'

The firing stopped abruptly, my cue to leap out and pick off two more before they could scramble for cover with clean shots to the legs, sending them sprawling. Huntsman training might be rough on occasion, but godsdamn was it effective. These goons might as well have been standing still for all the effort it took, my Faunus senses easily picking out targets, even in the dim light!

"Conductor's car's next, ma'am!" one of the soldiers I'd had with me called out, gesturing ahead where a few Hand bastards had hunkered down, despite the wound he was nursing on his side. A stray shot, but he was luckier than most of the others I'd passed on the way here that had been fighting while that Poops asshole was mucking things up.

A thick, official-looking steel door barred the way forward. It was probably locked from the other side, but that wasn't much of an issue for me, despite the slight exhaustion I still carried from before.

'Small and precise is a bitch to handle. Crushing things is so much easier... and fun!'

With that thought in mind, I chose the expedient option. Rather than working my way up and get shot at, I just forced my way through with a push from my Semblance, which sent all the seats, row by row, off their fixtures and into the far wall, effectively burying any resistance. It left only me and the three other soldiers with a clear path forward, though I did accidentally blow out the windows as well.

"Damn..." the injured one cursed over the sudden roar of wind rushing through the cabin as I let go of my Aura with a strained sigh. "I've seen Huntresses do some incredible things, but you take the cake, ma'am! Never seen anything like it!"

I merely shrugged, a move that probably just impressed them all the more. "I'm a bit unique. Get back to the central car while I mop out the rest." I flexed my axing arm, checking the blood-coated weapon for nicks.

They nodded appreciatively, the two still on their feet, helping their injured comrade limp along. 'That's new. Actual respect from a Human, without any double-edged backtalk...'

It was weird, but a little... nice, if I was being honest. To actually be thanked for contributing to others... With renewed confidence, I moved along my little impromptu pass, delivering a harsh kick to the nose of one Red Hand that hadn't been completely buried and seemed to be stirring, chuckling a bit as I wiped the blood off on his cheek.

"Would be rude not to knock," I shrugged to myself, delivering a harsh kick to the door's center with enough force to rock it off its hinges, and forward like a slab, only to land heavily on the metal-grated floor.

The first thing I picked up immediately was the scent of blood. Fresh blood. It was accompanied by sweat, and a myriad of other sources. Three crew members, all Faunus, sat trussed up against the wall. Two were slumped over with what looked like arrows lodged in their vitals, obviously dead, if not near it, while the third...

'Bastet!' I tensed, noting an arrow similar to the others lodged deep in the cat's side as he was bleeding profusely. Judging by the pained look on his face, however, he at least still had enough life in him to feel it.

The blue pony-tailed bastard sporting dark body armor, along with a composite bow and a small boxlike quiver on his back, stood at the train's controls, watching the landscape race by as he tried to decipher the myriad of knobs and buttons.

"Complicated piece of scrap... You yokels out in Vacuo ever hear of labels?" a high-pitched distorted voice mused in annoyance, sighing dramatically as he brought his arms to his sides. "Really, I thought you'd have managed to get here much faster, considering a reputation like yours even amongst us Trappers. Guess Beacon really has made you soft, hasn't it, Ambro...!?" The surprisingly young figure turned around, sharp yellowish eyes widening in shock above a dark mask similar to what the shrimp wore, but more streamlined, and without the little carved designs. "What the...!? You're not Ambrose!"

"The fuck tipped you off? The ears, or the boobs?" I countered, raising my both of my guns. "The hell're you supposed to be, anyways!?"

Rather than answer me, however, the terrorist just kept looking at me, raising a hand to a small receiver in his ear, muttering darkly under his breath just loudly enough for me to pick up, even with the weird distortion. "Damn it, I was promised a shot at the traitor for going along with this! What're you playing at, Virgil!?... Ah, no, no, no, don't give me that crap! I want my vengeance! We had a deal!"

As much as I was tempted to let the archer have his little monologue with himself, a wracking cough from Bastet made it clear that this needed to be over with, and fast. 'Great. A Trapper, of all things... Thanks, life. Glad to know you have my back!' So Ambrose was wrong about the major threat attacking from the back end, or worse, there was another of the masked buggers running around. 'Least this one's fun-sized, unlike that shield bastard...'

"Yo! I asked you a question, shithead!"

"Do you mind, dog!?" he spat back, the venom oozing off his voice with every syllable. "Your betters are speaking, so if you could just stay...!"

'Okay, negotiations have broken down. Prepare to die, asshole!'

I saw red, firing off a quick volley and charging forward, even as he leapt to the side, pulling his bow. I made sure to stay right on top of the Trapper, bringing the bladed edge of my gun down in a downward arc. In a perfect setting, the fight would've ended right there, with me bringing the blade across his chest, and kicking him back unconscious, or at least wounded severely.

Unfortunately, of course, the assassin had just managed to nimbly avoid the swing that grazed his chest piece, flipping backwards with a fast-extending arrow already drawn back on his bowstring and ready to fire. He let it loose with a cheeky wink that had Carson's face flashing through my mind.

'Fucker!...' I was barely able to bring my gun's twin up in time to deflect the shot, a sharp pain grazing my cheek and earlobe as the shaft passed by in a hail of sparks that set a ringing in my eardrums.

"Much nimbler than you look, aren't you, dog!?" he taunted as he landed in a crouch, another arrow spinning in his hand already, a smirk audible behind the mask. "Most don't walk away after that one!"

"Shut up!" I jumped forward, missing another swing, and having to bob down for my trouble as the condescending target fired off another one, feeling the wind rush past me above my ears close enough to hurt. With speed almost impossible to follow, the Trapper weaved behind me, wrapping his weapon around my neck as an arrow nestled closely against my jugular, held in one hand like a dagger.

"Why would I, when we're having such an engaging conversation?" He cocked his head, noticing the vein pulsing in my forehead. "From the ears and personality, it's not difficult to guess who you are. Ambrose's new pet guard dog, Maxine Argus, right?"

My sudden stiffness and the growl in my throat told him all he needed to hear. 'A kid? A fucking kid's kicking my ass!?'

"Not exactly who I wanted, but killing you will hurt him all the same." He chuckled darkly under his breath, the distortion ringing in my eardrums. "You have the distinct honor of engaging Red Hand Trapper and master archer Robert Lanc... Ack!" He cried out all of a sudden as he was blown back against the wall hard, coming to his senses, and ducking his head with unnatural quickness just in time to avoid a fully reconstituted Cerberus denting the wall where his neck had been. He peered up at me in shock and confusion at the bow I had under my heel.

"Y'know, the way you keep blabbing on's really starting to remind me of a certain teammate of mine..." I growled deeply, dislodging the axe while kicking the Trapper back into the console with an Aura-filled kick to the side, shivering slightly at the gasp of pain he let past his mask and the glare he gave me. "Which is definitely not helping my mood right now, so why don't you just start screaming instead, and make this fun, at least!?"

-Benjamin Carson-

"I still think we should go back. We can't leave the device alone. You know our orders," the tan-haired woman, Braun I think her name was, said nervously to her companion as she smoothed out an invisible crease in her pressed-white uniform, her Aura having protected it from the storm outside. "Dorian wouldn't want us to...!"

"The situation's changed big time, Mari. If this is the Hand at work, then the best thing we can do is deal with them quickly and efficiently before they have time to gain momentum," Kelly shot back, blowing a strand of silver-colored hair out of his face with a comforting grin. "Hey, we've fought way worse, and it's not like we left the thing unguarded, after all."

Fair logic, I supposed, if a tad bit overconfident, though that was common enough around Huntsmen, I'd noticed. Problem was that if this guy hadn't already realized that the Red Hand possessed air superiority, then they already had the high ground in this fight. Best thing they could've done would have been to fall back and defend a position they couldn't just bomb.

'Of course, that would make things a bit more dicey for me. More power to ya...'

I grimaced, mouthing out every curse and prayer for luck I knew as I held my breath, listening to the Huntsmen banter back and forth on their way through the cabin as I safely crouched in a dark corner amidst a mess of glowing service piping and cleaning supplies.

'C'mon, c'mon! Move, already!'

My chest was getting a bit tight, but I didn't dare exhale, knowing fully well that they would've been able to pick it up. And if they could, well... always a safe bet to just to assume the worst. And it never hurt to be cautious, especially since they'd shut off the alarms, though the space was still flush with crimson light from the emergency buzzer. Beyond that, all I had to listen to was their footsteps and the dull rumble of the train.

'Awesome...'

It had been through dumb luck that I saw the door light signaling when I did, happening to look up at just the right time to catch it. Thing is, I was a moment too slow, my poncho rustling just a fair bit too loudly before I'd settled in place. Luckily for me, these two seemed too busy arguing at the time, more focused on each other, buying me the precious second I needed to get into position.

"We've got the drones set to key us in if anything so much as breathes in that car," Silver kept going, the rustle of flesh on fabric signaling some contact between the two. "You worry too much." There was affection there. Made me wonder if these two...

"And you don't worry enough." Louder footsteps now. Quicker, too, as she picked up her pace, leaving her comrade chuckling to himself. It was nice to see that even Huntsmen could still strike out now and again, even though I did fully agree with the lady in the room.

'Hurry up! I'll quit drinkin', stop swearin', be the perfect soul of humility and temperance. Hell, I'll even ask Max out on a...!' The door on the opposite end of the car opened, and I relaxed as the sound of wind and dust matting entered the car. 'Holy... Guess I'm goin' dry... Yah!?'

I'd barely twitched, but in my relief, I'd forgotten about my damn arm, using it to steady myself against a Dust pipe, only for it to *CLANK* very, very audibly, at least to someone with Aura-enhanced senses. Freezing in place, I panicked as I tried to pick up what the couple was doing.

"Whoa, wait, did you hear that?" the man's voice called to his lady friend over the rush of the storm. "I think something... I'm not sure." Well I, for one, was pretty sure he was going to hear my damn heart beating easily enough if he came back inside, the traitorous organ pounding like a hammer in my chest.

'Oh crap, crap, crap, crap...!' Two Huntsmen, two Atlesian Huntsmen!... Well, I'd maybe have a second or two to fix my hair before these two noticed my weapons and lack of reason being there. 'Might as well leave a handsome lookin' corpse. Here's to hopin' they'll at least leave the face alone...'

Strange, my mind had already all but given up, and was currently imagining the various gruesome ways I might meet my end, if Red's scythe or Blondie's gauntlets were anything standard. My body, however, seemed keen on moving on its own, hand surely but slowly going to one of the small pouches around my chest, traps and tricks mostly, but they at least might be something to throw them off...

He was turning around, muttering something under his breath I couldn't quite catch, when, thankfully and mercifully, Braun spoke up from outside. "You feeling this storm!? Something must've just come a bit loose! Now hurry up! The enemy's still close!"

He had convinced her, made her want to get this over with, and I'd rarely been so thankful for anything in my short life as the Huntsman. He gave one last look around the rattling car before the door closed again, leaving me with only the beautiful sound of the train rumbling underneath, and my own heavy breathing for company.

"That... Ha... That doesn't... Hoo... fuckin' count." I grinned between gulps, telling whatever gods of luck and fortune there were to collectively suck it after that little scare, resolving to have the biggest drink I could find after all of this was over. With one last exhale, I slipped through the door they...

I froze suddenly, with my hand millimeters from the control panel that stood as the only thing between me and our mission's first target. A cold chill ran its way down my spine. It was something I'd learn to trust over the years. But I couldn't let it stop me. Not now. Hell, I already knew this was stupid.

'Calm down, damn it! It's nerve. I can't afford to choke now.' I had no idea how Sienna might've been faring, but judging by the state of the guards I'd slipped past on their way to the rear cars, she'd have her hands full keeping them busy. 'If she isn't dead already... No! Focus, and do your job!'

Prying the metal casing away from the door, I stuck a metal hand into the sprawl of wires to clutch at a pair towards the back with a bit of effort. 'Almost there...' I pulled back with a sharp tug. A quick spark and a flash later had the door opening, as the system entered emergency settings for crew evacuation. 'Yes! Still got it!'

I grinned to myself, shaking out the appendage with a shrug of the bionic shoulder while scanning the cargo-laden room quickly for any signs of danger. I was relieved to know that, whatever my fellow Huntress was doing, it had warranted drawing what live security personnel that had been guarding the car away, including the Huntsmen.

However, the Specialist had mentioned there being guards in the car. If that was the case, the guards they had mentioned had to be...

"INTRUDER! IDENTIFY YOURSELF!"

'Tin men! Called it!'

I drew my snub pistol from my holster and took aim. Four bulky AKs stalked out from the sides of the room, sporting a lot more armor than I was used to seeing on these things, as well as flashy compact rifles in human-like appendages.

'Ah, right. New models... Welp.' Not a problem. Just a costlier bill for the SDC to pick up, in my book, which was more than enough to put a swagger in my step.

"ANY ACT OF AGGRESSION WILL BE MET WITH RETALIATION... COMPLIANCE REQUESTED."

The lead one held up a hand in a pre-programmed attempt to dissuade me, and received a Dust-propelled slug to the face for its effort, teetering back to the floor while missing three quarters of its head with a dull metallic *thud,* throwing sparks over its mates.

"Benjamin Carson. A pleasure," I winked, leaping into action before their targeting systems could even register what had happened.

These droids were definitely an improvement over the older models. They actually managed to almost follow me with their weapons before I took them apart with a flurry of single shots to the vital systems.

Still, I couldn't help feeling a bit guilty with how easy it was... At least until one of them actually managed to smack me across the back with the butte of its rifle, and I paid it back in kind with a bionic fist through the chest plate, gripping a heart-like battery in hand, before crushing it brutally like an egg.

'Thanks, Rosie. I owe ya big time.'

Within a few minutes, I stood shaking out my arm over the sparking remains of the still-twitching androids, twirling my pistol in hand, before slipping it back to its holster at my side.

Whistling a jaunty Badlands tune, I set myself to the task of locating my prize, frowning slightly as I found what must have been the take: a large metal suitcase, which was locked electronically, and belted down in a secured corner of the room. Easy enough to rip off at this point.

'All this for a stupid battery... Bullshit,' I thought in annoyance, hefting the thing up into the crook of my arm. Thing was heavier than it looked, even for the bionic replacement, putting an uncomfortable pull on my shoulder where metal met flesh.

Still, it wasn't as if I had much choice, however. Reika's life and others depended on this... Whatever the hell it was, though, I couldn't help the fact that I was actually tempted to sneak a peek, regardless of whatever Hand orders had been to the contrary.

So distracted was I, that I missed the telltale sound of a door sliding open behind me, a familiar voice calling out in wary surprise.

"Ben?... What the hell are you doing here!?"

My whole body stiffened where I stood like a child caught in the act, eyes darting over my shoulder to see Psycho standing there in the doorway, outlined by rushing flurries of sand and debris, Storm Circuit clutched loosely at his side, and one of his knives ready in his hand. He stared at me as if I had to be some sort of sick joke.

The Huntsman-in-training was a lot of things: stubborn, brave, and even a bit over-protective. But one thing he certainly was not was an idiot, despite what his partner might've said to the contrary. He noted the case I held, his face immediately hardening into a determined, if still angry scowl.

"...Please tell me this isn't what it looks like."

"This isn't what it looks like!" I shot back hopefully, giving him a rueful smile and a tired shrug, though it didn't seem to help matters. "Sorry, but my hands are tied, Boss. I need ya to trust me on this one!"

"First, you take off with your partner, and go dark the night before our mission even officially starts. Then, you show up at the same time as a Red Hand raiding party, which happens to be trying to capture the very thing you're holding." He took a few steps forward, my body flinching back on instinct over the kind of presence the Huntsman was exuding, and not just by size alone. "You wouldn't join them. You're not the type..." The muscles in his wrist twitched, but I could still see his hand shaking slightly. Not that I could blame him. I was personally feeling guilty enough as it was. "...Does this have anything to do with why Reika's not with you right now?"

I nodded with a sad smile. "I wound up havin' a fight with Dad soon after we all supposedly went to bed, and ran off. Rei followed after me, and tried her best to keep me outta trouble... just like she always has..." The memory of me arguing with her, what I said without thinking... It still rankled. "We were arguin' on our way outta some bar, when we managed stumble onto some Red Hand get-together, Trapper and everything. Ran into some creep named Virgil." Joel's face paled, but I kept on going, hating how pleading my voice sounded. "Last thing I remember is the guy takin' her down hard, before wakin' up as part of some crazy plan to rob the train, with - you guessed it - Reika as an incentive... She dies if I muck this up, Boss. Please let me do this. For her sake, at least, if not for me."

"...Did they even tell you what's in that case? What's really in there?" he said slowly, gaze falling on the case yet again as he moved a step closer. "Ben, the Atlesians lied."

"No shit. Don't know a great too many Atlesians who don't if it benefits them... 'Cept for maybe the Princess," I chuckled, holding up the case while examining it for a few seconds thoughtfully. "What I do know, however, is that whatever's in here's my ticket to keepin' my best friend alive... So how's this gonna go?..."

The big guy was gritting his teeth hard, but I could tell at a glance what his answer would be... I knew him too well. "...I'm sorry about Reika, Ben... I really am... But I can't let that thing fall into their hands. Not for her, and not for either of you." He made to take another step, but paused as the hand I held my pistol in shot upward in an instant, eyes set and arm steady, aimed right for his silver-clad chest "Ben..."

"Y'know... I still remember you tellin' me never to pull a gun on you again," I told him calmly. "All those months ago, after we first met, when ya told me we were good..."

That was definitely a plea, an unspoken wish to put this off. To potentially avoid it all together. 'Please, Joel... Don't make me do this.'

"Don't make this difficult, Ben. Please." The knife vanished in his hand, at least, with a deft flick of his wrist that I missed. No idea how he managed to make the move look so effortless. "This is your lastwarning."

'Of course. Just my luck.' Right at the end, too. Guess I should've been more grateful.

"You realize who you're talkin' to, right?" I cocked my head as I used two fingers to pull my goggles down over my eyes, the reads instantly coming to life.

We both laughed then, though it was weak and forced. Our laughter soon faded, only to be replaced by the low rumble of the train clattering on incessantly...

I couldn't tell you what unspoken or unheard signal spurred us into motion after that, but we both moved at the same instant, my friend sprinting forward with his staff held behind him, while at the same time I raised my weapon, Semblance slowing the sorrowful moment to a crawl.

-END

-OC Voice Cast Introduced this Chapter-

Robert Lancaster - Jason Marsden

Mariel Braun - Rachel Robinson

Ansel "Hans" Kelly - Robert McCollum

A/N: Hey all really sorry about the long delays with my stories, schools back in session and seeing as it's my last the work just seems to be piling up. Exciting and scary times especially seeing as I just moved into a new apartment and my WiFis been almost nonexistent along with a host of other small issues, ironically the largest of which being ants, so I haven't been able to get as much done as I might've wanted. I'll try my best to get a schedule going but until things improve the time between chapters will likely increase. Not giving up though so no worries on that! Thanks all for reading and never be afraid to leave reviews or voice comments cause all in all they make the story better.

EDIT: Thanks to Da-Awesom-One for the heads up letting me know about some format issues with the chapter.