The group made their way to the crater via the various streets and avenues surrounding the ravine, as the side of the crater in which the android resided was far too steep to climb. Butch and Evelyn tagged along behind the rest, and Spike walked alone, ahead of everypony else. Butch was silent, and his face was almost motionless like a statue as he trotted along. Evelyn copied him for a while as they made their way to the mysterious android on the other side, but she eventually broke the silence, as she wondered about Dr. Gearza's true identity, the alias that Butch was familiar with. She cleared her throat to gain his attention, and his eyes moved to the side as she did so. "Butch... who was Dr. Kaiber? I read his file, but... there was nothing about his relation to you. Who was he?"

"He was a scientist, obviously..." Butch grunted as he looked down at the ground. "I met him at my tour in Galloway. "He ran maintenance on suits of mechanized armor like the one I'm wearing. He was the brightest stallion I knew, and he was a damn good engineer. But, his real passion was for physics. He'd drone on about space stuff, and I listened, although I didn't really know what he was talking about most of the time." A small chuckle escaped Butch's mouth as he looked to Evelyn. "After Galloway, we kept in contact for a while. Then the civil war broke out, and like almost every other scientist that spoke out against the tyranny of the old Dictatorship under The Friedenstruppen, Christoph was taken by The Friedenstruppen, forced to build weapons of war for the north. His wife died shortly after he was abducted."

"That's awful." Evelyn shook her head as she moved a little closer to him. She remembered Dr. Kaiber's audio recording, the message for Butch, a certain name that Christoph said.

*Don't treat this like Rosie's death... you have been through too much already.*

That name, Rosie; it pulled at her, beckoned to her like a ringing bell to come hither. Ever since Butch had first mentioned that name, it stoked a fire within her being, a flame that needed more; more fuel, more information, anything that could keep her going. She had to know who Rosie was. "Butch..."

"Yes?" Butch had lightened up after recalling happier thoughts of Christoph, and it pained Evelyn to mention more sadness and ruin his fragile mood.

"The name, on your shotgun, the name you called me before we attacked the tower, who is Rosie?" The ensuing silence was filled with extreme anguish. Butch's eyes became dark and glossy as his grin faded, and his expression went blank. Evelyn was afraid that he would spiral into an episode once more, and she stared at him intently, eventually trying to ease the situation. "Butch, forget I asked you that question. I didn't mean-."

"She was a friend." The sudden reply was quick and firm, too fast to be the truth, but Evelyn accepted his unwillingness to tell her about Rosie. Butch looked at the ground again, and Evelyn joined him as she cursed herself, hating her own blasted curiosity.

"Hold it," Masami ordered them as she walked ahead of the group over to Spike. "This is the building."

They stopped at the old general store. It was an old and weathered building, and its paint was faded and worn to the point where the writing on the outside was totally illegible. Inside the general store were various worthless objects like empty paint buckets, soda bottles, and rotting mannequins that sat in odd positions on the ground. All of the smaller, looser objects were scattered around the floor and on the shelves lining the aisles nonsensically, as if a chaotic wind had swept everything around into a maddening mess. It was clear that years of looting and exposure certainly affected that building and almost every other building that was still standing in the ruins of the old city.

As they all made their way upstairs to the roof– save for Edgar who again, stood outside and whistled, as the door was not wide or tall enough to let him through– they kicked up a fair amount of drywall dust and other debris that layered the creaking wooden steps. They all went one at a time, fearing that the spiral staircase would crumble under their combined weight. Masami went first, of course, and as she opened the door at the end, she was greeted by the sound of an accordion, though it wasn't very good. The sound was adolescent, still fresh; it was clear that whoever was playing was obviously just learning.

As she and the others made their way around a series of air conditioning units, they arrived at the source of the sound. To Masami surprise, it was, as she predicted, the android who was playing Hot Crossed-Buns. It took the android a while to notice them, and when he did he frantically placed his instrument in a black duffle bag next to the stool he sat on.

Up close, the android appeared very humble and open, though at that moment he was slightly embarrassed. He gave them all a shy grin as he spoke, a slight electronic undertone in his voice like he was speaking through an electric fan. "You must be that outsider, my sniping pal!" He grinned as he tapped his railgun that sat beside him, leaned up against an AC unit. He put out his hand with a jolly expression on his complex mechanical face. "My name is Alvin. Well, actually it's a lengthy stretch of binary, but I hate those complicated names and-, um..." The android trailed off, realizing that they were all staring at him with wide-eyed, statuesque expressions.

Evelyn and Masami's shock outweighed the rest of the group, and they simply stood still, trying to wrap their head around 'Alvin'. Evelyn had seen fairly complex AI at Cogsbaine Tech before, but nothing could compare to the android before them. He had mannerisms, small micro-expressions, he even twiddled his thumbs as he waited for a reply. Masami spoke up and put out her hand to him, and he shook it with a gentle, yet cold and metallic grip. "It's... nice to meet you. I'm Masami, this is Evelyn. And this is my team; Liazo, Butch, Draven, Gin, Spike, Fluttershy, Winslow, Rainbow Dash..." She trailed off as she pointed at Edgar on the ground. "And that's Edgar."

"Nice to meet you all!" Alvin beamed as he grabbed his rifle and strapped it to his back.

"So, why did you help us?" Masami had a million other questions, but she figured that was more important than her other senseless, nerdy ones.

"My superior, Lady Athena, she wants to meet you all." He answered as he raced downstairs into the wide and open street; the others followed, still puzzled. "She's been watching you all since you arrived."

"Athena?" Evelyn remembered the four original dampfriesen mainframes, the brain of the security force in every major city in Ausrüstung; Ajax Mainframe in Ratsche, Rhodes in Eisen, Kells in Kumpfer, and Athena, who was the mainframe of Schlüssel. "Athena as in-."

"Yes, that Athena." He nodded as he started down the street. "Please, there isn't time to stop and talk. I'll answer the little questions on our way to the control core, but I'll leave the rest to her when we get there. Please, follow."

"Masami, this is-..." Evelyn was still speechless.

"Yeah, I know..." Masami shook her head in disbelief as she followed Alvin. "Fucking incredible."

****

Twilight sat alone in a small chamber. It was windowless, soundproof, and its interior was made up of six flat, white walls with insane scratches and scribbles all over them. Twilight sat in the middle on an aluminum stool with her head bowed, lost in her own mind, and laughing to herself as she felt her buried conscious attempt to escape the maximum security prison that was her mind. "Shut up!" The real Twilight flailed her head wildly as she clawed at her scalp, trying to find a way out. The maddening laughter of her deranged self, mixed in with her horrid cries, creating a panicked and desperate request for help. She felt Gek crawl up her spine, trying to quash the sane thoughts that still flowed through her.

"Still resisting, huh?" Gek chuckled as he tried to sedate Twilight, but it wasn't as easy as he previously thought. "You put up a hell of a fight, pumpkin. I'll give you that. But, I can't have you flail about like a soggy dishrag, yeah? Just give in, it's just not good for my own rep, doll. What do you reckon ponies'll think of 'Gek the Sub-Par Corruptor'? Now that does not roll off the tongue."

Twilight raised her head, convulsing and shaking as she fought harder against his influence, overcoming a few barriers within her mind to spit on the floor in an act of protest against Gek. While her sane half did not yet have the ability to speak, she still had enough influence to think aloud in her own mind. "Go to hell, Gek..."

"Been there, sweetheart. It's pretty boring to be completely honest." Gek snickered as he gave her a smug grin, resting his arm on Twilight's shoulder as he continued. "Listen, doll. You know I don't expect to win, right? I mean, sure I'll be a pain in the ass... but really, these cultists are outta their minds if they think they can take on Ausrüstung. I'm loopy, but I ain't an idiot!"

"What happens when you corrupt me? Won't you use the stone to corrupt everypony?" Twilight was caught off guard by Gek's openness.

"I'm dead, pumpkin. Actually, I'm worse than dead." Gek lifted his arm off of Twilight's shoulder, and he circled her. "I'm an idea, a thought. I can't use the stone, but you can."

"You mean to tell me this entire cult thinks they can revive you, but they can't? Was there even a point to this if you can't return?!" Twilight's body contorted and convulsed again, her beaten and unkempt body flailing about the room as she talked with Gek.

"Oh, pish. I don't have to be alive and kickin' to have my fun, doll! You already know that!" Gek said as he pressed his ear up against the barely visible door of the confined chamber, hearing hoofsteps draw closer outside. "Oh, looks like Kaiser's here to kick the tar outta you again! I'll get back to you after he crams you down into a tiny pocket of this brain of yours! Oh also, don't spoil the secret to Ol' Kaiser! He'd be awfully displeased if he knew his whole life was a joke!"

The door swung open, and Kaiser stood there for a moment, motionless. He looked into Twilight's eyes; they were purple, normal, a clear indication she was indeed fighting back. He stepped forward and pulled Twilight closer to him, grabbing her by the throat as he growled at her. "You continue to resist Lord Gek? Why? You are a stubborn mare, and that will only result in more pain I'm afraid." Kaiser's hand became coated in red lightning as he readied an attack. "Maw of Agony: Torturing Torrent..."

Twilight's conscious mind snapped back and forth as she was engulfed in a wave of powerful lightning. Her sane half cried and whimpered, whilst her psychotic side smiled and giggled; again, creating a mishmash of overlapping reactions to the torture. Kaiser grabbed her by her unkempt mane and began beating her violently with his metal-encased fist. She did not heal like she had before, however, as her resistance to Gek's influence crippled her insane side's healing abilities. Even her blood reverted back to a crimson red, and she spat on the floor as Kaiser gave her a fierce uppercut to the chest. She felt her eyes throb as the parasite within her began to take over once more; her broken, bloody body didn't have the strength to resist any longer.

"Pathetic..." Kaiser scowled as he gave her anther blast of painful lightning. "In this state I see only two options for you; either you tear your body apart, or I do it for you! That is your fate if you continue this childish attempt to fight back!"

"I'll... kill you..." Twilight cursed Kaiser, although she could not say it aloud, much to her disappointment. "When Spike and the others free me... I will kill you, Kaiser." Twilight let out an animalistic growl as Kaiser electrocuted her once more. "Aaarrgghhh!!!"

****

"So, are you part of an army or something? " Rainbow Dash asked Alvin as they strolled through the mazelike streets of Schlüssel.

"No, I'm more like a scout," Alvin answered her as Rainbow Dash caught up to him so she could walk alongside him. "I was given specific orders to meet up with you all. I can't really tell you anything else. Not because it's secret or anything, more like it's because I wasn't told anything else but that."

They followed Alvin to his 'control core' to the northwest, a few miles from the radio station. As they walked along more streets and sidewalks, they began to take in the scenery more. There were great factories that sat on street corners, old broken signs that read "Cogsbaine Blast Furnaces". Schlüssel had once been the headquarters of the wealthiest company in Ausrüstung, Cogsbaine Industries, a company that originated from the old town of Liberty in the forest of Everfree all those years ago. Almost every Ausrüstrian knew the name well, as the mere mention of the name "Cogsbaine" meant wealth, success, and power to the ponies of Ausrüstung. It reminded them of a simpler time when the world was less violent, less sullied by hatred and conspiracy. The Cogsbaine Family had existed for over two hundred years, and that resilience inspired the people of Ausrüstung. Even after numerous wars, terrorist plots, and depressions, the company stood firm.

However, in the eyes of Masami, she only saw greed and treachery whenever she heard that infamous name. She was reminded of her experiences with the company, the conspiracies that surrounded the working class that served in those great factories and mines. Seeing the unions, the scores of workers boycotting the factories, demanding a raise in pay with fewer work hours. Hiro had been part of a strike once when he worked in the factory to pay the lease on his dojo. He'd slave away for hours and would barely have the strength to teach lessons after his shift; even though he tried his best to hide his exhaustion from Masami and Ichirou, they both saw right through the charade, but they knew not to inquire about his stamina, as he was always anxious after a long day at work.

"This is the industrial area, yeah?" Rainbow Dash looked over to Masami, whose eyes were still fixed on the bold red text on the side of a factory to her right reading 'Cogsbaine'.

"Yeah," Masami said in a flat tone of voice as she slowly moved her gaze downward, staring at the ground. This easily caught Rainbow Dash's attention, and she moved over to her in concern.

"This was all owned by Cogsbaine Industries once, the wealthiest company in Ausrüstung." Liazo chimed in as he dug one hand into his pocket and brought out a butterfly knife, fiddling with it was he walked along beside the others. "They made the dampfriesens, but the government purchased them all a long time ago, using them as their primary security force."

"Hold it." Alvin put his hands out to his sides to signal the others to halt. "We're here."

"Uh..." Gin scratched her head as she looked around for some kind of door. "We're in the middle of the street. I don't think-!"

They all disappeared in a flash of blue light, and there was about a two-second delay before they reappeared, a sound very similar to a camera flash and another sudden blue light signifying their arrival. They found themselves in a sewer illuminated by various electronic lamps along the rounded walls. The sewer was drained completely, and at the bottom where they were standing, the hard concrete had been replaced by wooden boards, the kind one would see on a bridge. It took them all a moment to recover, as teleportation without a warning usually resulted in a loss of balance, and in Gin's case, vomiting.

"Oh, bloody hell..." Gin groaned as she heaved up her breakfast. "Just when I thought I was getting used to it..."

"Woah..." Spike gulped as he stared in amazement at the massive bustling city in front of him, filled with the strange robot ponies.

"Welcome to the control core, or as we like to call it, Gyro," Alvin said in his slightly electronic voice.

Gyro was built beneath a truly immense chamber, which was where all the water had once converged all those years ago when Schlüssel had been alive and busy. The city was built like a pyramid; tightly packed, but organized enough to make up for such a deficiency in space. The buildings were gold and silver, the same as the dampfriesens, and clotheslines were hung on balconies of various houses that overlooked the entrance to the city, forming a great network of wire and semi-wet clothing. There was not a single space that was wasted in Gyro, and not an inch of the town was dirty. Houses were stacked up onto each other in neat towers, much like apartment buildings, and the pathway was glimmering like a diamond, which was a welcomed sight to see in such a gray world like The Silence.

Children played in the streets, kicking soccer balls around or playing with toy airplanes that were most likely salvaged from the surface. Evelyn was curious of the younglings who stopped and stared as she walked by. "Children? Do you all grow and develop like us?" She asked Alvin, who retrieved a lost ball on the side of the road, giving it to the child who lost it as he walked by.

"You mean your dampfriesens don't?" Alvin raised an eyebrow, or rather, the piece of shaped metal above his eye that replicated an eyebrow. "Weird."

"Again, I'm speechless..." Masami gawked as she looked up at the ceiling, towards the massive artificial light hanging from the ceiling of the great chamber; she assumed it was meant to simulate a sun of some sorts.

"You should see the rest of Gyro," Alvin said as they all walked along, minding the occasional pedestrian that passed by. "It goes on for almost a mile in every which way. You're only seeing the downtown!"

"This is pretty crazy." Rainbow Dash ran her hand through her mane as she shook her head, doubting all that she had seen

"It's so lively down here." Fluttershy smiled as she watched some children tossing a baseball around. One of the dampfriesen children missed catching the ball, a small filly from what Fluttershy could tell. The filly approached her cautiously with a bashful expression, pointing at the ball next to Fluttershy's hooves.

"Excuse me, miss? Can I have the ball please?" It was obvious she had never seen somepony like Fluttershy before.

Fluttershy beamed as she handed her the ball, and when she did, Winslow did so as well. "There you go."

Winslow was relieved that Fluttershy finally felt safe and comfortable. She had been so quiet so throughout their whole ordeal, he wanted to ask her what was wrong, but he figured asking a question like to a mare like Fluttershy would only make her mood worse. She was surprised, however, by the strength she had portrayed so far in their journey, she was much more resilient than she thought she was. Another part of Winslow evaluated the darker side of such a realization as well, the fact that Fluttershy was growing more accustomed to violence. He hated the thought of her losing her purity, the kind of quality she expressed often, and a quality he himself lacked. It tore him up inside.

"It's good to see you smile..." Winslow had trouble grinning as his eyes met with hers, and she blushed, standing up straight and cowering behind him so that he couldn't look at her. Winslow sighed as he walked along in front of her, respecting her wishes for privacy.

"So, where is Athena?" Evelyn inquired as she caught up to Alvin, who was walking alongside Masami and Rainbow Dash. "Is she at the center of town?"

"Yeah. She lives up in that tower dead ahead. We call that The Spire, her private room where she manages Gyro and watches over us. She knows everything about anything!" Alvin continued as he pointed towards the massive tower ahead, glimmering gold under the blue light of the artificial sun above. "Pretty breathtaking, isn't it?"

"That's an understatement in a place like this," Liazo added as he chuckled at the tower.

As they approached the great tower, they were inspected by two guards, who brandished very high-tech weaponry; laser rifles, plasma grenades, EMP emitters, sophisticated elastic suits with bandoliers and ammo pouches. One of the guards approached Alvin, peering over his shoulder at the aliens behind him. "State your business with Lady Athena."

"I'm Scout Unit 213, sir. I'm here to bring these surface dwellers to Lady Athena, under her direct order." Alvin explained, to which the guard gave him a suspicious glare.

"Please widen your optical receptors please." The guard ordered Alvin, who obeyed with great reluctance, sighing as the guard's eye flashed briefly. After that, he stepped aside and opened the door to a giant elevator by pressing a button on a nearby panel "Proceed."

"What was that just now?" Draven wondered.

"Oh, that? He read my memory bank to find the orders I was given." Alvin casually answered his question, although that raised more questions than it answered. "Guards have that ability just in case."

"Well, we are pretty foreign." Gin joked as the elevator began to ascend.

"Very true. This is the first time outsiders from beyond the walls have visited." Alvin chuckled. "Those bandits are... not the civil type."

As the elevator came to a halt, the sliding gold door swung open, revealing yet another great chamber. It was around seven meters tall, and there were no windows within, as the rounded walls seemed to generate their own light. It took a moment for them to realize that the chamber was, in fact, the artificial sun that they thought simply dangled above like a light bulb. The floor was made of a translucent silver glass that shimmered under the dim blue light of the chamber, twinkling like a starry sky. At the other end of the room was a large, rotating metal chair that was bolted to the floor. It was facing away from them all, and as Alvin stepped ahead of the rest he cleared his throat to gain the attention of whoever sat there.

"Excuse me, Lady Athena..." Alvin muttered to the chair's resident.

"Oh, Alvin, you've returned..." The very mature and smooth sounding voice of a mare said as the chair turned suddenly. The tall and slender mare arose from the chair with delight, walking over to Alvin and the others.

Lady Athena looked a lot more like a living pony than a mechanical being. She was strikingly beautiful; tall and slender, a long flowing mane of golden hair, cyan blue eyes like the other dampfriesens that were decorated with blue eye shadow, a sleek and elegant silver coat. She was not built like an arrangement of twigs by any means, but she was certainly tall, almost as tall as Edgar. She was fairly curvaceous, and her dress accented that quality nicely. Her dress was subtle yet extravagant, and it was gold like almost everything else in Gyro. There were silver patterns of roses and flowers on it, various flourishes of silver lace near the collar, and a train at the back. Although, the train was not made of fabric at all, but a sparkling feathered veil of energy, humming and crackling like electricity, and dancing gracefully around like the brilliant plumes of a phoenix as she approached Alvin.

"Thank you, Alvin." Lady Athena smiled as she craned her lengthy body to pat him on the shoulder and send him off.

"See you soon, I hope!" Alvin said to everypony as he jumped into the elevator once more, taking it down.

"I apologize for that sudden warp you had. I'm far too accustomed to teleporting non-living beings into Gyro." Lady Athena bowed her head gracefully as she spoke in a voice that was as sweet and smooth as a melody that heralded the start of spring, yet there were traces of gravitas in her tone. "I am Athena, the architect of this sanctuary, and the former dampfriesen central computing system."

"You're... incredible." Evelyn's mouth hung wide open at the sight of the brilliant work of art before her.

"I thank you for your kind words..." Lady Athena bowed her head once more as she stepped closer. "I'm sure you all have, at the very least, a vague idea of why I've brought you here."

"I believe so, yes." Evelyn snapped out of her daydream as she replied. "Is it concerning Kaiser? The stone?"

"Yes, Evelyn, but I should explain in greater detail. I will keep it brief, however, as time is of the essence." Lady Athena said as she created holograms out of thin air, surprising Evelyn with the fact that she knew her name without her even telling her. The first one was a three-dimensional map, an X-ray of some kind of underground complex. "This is Kaiser's underground bunker. It used to be a facility used by the old government more than fifteen years ago. And at the bottom, in this small room –the throne room of the old dictator whose name shall not be said aloud– is the Stone of Mind. This is the source of our troubles."

"The fifth stone Mind is held in a place only the wise can find..." Fluttershy muttered to herself as she looked at the map.

"So, how will we destroy it?" Draven asked the giant mare, still a little flummoxed by his surroundings.

"That is a task I believe to be impossible I'm afraid." Lady Athena admitted as she continued. "However, it is held within The Enigma, a container that prevents its power from being properly wielded. It can only be opened with a piece of knowledge that eludes even Gek, the secret to true immortality. This secret lies within an alicorn, whether they are aware of it or not."

"That's why he wanted Twilight specifically." Spike chimed in as he came to a conclusion.

"Yes. And we are running out of time. Your friend's mind has not been fully unraveled, but soon it will be, and that will spell doom for us all. We must launch an offensive on Kaiser's fortress as quickly as possible. You'll need the aid of my army for support."

"Very well. So, what's the plan?" Draven inquired as Lady Athena created a battlefield hologram, simulating her ground troops.

"My army will pound their defenses, and this will provide you an opportune time to head inside and work your way through the various members of Infernalgear. Each member holds a key with them which, when combined, will unlock the throne room where the stone is being held. Then, you will take down Kaiser. I must warn you... this may prove difficult."

"How the hell do you know all of this? And why are you helping us?" Gin shook her head as she tried to process it all.

"I am an artificial intelligence constructed for one reason, to defend the ponies of Ausrüstung. I have a duty to fulfill." Lady Athena replied. "As for how I know all of this; I am networked into almost every crack and crevice of this district. I know all that goes on in this wasteland. So tell me, will you help? Will you help me be rid of that tyrant and his wretched cult that threatens my kind and yours?"

"What do you think, Masami? Can we trust her?" Rainbow Dash asked Masami, who was still evaluating every outcome in her mind.

"Yes, we should." Masami nodded at Rainbow Dash, and then to Athena. "Lady Athena, I trust you. My team and I will help you launch this offensive. It's decided."

"Then you must prepare, go to the armory. You will go over the plan in detail with my generals. I'm afraid I cannot leave my children behind, as I am bound to them. I cannot aid you in this fight directly. Please, go with grace." Lady Athena gave them her blessing as she sent them away, stopping for a moment as she turned, her eyes meeting with Edgar's. "Do I know you?"

"Maybe you did... a long time ago..." Edgar muttered before he turned around.