*SWISH*

A rotted brown limb flew in past Sarah’s face.

*SLASH*

A spray of two hundred year old blood whizzed through the air.

*DICE*

A shrunken brown head rolled across the floor in front of her.

*SLICE*

A pair of bisected torsos were thrown to the ground.

*CRACK*

Sarah winced slightly as a pair of ancient kneecaps were snapped.

“FOUL CREATURES OF DEATH, COME TO ME AND DIE AGAIN!” Luna shouted as Daybreaker swirled and slashed around her.

She’s... really enthusiastic, Sarah noted to Nim as she stood several feet back from the alicorn who was making her way through the feral ghouls with an almost scary level of ease.

Well, she, like us, does have a hatred of necromancy, and even if these creatures are not strictly necromantic in origin it is always good to rid the world of ‘zombies’, Nim replied. Oh, and one is approaching on the right... oh that’s new.

Sarah turned to see a ghoul charging at her, its skin was glowing a strange sickly radioactive green. The woman’s eyes widened and she brought her combat shotgun up to bear on it. She pulled the trigger and the dozens pellets shot out and slammed into the glowing one’s face. Sarah saw its jaw snap and its nose broke but it continued to charge her. Worse, the damage she’d done healed as she watched.

The glowing one closed with Sarah and faster than she could react, swung one of its claw-like hands at her. Sarah felt herself being lifted off of her feet as the glowing zombie sent her flying through the air. She landed with a thud against the wall and let out a groan as she rolled to the side, barely avoiding a downswing from the glowing one.

Go for the legs, Nim advised. Sarah reacted instinctively, sending one of her legs out in a hard kick to the glowing one’s right leg. Her steel toed boot slammed through the bone, snapping it in half and sending the ghoul tumbling to the ground. Sarah returned to her feet and her shotgun roared four times as she pulped the ghoul’s head into a pile of glowing jelly.

“Let’s see you heal from that,” Sarah grunted.

Well done, Nim said helpfully. Now then, let’s see where our dearest Luna has gotten off too.

Sarah frowned and then looked around the museum room to find that at some point during her encounter with the glowing one, Luna had indeed departed. On the bright side, there was a definite trail to follow, one of dismembered limbs and blood.

As she walked through the museum hallway, Sarah had to shake her head.

How did she get this far ahead of me? she asked Nim. We only spent thirty seconds killing that glowing one.

She simply moves faster when she is enjoying herself, Nim replied.

I guess so, Sarah said as she started up a set of stairs. In the distance they heard automatic fire accompanied by Luna’s voice and what sounded like insults. Sarah picked up the pace, bludgeoning a ghoul in the head with the butt of her shotgun and cracking its skull as she ran down the corridor.

Sarah, brace! Nim suddenly shouted in her head and Sarah froze in mid stride before bracing herself. Thanks to that, the ghoul who tackled her a literal second later ran into a solid wall of womanly muscle and armour.

The ghoul let out a hiss of fury and brought its claws down at the woman but Sarah dropped her combat shotgun to the ground and whipped out her new combat knife from its sheath on her hip and stabbed it directly up into the ghoul’s lower jaw. The sharp serrated knife cut deep and the blade lodged itself where she’d shoved it but the ghoul still flailed against her.

Sarah lowered her center of gravity, as she’d been taught, and used the ghoul’s momentum to send it over her back. Then the woman pivoted, smashing her foot down through the ghoul’s neck. It snapped with a satisfying crack and the woman bent down to retrieve both her knife and her shotgun.

Thanks Nim, if not for you that one would have taken me by surprise, Sarah told Nim as she cleaned off her knife and then sheathed it.

It was no trouble, Nim stated simply. Tis the least we can do. Besides our rather expansive feelings for you in general, we are also residing within this body and do not wish to see it injured.

Sarah smiled a little and simply continued down the hallway, taking her time now. The sound of gunfire had ceased as had Luna’s shouting, and the woman could only hope that was because Luna had destroyed or killed whatever or whoever was shooting at her. She vaulted her way over a desk in her way and came to a wrought iron door, or to be more correct, she came to the remains of a wrought iron door which had been destroyed by Daybreaker.

The woman walked through it slowly, her shotgun raised and found herself standing in the remains of what appeared to be... a library? The walls were lined with shelves full of burned or ruined books and a couple of cracked tables filled the center of the room. Two pile of hissing scrap metal lay on the floor along with a pile of dead ghouls who had been dismembered in a large variety of ways.

Luna was nowhere to be found.

Sarah frowned and prepared to call out to her, but before she could, Luna emerged from a room on the upper story, a smile on her face. She took a half running trot and opened her wings, allowing her to glide gently down to where Sarah was standing, grin on her face the whole way.

“Well, you look happy,” Sarah observed with a small chuckle as she banished her worry.

“Indeed we are!” Luna said, her grin widening as her horn flared and a long rifle floated off of a strap on her back and came to float in front of Sarah. “I have found you a gift!”

Sarah raised an eyebrow as she took the weapon out of Luna’s telekinetic grip and began to examine it. It was a very well maintained lever action rifle which looked to be in mint condition. Engraved in gold on the side was the number six. The woman found the ammunition slot and frowned as she saw the requirement.

“Hmm...” she mused before she reached into her ammo pouch and dug out a few .44 magnum bullets which she quickly fed into it, then like an expert she finished loading it and cocked the rifle.

“Do you like it?” Luna asked her, the alicorn’s eyes looking at her eagerly.

“Yes, yes I do,” Sarah replied with a smile. “I’m just kind of surprised it works, this brand was originally designed to take a different type of .44 round. Guess someone modified it. Where did you find this?”

“In a display case on the upper level,” Luna answered with a small shrug. “Oh I’m so glad that you like it,” the alicorn added, leaning forwards to nuzzle Sarah lightly. The woman smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“I think I’d like anything you gave me,” Sarah told her as she rubbed behind Luna’s right ear. “But I really like guns so this was the perfect gift.”

Perhaps we could save any intimate moments for when we aren’t surrounded by corpses? Nim asked dryly from within Sarah’s mind. Something about the dead bodies is preventing us from enjoying this.

Sarah blushed and noticed that Nim was right, Luna apparently did as well for she moved her head back.

“You’re right Nim,” Luna replied as she stepped past Sarah and towards the destroyed doorway. “Perhaps we should hurry back so that we can be paid?”

“Sounds like a plan,” Sarah agreed as she slung the lever action rifle over her shoulder on its strap. “And with the caps we make, I can actually afford the ammo for this baby.”

“I see, is it expensive?” Luna asked her.

“Fairly but not too outrageous,” the woman replied as she stepped over a dead body. “Even if it is a bit pricy, it’s still a really good gun Luna.”

“I’m simply happy that you like it,” Luna stated happily. “It seems that we're constantly unable to show you how much we truly care for you.”

“I haven’t noticed,” Sarah replied casually as she placed a hand on Luna’s neck. “You’ve certainly been everything I could have asked for in a... lover.”

“That is not what we mean,” Luna said, letting out a sigh. “Sarah, before we met you... the world was full of darkness and pain. I had no friends other than my sister and Clover, and I betrayed both of them. I lead an army of supporters to their doom... and I didn’t even realize it until it was too late.” She paused to take a breath and Sarah was about to speak up but Luna silenced her with a wing to her lips.

“Then I appeared here and found you, the odd looking ape-like woman who I immediately tried to kill without even bothering to get to know,” Luna said, looking down at the hallway floor beneath them. “If I had not met you... I would be long dead and I would have died without even a single friend to call my own, not counting Nim... but she doesn’t really in this case.”

I resent that, Nim murmured softly but Luna didn’t seem to hear her.

“So Sarah... in short; you are the one who saved me from both myself and the world, and for that I am eternally grateful,” Luna said softly. “And I feel that I will never be able to wash away the debt that I owe you.”

Sarah remained silent for a moment as they continued walking and then she paused where she was and turned to stare into Luna’s eyes.

“You don’t owe me anything Luna,” she said in a fierce whisper. “I don’t want ‘us’ to be about one of us trying to make something up to the other or holding something over the other... I just want it to be about us.”

Luna remained silent for a moment before she nodded faintly and then leaned her head forwards to gently kiss the woman. They stayed locked like that for a long moment until Nim once more interrupted.

We’re surrounded by corpses and we are unsure if we have killed all of the ghouls. Perhaps we can do this later? she asked.

Sarah broke away from Luna, rubbing a strand of stray spittle from her lips and blushed. “We need to stop doing that...” she murmured.

“Agreed,” Luna said with a blush. “Note to self... have romantic moments in places where we know we cannot be ambushed.”

Thank you, Nim stated. As much as we enjoy the sensations that come from all of this, there are better times.

The pair made their way out of the deserted section of the museum and walked into Underworld where they were greeted by Winthrop who smiled a rotted toothed smile at them.

“So, how did it go?” he asked them.

“We killed somewhere around fifty of them I think,” Sarah answered. “We also knocked out some turrets in the farthest section so you guys can check and see if there’s anything worthwhile in there.”

“Excellent,” Winthrop replied as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a large cap bag. “A thousand caps for a job well done,” he said before he reached into his pocket for another bag. “And another two hundred for taking care of those turrets.”

Sarah accepted the caps and slid them into her pocket with a small nod. “Thanks Winthrope, by the way, do you know if anyone here has any info on a runaway android?” she asked him.

The jumpsuit wearing ghoul scratched his chin for a moment and frowned in thought. “Hmm... Yeah, I picked up a holotape about that,” he said, reaching into his pocket to pull out a holotape and handing it to Sarah. “There’s not much to it really, just that the android is looking for someone to help him disappear. I think Doctor Barrows might know more, he’s back in the Chop Shop,” he answered, jerking his thumb towards the end of the hallway.

“Thanks,” Sarah replied with a smile as she pocketed the holotape.

“Indeed, thank you,” Luna added as the two began to walk away from him. “So, shall we go to this ‘chop shop’ first?”

“No, going to do a bit of shopping,” Sarah replied as she headed towards Underworld Outfitters. She pushed her way through the door and found Tulip sitting behind the counter reading a rather large book. At the sound of the bell above the door going off, the ghoul looked up and smiled when she saw who it was.

“Well look who it is,” she said as she got out of her chair. “It’s my favorite smooth skin and her alicorn.”

“Yes it is,” Sarah replied with a small chuckle as she walked up to the counter.

“So what can I do for you?” Tulip asked with a raised eyebrow. “Got any more half dead miniguns to sell?”

“No, not at the moment, if I find any I’ll be sure to bring them to you though,” Sarah answered as she set her bag down on the ground and began to pull out a variety of hunting rifles, assault rifles and a set of Talon Company armour that she hadn’t been able to get rid of yet. “How much can you give me for the lot of this?”

That is hardly the way you start trading negotiations, Nim commented within her mind.

Oh well, I trust her to give me the best deal she can, Sarah replied. She did take those crappy miniguns after all.

“Hmm...” Tulip mused as she looked at each of the different rifles, checking the different components for wear and tear. “Alright,” she said after around three minutes. “I can give you four hundred caps for the guns and fifty for the armour.”

Fifty? It is worth at least twice that! Nim exclaimed within her mind.

“Are you sure you couldn’t go higher on that second number?” Sarah asked her. “I mean, it’s good quality armour isn’t it?”

“Technically yes,” Tulip answered. “But, and this is a large but, those Talon idiots die in droves out here in the Mall. I’ve got somewhere around twenty suits of their armour hanging up in the back taking up space. So the price I’m willing to offer is fifty caps. Take it or leave it,” the ghoul stated resolutely.

Conniving undead wench, Nim stated within Sarah’s head. She is using logical economic arguments against us. We call foul!

“Alright, I guess that’s fine,” Sarah said, ignoring Nim’s comment; though she did wonder if the other consciousness was being sarcastic or serious.

Tulip nodded and quickly set about sorting and packing away the gear Sarah had sold her before taking out the appropriate bag of caps. “So, going to be doing any buying today?” the ghoul asked. “Or are you just here to drain my caps?”

“Actually, I was wondering if you had anything this could fire,” Sarah said as she reached back for the strap of her lever action rifle and brought it up for Tulip to see.

To her surprise, Tulip actually let out a whistle, how she managed to whistle as a ghoul was beyond Sarah.

“Wow, I didn’t think there were any of these left back there,” Tulip stated with a thoughtful smile as she reached for the rifle and took it from Sarah’s hands, quickly going over it with nimble fingers. “This is one of Lincoln’s repeaters,” she informed Sarah before handing it back to the woman. “It’s a real workhorse as far as lever action rifles go. And yeah, I actually just got a shipment of .44 rounds yesterday. Around a hundred of them going for four hundred caps all together,” she added.

“That seems a bit steep,” Luna stated as she looked at the ghoul. “That means that each is worth four caps. Yet if Sarah is to be buying them in bulk like this then she deserves a discount.”

“There is a discount,” Tulip said rather flatly. “Normally they’re six caps each. I’m lowering it by two because I like you, that and I wouldn’t want that beauty to go hungry,” she added, motioning at the gun Sarah had placed once more on her back.

“Alright, it’s fine,” Sarah replied as she pulled out the appropriate number of caps and handed them over to Tulip who pulled out a box of ammo and passed it over to her.

“There you go, anything else?” Tulip asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hmm...” Sarah frowned and then figured ‘the hell with it’.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a ‘runaway android’ would you?” she asked. Something remarkable happened to Tulip's face, it went from mostly friendly to guarded in a matter of seconds.

That would be a yes, Nim stated unnecessarily within Sarah’s head.

“Why do you want to know?” Tulip asked her, frowning at Sarah.

“I just want to help him get away from Zimmer,” Sarah answered honestly.

“Indeed, the man did not seem very ‘friendly’ when Sarah met with him,” Luna added. “So we seek him so that we can help him get farther away.”

Tulip raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced between the two of them before letting out a slight sigh.

“Look, I trust you two which is the only reason I’m about to tell you any of this. If I find out that you’re actually hunters I’ll track you down and kill you both. Alright?” she stated with narrowed eyebrows. Both Sarah and Luna nodded. “Okay then. I’m a member of the ‘Railroad’ and it’s our job to help these androids get away,” Tulip said at last. “Though last I heard I don’t think there’s much that you can help with.”

“Oh?” Luna inquired.

“Not unless you know how to use a Circuit Neuralizer or a Lipoplasticator and Micro Dermal Graftilizer,” she replied with a slight shrug.

“I... have no idea what any of those words mean other than circuit and micro,” Sarah stated, feeling suddenly very lost.

“Yeah, that’s what I figured, what with your inability to do multiplication,” Tulip commented. “Anyways, that’s as much as I know, I think Barrows might have a little bit more information for you but I’m not positive.”

“Okay, thanks Tulip,” Sarah replied.

“You’re welcome, just make sure that this doesn’t come to bite me in the ass, alright?” Tulip asked with a shake of her head.

“Will do,” Sarah stated as she walked towards the door. “See you around Tulip.”

“Goodbye,” Luna added before they exited the shop. “That went well,” Luna stated with a smile as she turned to Sarah.

“Yes it did,” Sarah replied. “I didn’t think it would be so easy to find all this information out.”

“Perhaps we were simply lucky,” Luna said with a small shrug. “Anyways, shall we head for the ‘Chop Shop’ now?”

“Sounds fine to me,” Sarah agreed before she leaned over to give Luna a soft kiss on the cheek. “And thanks for the help in there... sometimes I just don’t know what to say.”

“I was more than happy to help,” Luna replied, a light blush coloring her cheeks despite herself. “Though you are welcome.”

“I know you were,” Sarah said with a smile. “Now let’s get going and see if Doctor Barrows has the information we need eh?”

“Yes, lets,” Luna agreed, giving Sarah a short nuzzle before she started in the direction of the Chop Shop. Meanwhile, Winthrope frowned at them from where he was leaning against the wall.

“That is the strangest couple I’ve ever seen,” he mused to himself before shaking his head.

Author's Notes:

Okay, no Glory to be found but I couldn't resist that title.