Silver Strip, Fortune City. 60 Hours until the Military Arrives

Chuck had fought with Leon for a good hour now. After Leon smashed his bike, Chuck resorted to ranged weapons and timed dodges whenever those chainsaws came near. After a while, Leon was bloody, and nearly dead. He rode up to his trailer, clutching his side. The motorcycle was leaking gasoline heavily, so it didn't look like it would go anywhere. Chuck stood in front of the ramp, while Leon only looked onward and let out a hearty chuckle.

"Oh, you think it's that easy, Chuck?" Leon said, clutching his side. He began hobbling towards the bike, mounting himself on it. "You think you're the man? You'll NEVER beat me!" He began revving up the engines. "Yeah, that's right... quadruple points, Chuckie. Let's see you top this!" Leon began driving in small circles atop the puddle of leaked gas. That was when the sparks hit. The sparks from the chainsaws ignited the gas, setting Leon on fire. "On top! All the way to the end!" The burning form of Leon got off the bike and walked towards Chuck, his index finger pointed upwards the entire time. "But never forget, chump." Leon's legs then gave away as he let out a triumphant shout. "I'm number one!" After giving a dying cackle, Leon gave into his wounds and fell to the ground in a smoldering heap.

"Yeah, you're on fire." Chuck said. Just as he was about to use his walkie-talkie to call Frank, he heard the familiar sound of a camera click.

"I've got to write that one down." Frank said. He was taking photos of Leon's corpse from all angles. If you didn't know he was a reporter, anyone else would've thought this weird. Chuck gave a slight chuckle and looked at the group. There were four of the most obvious nerds on the entire planet standing behind Frank, but there clearly was a lack of a certain rainbow-haired girl.

"Where's the kid, Rainbow Dash?" Chuck asked. Frank's look changed from amused to panicked. He ran up to Chuck, grabbed his shoulders, and began shaking him frantically.

"We got these nerds in South Plaza," Frank said. "But this weird guy with a pumpkin head showed up and kidnapped her! It was insane! He fazed through walls and the pumpkin was actually his head, and not a mask! We've got to go and find her!" Chuck had a furious look on the reporter, and answered it with a prompt slap to the face.

"Get ahold of yourself, West!" Chuck said.

"I needed that." Frank replied, rubbing the slap mark on his cheek.

"All we know is that there's a teenage girl out there, who volunteered to help us out, and now some nut in a Halloween costume kidnapped her."

"I already asked Stacey to keep an eye out for her, so we'll get the heads up if she found anything." As if right on queue, Frank and Chuck's transceivers rang. Frank activated his earpiece and heard Stacey's voice rapidly reply.

"I found Rainbow Dash. Someone was dragging her and another woman unconscious into a restroom in the Uranus Zone!" She said. "Get moving! This guy might be dangerous!"

30 Minutes Earlier....

After that Briar guy kidnapped her, Rainbow Dash had a sack tied over her head to prevent her from knowing where her captor had taken her. Eventually, Dash had her cover removed, finding herself in a dimly lit room, tied to a chair. She struggled to loosen the knot, but instead she was greeted by a cold laughter.

"It's not use, child." Keeper Briar said, coldly. He stepped from the shadows and gave a very eerie grin. "I used iron wire and tied it in a troll knot. Only the one who made the knot can untie it."

"Just wait until I get out of here!" Dash said. "I'll make pumpkin pie out of your head!"

"Please, I'm only doing what my master has told me to do."

"Would that be Mad King Thorn? You are one of his goons, aren't you?"

"He is a member of the Mad Court," said another voice. "But he gets his orders from me." A new man stepped from the shadows. He was very tall, around 9 feet to shoulder length, and wore a dusty black robe. His face was mostly covered by a mask, so the only thing that could be seen were dark yellow eyes. His voice had a very mechanical effect to it, as if he was speaking through a computer.

"And who the hay are you?" Dash demanded.

"I am the Seeker." The cloaked man said. "I was once in service to the Wanderer of Worlds, but his work was to restore order to all worlds. It was too dull and mundane, so I decided to take a new horizon and do what I was born to do." He pulled back a sleeve, revealing a completely mechanical hand. The fingers looked like sharpened blades and the palm was cylinder shaped. "To cause death, destruction, and chaos."

"You've got metal limbs?" Dash asked. "I don't know whether to say that's awesome or sucks."

"70% of my body is metallic. Oil and wires run through my body instead of blood and veins. Born in the fires of war, forged in a conflict of epic proportions, and molded into an ultimate weapon." A zombie shambled into the light, and it gave a glare at Seeker. It lunged towards him, but Seeker grabbed the zombie's head, holding it firmly in place. With his other hand, the blade-like fingers rotated around into a sharp pick-like position. Releasing one hand on the zombie, Seeker went to work by inserting his transformed hand into the zombie's forehead. It began rotating like a dentist drill, tearing what was left of the zombie's brain, face, and head all together off and into a bloody pool of torn tissue. Dash could only stare in horror as Seeker slowly removed the drill and gave a sniffing motion.

"I praise that my sense of smell still remains intact after I became a cyborg." Seeker sighed, giving a tone of ecstasy. "The scent of fresh blood is... intoxicating."

"True, sir." Briar said. For some reason, Dash could detect a hint of reluctant praise in Briar's voice, much like that of a butler to Prince Blueblood.

"You're a monster." Dash snarled. Seeker turned towards Dash, casually walked towards her, and transformed his mechanical hand into a rotating buzz-saw. Holding the bloodstained blade close to her face, Seeker's eyes were maddened with the intensity of bloodshed.

"Monsters are the images of things we find unsettling and give a sense of distrust and fear to." Seeker said, looming ever closer. "I am no monster. I am an abomination." He took his non-transformed hand and ran a single blade-finger alongside her cheek, leaving a small bleeding cut.

"Sir, we need her alive, remember." Briar said. Seeker looked behind him and gave a snarl to Briar, withdrawing from Dash.

"We'll let you live, for now." Seeker said. "But for now, I need you to stay out of trouble." Seeker transformed his hand into a metal rod, and hit Dash in the back of the head. She fell out of the chair, unconscious and unmoving. The last things she ever heard were of a man with a voice like a true madman.

"A new patron for the cause? Perfect."

Uranus Zone, Fortune City. 59 Hours until the Military Arrived

The lights glowed brighter than any skyscraper, the hums and groans of the machines accompanied the moans of the undead shambling around. The Uranus Zone theme park was lively (the term 'lively' loosely used), as Frank and Chuck entered. They had taken the nerds back to the Safe House as to not risk anyone else getting hurt or killed.

"Never really was one for the science stuff." Frank said. "For some reason, the kids go wild for it." Chuck looked at his friend and laughed.

"Look at you, Frank." Chuck said. "You sound like an old man."

"I'm forty-one! Why does everyone treat me like a grandpa?" Although it was amusing to see two grown men fight over such little things, they still had to go and find Rainbow Dash. Stacey said that a man in a green sweater was carrying two unconscious women into a nearby restroom, and one of them had rainbow colored hair. The two had constructed some makeshift weapons to prepare for the fight. Frank brandished a sledgehammer with axe heads stuck to the sides, known as the Defiler. On his hands were a pair of MMA Gloves with nails sticking through, and slung to his side was a small handgun. Chuck, on the other hand, found a flashlight and some gemstones, and created a focused Laser Sword. On his back sat a fully loaded shotgun and a butcher's knife in a holster to his side. After running amok trying to find the bathroom, and Frank using several amusement park rides to kill off the zombies, they came across a bloodied hallway near the bank. Frank and Chuck entered the bathroom, seeing the bloodstained walls and the broken lights. Within the men's room, they could distinctly hear a man talking.

"The movement is growing..." He said. "Soon we will all be part of the change." Frank and Chuck looked in and saw a man wearing a green sweater and brown jeans. His hair was braided much like a hippie, matching up with his speech pattern.

"For some reason..." Frank said. "This guy looks familiar." The two walked in, stepping on the broken glass littering the floor. "Hey, you uh... alright?" The man turned towards the two zombie hunters, revealing a disgusting sight. His hands and shirt were stained with blood, and a maddened look consumed his face. Chuck saw a different kind of madness in him than in Leon's. That's when it hit Frank. He recognized this man as Brandon Whittaker, a C.U.R.E member who was last seen talking with TK before the outbreak.

"It wasn't supposed to go down like that...." Brandon said. "But now, I see how radical it is. Now, my life has meaning again." His hands quaked and shook with insanity every time he spoke. It's perfect this way. So I'm on board now. It's the only way, man."

"What about TK?" Frank asked. Chuck gave the journalist a confused look, unsure of why he was asking this nut about TK.

"I'm a soldier for the cause, man." Frank remembered those exact words when TK gave the guy money, bait, and explosives. This was the guy who framed Chuck for the outbreak!

"So it was you that started the outbreak." Frank said.

"That's him?!" Chuck said. He was about to strangle the guy, but Frank held him back. "He's made my life a living hell again, and killed hundreds of people! Let me at him!" Frank gave Chuck a signal to back off, and clearly Brandon was unaffected by Chuck's violence.

"First, it was horrible," Brandon's voice hung with sorrow and fear. "The zombies, the zombies we've been trying to save. Killing people... eating people...." Brandon snapped his head back up and his voice turned sour. "But then I saw how brilliant the plan is... it's the best way to end the oppression." He turned towards Chuck and Frank, glaring at them with an insane gaze. "It's so radical... it's beautiful, man!" As Brandon put his red hands on Frank's coat, Chuck saw the captives behind him, both tied to chairs. One was wearing a blue dress and a pink undershirt with blonde hair, but it was easy to recognize the girl with rainbow streaked hair.

"Please help me." The blonde girl whispered. Chuck looked at Dash, but see looked unconscious. Chuck started to help them, but Brandon was standing in front of a bathroom stall adjacent to the captives.

"So I'm helping now. I'm a soldier for the cause, man." With that last word, he pushed open the stall and revealed a red eyed zombie standing within. Night had fallen, and now the zombies thirst for more blood. It started shambling towards the girls, but Frank ran in the way and slammed the door shut.

"No! This isn't the way to help anyone!" Frank shouted.

"Oh, I see. You're losing the courage to do what needs to be done. Well, I have the guts!" Brandon bent down and picked up a large shard of glass, and held it over the blonde girl's throat. "And I'm taking this thing all the way!" Just as he was about to sever her throat, Brandon fell to the ground thanks to a well delivered punch to the face.

"That's for making me a wanted man, you son of a bitch." Chuck said. The two pulled out their weapons and prepared for battle with the deranged C.U.R.E activist.

Rainbow Dash had regained her consciousness after Brandon had dragged her and the girl tied to her back into the bathroom. She pretended to still be out, but she didn't know how long to wait. After a while, she heard voices, Frank and Chuck's. She was relieved to hear them, but she didn't want to give away her presence. She turned towards a mirror, mostly shattered to bits, and saw Chuck attack Brandon. After Brandon fell, a familiar pumpkin head appeared in the reflection of the mirror.

"Only you can see or hear me for now." Briar's voice echoed through Dash's head. "I'm here to just bring a little entertainment." In the reflection, Briar held up a beat box, put in a CD and pressed a button. That's when the music was heard by everyone in the room, and it influenced the battle if it would last for eons.

"We're all part of the change!" Brandon shouted. He leaped towards Chuck, glass shard in hand, and tried to stab him, but was met with a spiked uppercut, courtesy of Frank West. Neither of them wanted to question how and where the intense music was coming from, but they were more worried about Brandon. After he stood up, spitting up a dribble of blood, he made a throat slicing motion and pounced on Frank, leaving a gash on his right arm. Chuck retaliated with a chop from his butcher's knife to the shoulder. Brandon yowled in pain, leaping off Frank and treating his wound. Realizing his disadvantage, Brandon took off and leaped into one of the bathroom stalls.

"Go and join the cause!" He cackled. Several stall doors flung open, and seven ravenous zombies joined the fray. Chuck used his Laser Sword to cut them in two, flinging it around like a flyswatter. Frank knocked several heads clean off with his Defiler, swinging it madly like a blunt weapon, but dealing enough trauma like a blade. After the zombies lay in shredded heaps, Brandon jumped from a different stall than the one he vanished in before.

"He's probably using the vents to get around." Frank said. "I fought a crazed Vietnam veteran back in the Willamette Mall who did the same thing." Brandon unleashed a fury of wild stabs at Frank, but thanks to his martial arts training, he dodged every lunge. Chuck used this to his advantage, and ran up to the captives and cut them loose.

"Dash, you and this girl get the hell out of here." Chuck said. "Run to one of the empty stores and stay there until we get you." Dash looked at her hands and clenched her fists. She helped the blonde girl onto her feet and gave Chuck an understanding nod.

"Yes sir!" The blonde girl said. "And my name's Vikki."

"Chuck Greene, pleasure to meet you. Now move!" Vikki gave a panicked nod as the two ran out the room. Chuck wanted to give himself a pat on the back, but Brandon nearly gave it for him in the shape of a shard of glass. Chuck dodged out of the way, cutting a zombie in half as well. He rolled to Frank, who was suffering from a few minor cuts, and joined him on the side. Brandon was bleeding heavily, and it didn't look like he'd last any longer. The man stumbled to keep himself balanced, and fell into a nearby stall. Brandon's scream and a loud chomp was heard thereafter. Brandon fell out of the stall, bearing a fresh bit mark on his neck. That was when is sanity returned, if only for a brief moment.

"No...." Brandon said. He knew that it wasn't the right way to die, and realized what he had done unto others was happening to him. Looking at his bloodstained hand, he held the bloody shard to his throat, and severed an artery. Brandon ended his life as to not end up as a zombie. The soldier has succumbed to his cause.

"Well, that's it then." Frank said. Chuck shook his head.

"You said he was involved in the outbreak," Chuck said. "But we didn't get any information out of him. It was a bust." Frank walked to his upset partner and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, at least we saved Dash and that girl, Vikki." Chuck smiled and flexed his muscles.

"Let's go find them, then." The two started towards the door.

"I've got to have a word with Stacey when we get back." Next Chapter: Chapter Six: Dreams Dared to Dream Estimated time remaining: 52 Minutes