Remnants of the Grid

The gentle white pulse of energy washed the darkened and dirty space with a faint rainbow of light, optical fibers awash with data migrating from one circuit board to another, the soft ticking and gentle humming of the ancient hard drives barely rising above the low buzz of the electrical current that sustained it all.

The old monitor sat, powered down, no output was needed as there had not been any input in so very long a time, yet soft and faint, lights indicated that the collection of hardware was still on, running, a task not yet finished, processes running in a cascade of kernels and threads, exponentially growing in complexity, even as some problems were solved, new questions arose to take their place, every un solved equation spawning three more like it, variations on a theme expanding in the face of every byte of ram and every hertz of processing power pushing against the tsunami of data that built slowly, but surely, like a single blow torch against a glacier.

Someplace, in the space between the ones and zeros, something other than electric sheep shimmered in the moments of quantum confusion, an image, a universe, shimmered in and out of existence, built upon the electrons that stoically marched their way along the pathways of circuits, the subatomic particles taking the same shapes on, over and over and over again, like a single cell shaded portrait of a moment flashing, projected upon a torn and faded white screen dangling on a wall in a dark unlit room, a story unfolding in the void, a pinprick of light fighting defiantly to be seen, and acknowledged…

/*/

Zeroing out always hurt, but the respawn usually made some kind of sense.

Usually…

As of late however, they were really becoming a big fucking problem.

Sand, dust and scrub brush as far as the eye could see, and the only structures to be found, where an apparently abandoned, single story train station that could have been from any two or three other Servers that came to mind, each of which was one that she had not explored or even visited, and a weathered and crumbling crossroads, metal and wooden signs faded and degraded beyond any usefulness. And the sun, larger than life, shone high in the sky, nearing its apogee, burned down upon her relentlessly, the heat waves making the distant horizon boil and ripple in obscuring shapes that denied her any meaningful orientation. There was a massive mountain range to the north, capped in snow, but it was hard to judge how far away it was with any kind of accuracy. Surely no less than three or four days journey away, if she had her MOUnT with her, which of course, she no longer had. At the least she had respawned with a backpack, at least five days worth of full food and drink that she could stretch into a full two weeks if she went on survival rationing. But that hardly allowed her to figure out where the hell here was, or what she was going to do now.

Closing her eyes, she brought out her Link Interface Neuro Konsole, LINK for short, activating the map, and then promptly muttered a potent curse as it took shape in a vaguely familiar animation style with a font she did not instantly recognize, the vast majority of it blacked out save the area around where she had spawned, all of the information currently available said simply "Unexplored, Era 5 Level 4, Region Unknown", a grey marker at the edge of the circle her Avatar Marker was in the center of. Switching from the map to her inventory, she sighed as she saw well over half of her tools and weapons were locked out, angry red slashes across the icons captioned with "Unavailable" or "Era Incompatible" at the top, as well as expiration timers.

"Shit." The single word slid out like a sword being dramatically drawn for show. Her amber eyes narrowed in the blinding light as she looked back at the train station, and she sighed as she moved towards it. At least next to it or inside, there was shade to be had, and it was a map marker, so if nothing else, she might get a better idea of where she was by the name of it, or possibly any flavor text that might be found attached to any items within. It beat standing around and baking her brains under the brutal sunshine at any rate.

Walking across the worn and rusting tracks and then the decaying asphalt that almost blistered her feet through her thin boots, she was only a few meters from the main door when a name shimmered at the top of her vision, her Link beeping softly as the map updated. "Yvonna Lake Station" slowly faded from her view, and she squinted as her head rotated looking for this alleged lake. A dry lake possibly? Likely given the arid desert landscape she found herself in. This was a far cry from the gentle rolling hills and thick forests of her last life. Miserable amounts of sweat started to run down her face as she pushed the door open, the stale air inside almost as hot as the barely blowing wind outside.

A fallen rack of some sort held a number of faded and disintegrating papers, maps and magazines it looked, almost totally useless for anything other than starting a fire, which in this heat, was about as wanted as a branding iron to the nipples. Shrugging out of her backpack, she laid it on what was left of a wooden bench, and then she tossed the space, digging into every container she could find, some rusting metal lockers turned up some currency she vaguely recognized as 20th to 21st century American, some ammunition that would work in the one pistol she had respawned with, and an ugly hat she would wear right after she was fraged to absolute zero and couldn't care how bad she looked in, assuming anything was left of her by that point. Breaking into the only other space, which looked like a ticket booth, she found a safe and a clunky looking computer beyond use. Cracking the safe took three tries, but inside was a wealth of currency, a decent looking and substantial if somewhat archaic handgun (at least by the standards of her last life), two whole boxes of ammunition for it, and some other odd valuable trinkets she instinctively pocketed for use in the near future.

Rubbing at her face, she then gently pulled at one of her ears, before she saw something underneath a folded newspaper that was half disintegrated. It was a weathered, dust covered red button, big and brightly colored with a single word stamped on it: 'Signal'…

She tapped it lightly with two fingers, before she sighed, "… This is a bad idea." She then made a fist and smashed down on it as hard as she could.

Nothing happened for a solid five seconds, before a hissing erupted from someplace outside, and then the sound of fireworks went off like a small disaster in the same space, smoke and light tinting the broken windows behind her all colors of the rainbow.

Once the chaotic noise subsided, she sighed and gathered her loot, and her pack, then pulled the simple cap she had respawned with from her inventory, and placing it on her head, felt it slide down over her small cat ears, the soft tug announcing that for now, she had not undergone any massive physical changes.

Unless… Link in hand, she double checked her inventory and scanned the clothing items. Her old simple scouting armor was all red, since she had respawned some five hundred years before her previous life. All she had comeback with was some street clothes, a sturdy looking pocket knife, some basic supplies, a basic handgun, and a… cell phone… with no contacts in it.

Sighing, she went back to her LINK and searched her information out, looking at her stats, and for now, if the weapons she had found were indicative, her advanced level, would let her tank most of what the world now could throw at her, and even then, she still had some of her old skills and perks to draw from.

~Blake Belladonna~

Level 202

Class: Undefined

!All progress reset due to respawn!

Health 100 Stamina 65 Mana 85

Strength-65
Perception-88
Endurance-60
Charisma-42
Intelligence-73
Agility-90
Luck-75
Tenacity-50
Youth-19

"Well… Could be worse." She intoned aloud to herself, the frustration at losing the progress she had fought so hard to gain on building her skills and level up having been rolled back ten full steps was not minor, but then, she could vaguely remember that right before she had zeroed out and respawned here, she had found herself tangling with some pretty nasty… enemies… of some sort…

A flash of loud, bright energy and the most agonizing pain she could dare to imagine was all she could clearly recall, and it did nothing for her to dwell on it beyond hinting at some names and a few faces that were engraved upon her soul, yet were just out of reach at this moment.

Opening her eyes again, she looked at her stats and checking her abilities, she realized that using any one would deplete her reserves, instead of just making a small dent, and her regeneration rate was now at half.

"I am not specked or equipped for this at all." She said out loud, to no one in particular. At the least, her innate physical advantages seemed to be intact, in fact, other than the oppressive heat, she had not felt so strong and energized in some time. Reaching for the bench her backpack had been resting on earlier, she grabbed it with both hands, and hefted it up with much less effort than she would have thought needed, the crumbling wood breaking under the sudden motion, and crashing into the ceiling almost gently. "Huh."

The faint droning rumble of some kind of motor from outside, drew her attention, and she bolted to the door, smashing through it as if it was cardboard, splinters scattering into the dust before her as she slid to a stop. Looking to the west, down the only one of the two roads that would allow, she saw a dust trail drifting up from the pavement, a vehicle moving towards her at a good clip, four squared headlights shimmering in the heat waves between it and her. The shape was wide, low slung, and black, with the glint of silver and gold along the middle of it.

Pulling her LINK out once more, she equipped her pistol, its slight weight suddenly resting at the small of her back, rather than the snug embrace of her holster wrapping around her middle and tightening down around her upper thigh. She pulled it for a moment and inspected the blocky yet slender firearm, then removed the magazine, checked that it was full, then replaced it in the grip of the simple but sturdy weapon before wracking the slide, loading a round into the chamber, then replaced it in the holster at her back as the car's motor changed pitch, a faint squeak from the brakes as it slowed down, it's design more defined and clear now as the driver, hidden behind dark black reflective tint, brought the loud, long and low slung two door to a stop a dozen meters away.

It was… somehow refined, yet almost garish, simple and sleek, yet speaking of great power, like a raptor or maybe a large cat. It was pitch black with a golden metallic undertone, a wide gold stripe glittering down the middle, the wire like wheels matching the stripe, glass cutouts in the roof would give impressive vertical visibility, but the forward view was slightly obstructed by a chromed intake that protruded from the hood, red colored vents flipped open and closed slowly as the motor barked out loudly, then went silent.

The headlights winked off, and a mechanical sound preceded the vehicles long left door swinging open. The driver stepped out, his face locked onto her, but his eyes were hidden behind gold framed, silver mirrored glasses shaped vaguely like larger teardrops laid on their side, the narrow points and meeting at the bridge of his nose.

He was big, tall, and solid framed, with shoulders as broad as any she could recall having seen, and while he lacked the massive bulk of many of the males of his size she think of, there was clearly power under the worn brown leather jacket he wore, a bright sky blue shirt under that. His hair was closely cut along the sides of his head, but the top was long, a wide slicked back Mohawk of black and silver hair matched the short scruffy beard with the longer goatee that framed full and slightly pouty lips and highlighted his strong jaw and mild cleft chin. He was almost olive skinned like herself, but there was a swarthiness under it that she lacked. His long, faded denim clad legs moved him from behind the open door, as he held fingerless gloved hands out at his waist level.

She noted the large by huge revolver he had strapped to his right thigh. It was bigger than any two handguns she could think of put together! The skill or strength stats needed to wield a gun like that had to be impressive, no doubt, but even in her previous life, some people carried weapons too big for them to use, simply to dissuade others from attacking them. But given his long, slow and easy gait, she knew instinctively that he could absolutely use that big iron, and if the glint in his now exposed steel blue eyes was any clue, he could use it as well or better than she could hope to use her own pistol.

"Hi?" his voice was a disarming, rough high baritone, his eyes sharp, but somehow non-threatening, if only because he seemed more confused than aggressive.

"Hello." She replied, knowing her voice would be slightly rough both from the respawn and how dry it was, but not caring; "Where am I, and who are you?"

He blinked once, looked her over once more, sighed and the smiled; "El Angelo Badlands, Era five, Level four, just east of Yvonna Dry Lake about a half a days drive from Old Daleras, west of Central, south of the La Andreas Mountains' and a week north of the Corpus Sea." He tucked his sun glasses into a pocket inside his jacket, before stepping closer, and extending a large gloved hand; "I'm Blaze, Azure Blaze, and you are?"

She eyed his hand for a moment, then took her own hand and extended it in kind; "Belladonna, Blake Belladonna."

"Let me guess," he said as he firmly, but gently shook her hand twice, then withdrew; "Respawn? You bite off more than you could chew?" he tilted his head in an almost wolfish fashion, his steely blue eyes flashing in amusement, as his grin became more lopsided.

"I am and, yeah, I guess I kinda did." She replied as she rested her free hand on her belt, behind her hip and just next her pistol, the unspoken warning clear, "I was meant to return some sensitive information to my Guild, we have, or will have… Had? I guess, an upcoming mission, and I had to get us access codes or… something… I guess I was found out, fraged and then I got spit out here."

Azure made a noise someplace between a grunt and a hum, as he looked over at the train station, then back to Blake, a nod of understanding; "Well there isn't much out here anymore, hasn't been for almost twenty years, most of the shipping and industry just dried up or move elsewhere." He looked over his shoulder, back the way he came, as if expecting to see something, then back to her; "I'm guessing you need to get to a central place soon as you can. It would be impolite of me to refuse you a ride, if you want it of course."

Belladonna held her breath a moment, the offer only slightly unexpected, given the apparent level differences between them. Most people had almost rampant opportunities to gain XP, however that usually depended on how populated and active an area was, which was why most hard respawns put you near enough such a place you were not in instant danger of getting fraged again, but had a chance to get Experience and grow, as opposed to soft respawns that just dumped you back someplace near where you died so you could get back to whatever you were doing quickly.

Why she had been brought back but spawned in the middle of what seemed to be a no-mans land, was a mystery, one she could well do with solving, but that could wait for a later time given how odd the situation now was apparently. Then again, with how composed Blaze seemed to be, she wasn't willing to bet that she could beat him in a stand up fight. Besides the fact that it was not her style to go headfirst into a fight anyways. She was, or had been a Nightstalker, by Class a hyper lethal scout, a Hunter devoted to striking at a distance, with a flurry of exacting shots or from the shadows with single devastating blow. She was by any measure, an Assassin, and not a brawler or pistol fighter, despite her proficiency with the kind of gun on her belt.

"That would be appreciated to an extent I can't fully express." She finally replied, a wary cast to her amber gaze as she noted another dust plume on the horizon behind him.

"Yeah I figured. Only issue is I have a job I'm balls deep into right now, and as you have likely just seen, there is someone following me who is keen to claim the bounty on stopping me from making my delivery." He held a hand up when she opened her mouth to object, and laughed softly; "However, you help me dust this asshole, and once my delivery is done, I'll get you to Central City fast as I possibly can. I'll even toss you some cash for the work."

Of course, there was a catch to it. There always was. At least it was an equitable exchange.

"Fair enough." She replied tiredly, the heat already getting to her without the protection of something better than the almost ragged cap she wore.

"Alrighty, saddle up Blake, we got a long way to go, and a short time to get there." He stated as he pulled out his sunglasses and placed them onto his face, a key materializing in his hand as he turned back to the car.

Moving to the passenger side, Blake pulled the door open and climbed down into the pleasantly cooler and shaded confines, soft suede leather and dark wood grain greeted her, the two browns complimenting one another in an inoffensive but not wholly attractive style that seemed slightly dated somehow. Still, the seat was comfortable and surprisingly cool, the interior lighting darker than she would have first guessed with all of the large curved glass, even with the dark window tinting.

Both doors slammed shut solidly, and the engine barked to life, Azure's gloved hand griping the gearshift tightly as the car fairly roared, and the sounds of rubber struggling to find purchase on dust covered rotting asphalt almost filled the cabin as the vehicle lurched forward with brutal, linear thrust only interrupted by the driver firmly changing the gears himself.

Blake took note of that, as the few times she could recall seeing others drive, they simply put the vehicle in gear, and let it automatically operate from there. That he shifted the gears manually spoke of a dedication and focus on the task of driving others clearly lacked. A glance at the gauges as he shifted again, told her that they were already going nearly 100 MPH already. Miles Per Hour? That was… over 160 Kph, which was almost as fast as her MOUnT at full boost. A glance out of the window confirmed their speed as a cactus flashed by in blur of green.

Looking more closely at the door mounted mirror, she saw a pair of red sedans take clear shape in the reflection, a black shimmering blur of movement seeming to rise out of the column of dust they kicked up, a flying machine, shaped vaguely like a dragonfly climbing higher behind them all. 'Objects in Mirror are closer than they appear' was etched into the glass, and it sparked a knot of worry someplace in her gut as she fought the urge to turn and look over the back of her seat.

The mirror shattered suddenly, the snap-crack of a bullet obliterating itself against the fixture showered the heavy tinted glass in glimmering debris, and ripped a soft curse from Azure's lips as he shifted gears once more.

"This is the closest they've gotten to me so far." He offered as he followed a gentle curve in the road, the car shifting slightly on its springs, as they went over a bump in the pavement.

Blake glanced over at him, then gave into the impulse to look out of the back window. Her eyes widened as figures started to lean out of the passenger windows of the pair of four-door cars, and opened up, letting loose a hail of gunfire at them, causing her to duck down and fumble her own pistol out from the holster, the confines of the car slowing her down.

The sound of rounds striking the car was like something between rain on a metal roof, and pebbles striking tempered glass, yet the windows held up under the onslaught.

"I just got her repainted damnit!" Azure growled as he coaxed the car onward, drawing just a bit more speed from it, the engine howling in reply.

It seemed to be working as the two red sedans stopped closing the gap, and started to fall behind, slowly, but surely, even as the passengers kept up their attack.

Belladonna blinked in confusion, knowing that they were at the extreme range for auto rifles and their famously weak accuracy; she could not fathom why they would waste ammunition like this.

"Why are they just firing away like that?" she asked after another few rounds pinged off the reinforced bodywork harmlessly.

"Because they're stupid? Because they've been chasing me for two whole days and only seen me once before?" three more rounds smashed into the rear window, spreading tiny cracks across the outer layer; "Because there's a quarter million bucks up for grabs if they can get the package I have away from me?"

A frantic beeping sound drew Blake's attention away from the rear window and to the dashboard, a pair of red lights flashing in time with the audible alarm. She knew instantly what that beeping sound meant without being told. "Missiles?! Why do they have missiles?" she exclaimed, suddenly regretting the offer of a ride from the middle of nowhere to the targeting cone of a homing missile.

"They don't!" Azure said sharply, even as he reached up and pulled two levers on the ceiling down and pushed them back, dropping the glass coverings from the roof, down over their heads and sliding them back into the space behind the rear seat.

"But that helicopter does!" Belladonna narrowed her eyes and looked at Blaze in abject fury, even as she felt him drag something out from behind her seat and shove it's surprising weight into her lap; "Ever use a Tommy Gun before?" he asked as he dug out a bright orange flare gun from the center console, stuck it out of open top, and fired a flare into the air as the beeping became a constant cry of impending death…

/*/

1500 years previously...

The rhythmic crashing of sword on shield, of greave clad foot upon the ground, was reaching a fevered tempo.

Two sizable battle formations stood across a shallow valley from one another, each on an elevated plain, partly encircled by a swollen river, rushing swiftly with the swell of the spring rains, the brilliant blue sky marked by billowing cumulus clouds that tumbled and boiled across the sky, growing fat and grey with unshed rain.

Leather, bronze and iron armor shone in the wide patches of sunlight, banners snapped taut in the building breeze, dust skirting the empty field between them, teasing the few tuffs of grass and flowers that grew up at random.

It was a fine day for battle.

Trotting along the front rows of the center, a stunning black mare tossed it's head, her silken black mane a match to the raven hair of her rider, a sleek and strong beauty with golden amber eyes who held an ebony bow in one hand, the reins of her mount in the other as she summed her forces up with a practiced eye. Her gaze sought out the figures standing front and center, her elite cohort, a collection of warriors that stood out, as much for their lack of uniformed armor, as their stoic and rigid stance. Amongst the host of fighters in the army before her, they were more than just a cut above, they were in her estimation, the top class of the field, behind only herself, and the opposing general's personal guard, who unlike herself and her reunite, stood at the back of the other formations, tightly packed around their commander.

The feckless coward.

Leadership was about strength, and strength led from the front, after all, if the cutting edge of a weapon was not the strongest, the most hardened and refined part of the blade, what was the point? One might as well use a rock instead, as it would likely endure long enough to bludgeon your foe into submission. No, cutting through it all, right to the heart, which was the only proper way to fight, to battle, struggle and over come. That was how and why you waged war.

Glory, honor, pride, all wonderful notions, but they could be had or demonstrated much more readily by other means, through intelligence, cunning, preparation, loyalty, dedication, all important, noble even, but all meaningless without the strength to back them up.

No. Today, was all about the most ancient and reliable of currencies, strength.

Drawing her horse to a standstill, her eyes sought out and found a single figure, clad in red and gold, wearing something much closer to the standard armor of her army, yet distinctive with it's long crimson sash, the spear and shield icon of victory emblazoned upon the shield, helmet and the belt of the warrior, her long blood red hair flowing in a single braid from under the lightweight helmet, the long red painted, hardened bronze spear, just indicative of her house as her hair, as the icon, her emerald green eyes, sharp and keep, hungry almost as they looked at her, a small eager smile just visible underneath.

The Captain of her personal Cohort, the tip of the spear, the Shield of Autumn Valley, the scion of the House of Victors, the invincible maiden, the only one to have ever bested herself in single combat, and her dear friend, Pyrrha Nikos.

As the High General of Autumn Valley, Cinder Fall was of noble blood, her family had ruled the upper classes in the valley since the establishment of the first cities by the kingdoms in the regions, domains that had stood now for hundreds of years, it was their right, their duty, to rule, to lead, to make this part of the world, such as it was, safe. To make it home, for however long they might endure. House Nikos, were warriors, through and through. Some of the first great battles had featured them, and for as long as Autumn Valley had stood on its own, the families of Fall and Nikos had stood before all challengers, before the dark spawn of the world, man and beast alike, protecting the people that existed within the reach of the three kingdoms.

Sparing her friend a small smile and nod, she then turned her gaze across the shallow valley to their foes, to the interlopers grasping at whatever they could on their way down, falling from glory as they had so long and richly deserved. The banners blue and grey of House Winchester, numbered twice what her own red and gold banners did, but numbers did not a battle make, for unlike the disgraced and debuffed Alistair Winchester, Cinder's own army comprised all of its numbers, from the people that had sworn loyalty to her and Autumn Valley. She knew for a fact that eight out of ten of Winchesters forces were conscripts, people forced or lobbied into service, bought and paid for with their substantial, if now finite wealth, wealth gained by looting, bullying, swindling and even outright stealing if the tales were even half true. Shame that most were likely just enslaved, to be used as chaff for the bloody harvest she was about to partake in. What else could be expected of mercenaries gone rampant?

While some of them might have been of high level, most would be basic fighters of various ranks, chaff and fodder for her better, more refined army, but also, and likely more to the point, an obstacle to getting at the man himself.

It would not stop her.

Turning back to her own forces, she shook her own head, just as her mare did, the wind catching her long black locks, pulling them out like a flag as she drew in a breath, and raised her bow high, calling for the crashing and stomping staccato to cease, which it did in a single deafening, unified chant of "Hoosh!"

"Army of Autumn Valley!" she started, her voice clear and loud enough to be heard by both sides, thanks to a special skill any decent leader should have; "Fighters! Soldiers! Warriors! Champions! Citizens all!" she laid her bow across her lap, and took another long deep breath, intending to make this speech short, direct, and to the point, after all, there was a war waiting on them!

"Today we stand on the edge of a battlefield, facing a disgraced Clan, cast down from their lands for failures, crimes, griefing, and unbecoming conduct. A family of cowards! Hiding behind a wall of fighters bought and paid for, people conscripted as both insult, and insurance, against you, my comrades, my friends, my family!"

"Aut-umn! Vall-ey!" the whole of the army chanted in reply, only moving their mouths to shout.

Cinder smiled inwardly at that, a surge of pride threatening to split her face with a smile wide as the sky.

Composing herself, she allowed her horse to slowly walk forward, along the battle line, her speech ready to give that last boost of morale; "They come, invaders without a home, disgraced in defeat, seeking to take what they have not earned, and subjugate you and others to their whims and abuse! What shall we say to that?"

"Never!" they shouted back as one.

"What shall Elderwood say to that?" she almost taunted.

"Never!" they cried out as if insulted.

"What shall Mistral say to that?" she asked as if unsure.

"Never!" they roared in reply.

"What shall Vale say to that?" she roared back in provocation.

"Never!" they replied like a thunder clap.

"What shall we say to them?" she barked out, her bow rising up slowly from her lap, and into the air over her head.

"Come and get some!" they bayed like a million wolves, howling their defiance.

"What shall I say to you?" she said in an almost normal voice that still carried to all assembled before her.

"Kill them all!" her army shrieked, all but shaking the ground.

"Kill them all! No surrender! No prisoners!" High General Fall cried out as she spurred her horse around to face the invaders, drew an arrow from the quiver hanging upon her mounts shoulder, a flash of her eyes igniting it with white hot flames before she aimed upwards, then loosed the projectile high into the air, a single trumpet blast resounding as the charge was sounded.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!" the army chanted as one, marking their steps as they marched forward starting slow, but quickly gaining speed as they closed the gap, shields up, spears out, swords drawn, and arrows now streaking across the sky.

So abrupt was their attack, the forces of House Winchester, while in position, were not at the ready, and as such, they scrambled to form up into phalanxes. Within thirty seconds, the cavalry was slashing the flanks, and not a full minute after that, the infantry was smashing through the enemy lines like a hammer through pottery.

/~/

Her blood sang, her spear lancing out to a rhythm almost in time with the thundering of her heart in her ears, a smile almost manic yet closer still to rapturous on her face as she moved through the ranks of enemies, to say she marched forward would be a disservice, for she fairly danced her way forward, heedless of danger, deflecting a blow with her shield before kicking a swordsman back, ducking under a spear before smashing a neck with the edge of her shield, leaping over an axe as her spear struck the gap in shoulder armor, her emerald eyes shimmering as her ruddy, sweat covered flesh did, under the darkening sky and waning light, never did she feel so alive, so empowered than she did in battle, not mattering if it was a single skilled opponent, or a hundred poor fools brought before her for slaughter, the moment between heartbeats, the exertion of survival, the challenge of war, made her senses ring with clarity, her body smolder with power, and her mind sharper than any blade known.

She would have laughed in utter blissful enjoyment if not for the need to make every breath count, the thrust and parry, the dash and weave of her path as she cut through fodder like a scythe through wheat.

Sensing a blow coming from her left, she pushed back with her shield, blunting the attack, lowering her spear under her arm and forcing it through the cut out, up into her foes belly, tearing through leather like paper, the force behind it telling of her level, and the massive disparity that stood between the poor slave and her, the spearhead exploding out of his back and into the arm of another.

Planting her foot against the now dead swordsman's chest, she kicked her weapon free, and spun, blocking the thrust of another spear aimed for her back, the weapon skittering along the shaft of her weapon as she leaned in and crashed her helmet into the unprotected face of the skirmisher, dazing him before a massive curved blade cleaved him in two from behind.

"Getting tired?" Yatsuhashi asked as he hefted his massive weapon up with one hand, for all of the dust dirt and blood, none of it his own, the mountain of a man looked as fresh as he had that morning, his almost limitless endurance made a mockery of her own impressive reserves.

"Ha! I'm only now on my third wind." Pyrrha laughed back as she shifted slightly, a sword thrust missing her by a hands width, her elbow and shield crashing into the foolish soldier's face, his head snapping back with an audible crack, his body going limp as he tumbled to the ground.

"Good," he replied with a nod, "we're closing in on the rearguard, their cavalry is spent, and the elite forces are closing ranks around their General."

"Hmph, the coward. Where is Cinder?" the redhead asked before taking a deep breath and turning to flank her large friend.

"Just behind us, she dismounted not long ago to spare Shadow." Yatsuhashi replied as he batted away an errant javelin with the flat of his blade.

A Glaive darted between them, crashing through another skirmisher that had managed to get close.

"Less talking more fighting!" a blue haired lancer stated glibly as he moved into place between the other two, a small pocket of calm forming as the battle shifted onwards.

Neptune laughed at the reaction of the other two, their stances shifting back into an aggressive posture.

A lance of flames arced over their heads into a group of spearmen who were trying to reform into a battle line, the General of Autumn Valley herself joining their group.

"My friends, we are on the edge of victory," she said her two curved short swords drawing out, her bow hung across her back, only three arrows left in the quiver; "One final push?"

"Aye!" Called a yellow haired Spearman, who strode up beside Pyrrha, and gave a small flourish, his eyes bright. "I can't wait to put my spear into that bitch Alabastar's gut!"

"Glad you could join us Leo." Cinder quipped as they looked at the thinning forces between them, and the elite guard. "Together?"

"Together!" her friends shouted beside her.

AN: Okay, I'm back, and I'm re-tooling this fic because I realized I was going to write myself into some corners big time later on with some really bad SAO style crap that would make THAT show look like some kinda masterwork... I don't hate SAO btws, but anyone who is totally honest understands that there are some brutally stupid oversights and plot holes, never mind mechanics and functional issues that would be mostly a breeze to fix, as well... ahem, anyways...

my FO4 fic will also be getting some love before long again, so yes we'll will get a tidy-ish wrap up of the little detective story with Nick, and then I'll be moving onto the next oneshot to further the overall universe along, and give some better big picture world building a chance to set the stage for... possibly... MAYBE I say, fully fleshed out story arc chapters.

Thanks to CoolDude for checking up on me here, and reaching out, sorry I got locked outta my account (again) and went radio silent for like... almost 2 whole years?

Not my longest absence from the site honestly, but hey, life is a beatdown, and its easy to justify ignoring parts of yourself when you count them as unimportant or a distraction. No more. I'm a story teller, I'm gonna tell stories damn it!