Zero leapt upwards, leaping over the reanimated skeleton and twirled, his sword extended to his side and cutting the straight down the middle as he landed behind it. “Damn, these things are really starting to piss me off!” The trio had been walking through the ruined city for three days, battling dozens of demons as they cut past them. While before they had appeared in small groups, the monster’s numbers had noticeably increased the further the group got from the outskirts of the city. However, even in small numbers they could still be a threat, as the trio learned when the last two groups had ambushed them.

“You aren’t the only one! Stay back!” Twilight yelled, blasting a hole through a sword-wielding skeleton that had begun to crawl towards her, and it collapsed, dead. “Amane, how’re things holding up on your end?”

“Fine.” She shrugged, cleaving her way through the winged demon in her path. “I might take a nap once all of them are cleared out.”

Zero grunted as a lucky monster managed to dig the tip of its spear through his free arm, and he growled, before giving it a similar experience as his bulky sword cut upward, tearing through its arm and under its neck, killing it instantly. “We aren’t going to carry you to the damn place, Amane. You can rest when we get there, but not until then!” He turned to Twilight, blood dripping down his arm. “Twilight, how far is it?”

“Not too far!” Twilight yelled as she shot down a winged demon that was heading straight for Zero, and it dropped to the ground next to him, smoke curling from where it’s horned head used to be. “If my memory serves correctly, the barracks are just another few blocks down the road.”

“Right.” Zero said, glancing around, seeing that they had defeated all of the demons that had attacked them. “Good, that was the last of them.” He relaxed, before pointing towards his wounded arm. “You think you can heal this?” He asked Twilight.

“No problem, Zero.” The alicorn smiled, and her horn glowed a bright green. The mercenary’s arm lit up in a similar fashion, and he felt the pain slowly ebb away. “There, should be all better now.”

“Nicely done, Twilight…” Zero sighed, looking at the quickly fading corpses. “I can’t believe these things destroyed all of Equestria…”

“They did. Overwhelming numbers can normally bring down any of these cities.” Amane sighed, sitting down next to a ruined building.

“Yeah, and our team can’t function for long without weapons. I can clearly see that now.” Zero sighed. “I can’t just keep fighting with a sword made out of pure magic. I’ll collapse.”

“And we can’t have that.” Twilight nodded. “Besides, we might find information regarding one of my missing friends. The Royal Guard usually has a registry of all citizens entering and exiting the city. It was implemented after the Changeling Invasion, as a security measure.”

“Well, it shouldn’t be too far from here.” Zero sighed, walking past a pile of bones, the sight having become commonplace in the destroyed city. Twilight and Amane looked to each other, before following after.

“So, Zero, how does it feel to be a Killer Prince?” Amane asked, moving up next to him.

“Well… I’m definitely far stronger than when I was human…” Zero shrugged. “Though… there’s always this weird nagging feeling at the back of my mind. I can’t adequately describe it…”

“That’s probably your demon blood.” Amane nodded, putting her hands in her pockets. “Each time you use ‘Beast Mode,’ you run a chance of letting your demon blood take control, and you end up going berserk.”

“Laevateinn already notified me of this fact.” Zero replied irritably, turning to Amane. “I just didn’t know that that annoying feeling was the demon blood.”

“How is my brother anyway? I haven’t seen him around in a while.” Amane asked, glancing around the empty road.

“As far as I’m aware, he’s fine.” Zero shrugged, picking up a small piece of rubble, getting a feel for its weight before launching it at one of the remaining walls of a building they were passing by . It smashed through the wall, causing the entire thing to collapse. “He’s had me practice my swordsmanship on my own for the past few nights, so he might just be thinking about stuff.”

“Celestia damn it, Zero!” Twilight groaned, coughing at the resulting dust cloud. “If we manage to take back Equestria from the demons, who do you think is going to have to manage the reconstruction efforts?!”

“Probably you, oh mighty Princess of Friendship.” Zero chuckled, patting her on the head. “How far until the barracks?”

“Ugh, you're insufferable sometimes, you know?” Twilight huffed angrily, her chest puffing out. “The barracks should be just around the corner. As long as you don’t destroy the corner too.”

“Right…” Zero shrugged, before pausing. “Wait… do you hear that?” He asked, and was answered when Amane brought out her sword.

“Yeah. Voices…” She nodded, rushing towards the corner specified. Once there, she looked down the next alley, before turning back to Zero and Twilight, holding up her hand as they approached. “Two humans. Probably Killers. They’re poking around in the barracks.”

“Great. More obstacles.” Zero sighed wearily, materializing his sword. Twilight noticed that the blade’s luster seemed duller than before, and that Zero’s arm was slightly quivering.

“Wait, you two!” Twilight whispered, stopping them before they rushed out. “If they aren’t fighting each other, then maybe they’re friendly? We can at least try to talk to them!”

“What do you think, Amane? You’re the expert on Killers.” Zero asked. Amane looked down the alley again, before sighing.

“I guess we can try talking… saves me some energy.” Amane shrugged, sheathing her sword. Zero nodded, his own weapon dissipating as he stepped out from the corner, and began walking down the alley. Amane and Twilight quickly followed, and Twilight got her first look at the two unknowns.

The closest was male, his short fiery red hair waving in the wind, almost perfectly mimicking actual flames. He wore a metal breastplate, with what looked like red robes underneath, and a single ornate spiked shoulder pad on his right arm. An orange cape flapping behind him. What took Twilight’s immediate attention, however, was the massive broadsword he held behind his head, flames licking off its metal. In fact, the man’s entire attire seemed to be fire-based, as if he was some sort of pyromaniac.

The other one was the exact opposite of the seemingly flame crazed swordsman. They were female, a waterfall of light blue hair covered by a cowl, with a large purple bow connecting the two. She wore a bright blue dress, giving her an air of elegance, while a simple breastplate and shoulder pauldrons covered her upper body. Underneath her dress, her legs were covered up to her knees in meta boots, and in her hand was an ornate and seemingly ceremonial saber, with a large replica of a blue flower attached to the guard.

The two seemed to be bickering over something, and only until the woman spotted the group walking towards them did they pause in their argument.

“Um… hi! You guys are friendly, right?” Twilight began, stepping forward and extending her hoof out in greeting. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, and these two are-“

“Finally! I was wondering if anyone even slightly stronger than those skeletons was going to show up!” The swordsman interrupted, stepping forward with his ridiculous sword held at his side. “You! Fight me one on one!” He declared, pointing at Zero with a gloved hand. Zero was taken aback by his abrupt challenge.

“Honestly, Vargas… cool down, will you?” The elegant-looking woman sighed, grabbing his shoulder.

“Are you kidding, Selena? I haven’t had a good fight ever since we got here!” ‘Vargas’ laughed, waving her off. “Come now, let’s have a honest fight! Or perhaps you’re just as weak as those skeletons?”

Zero twitched, before glaring. Twilight tried to get between them, looking frantically back and forth while she talked. “Come now, you two. Surely we can be civil and talk instead of fight?”

“You want a fight so badly? You’ve got one, Firespitter.” Zero said, Laevateinn materializing in his hand.

“Firespitter? Hah! Haven’t heard that one before!” Vargas grinned, putting his sword out in front of him. “I am Vargas, Hero of Fire! What’s your name?” He asked, still keeping his almost childish grin.

“Zero, the guy who’s about to kick your ass!” Zero growled, before rushing forward, sword leveled for a swipe at Vargas’ legs.

“Well now, isn’t that a statement!” Vargas laughed, before bringing his blade down on top of Zero’s, the strength behind his blade burying Laevateinn’s tip into the ground. Zero, unable to stop his forward momentum, flipped over Vargas’ head, falling flat onto the rubble behind the flaming swordsman. “But if you plan to defeat me, you’ll have to fight better than that!” He lifted his sword back up, Zero’s blade disintegrating now that it was disconnected from its sustenance.

Zero growled, rematerializing Laevateinn in his hand, before rushing forward, letting out a roar of rage as he swung his sword.

“Honestly... Vargas means well, but sometimes he can be absolutely ridiculous when he sees someone he thinks is strong…” The Swordswoman sighed, standing next to Twilight and Amane as the two warriors fought. “I’m Selena, Hero of Ice. It is nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle.” She extended her hand out to the alicorn, who put her hoof in it with a sigh.

“Zero’s kind of similar, but he’s just easy to anger. How long do you think it’ll be until they wear each other out?” Twilight nodded, sitting down.

“Oh, about three minutes. I can tell your friend only has basic sword training, so Vargas will likely defeat him.” Selena shrugged. “Also, your friend seems exhausted…”

“His sword is made out of magic. He’s been wearing himself down using it so often…” Twilight replied. “We came here looking for a sword for him to use while he recovers his strength.”

“Ah.” Selena nodded in reply as Zero and Vargas locked swords, the ‘Hero of Fire’ clearly overpowering the weakened Mercenary.

“Come on, Zero! I know this isn’t the limit of your strength!” Vargas grinned, shoving Zero’s blade into the ground before flipping it back up, and slamming the flat side of the blade directly into Zero’s chest, knocking him backwards.

“You… want strength?” Zero growled between heavy breaths, his eyes growing dark. “I’ll show you strength!” He let out a roar, dark energy rolling off him as he launched forward, swinging his sword to remove Vargas’s head.

“Huh. That’s a cool ability! But far too weak!” Vargas said, blocking Zero’s attack with his sword. Upon impact, Laevateinn shattered, and Vargas quickly delivered a hard kick into the stunned Zero, sending him flying into a building.

“Vargas, that’s enough! Zero is clearly not in a good enough state to fight you.” Selena called, walking over to them. “He’s been fighting on a drained supply of magic. There is no way he could win.”

“Yeah… your right, Selena.” Vargas sighed, placing his sword on his shoulders. “Hey, Zero! We’ll put this fight on hold until you’re back at full power, alright?”

“Urgh…” Came the pained reply.

“Great! Well, me and Selena have no idea where we are, so…” Vargas turned to Twilight. “Purple talking winged horse! Please tell us where we are?”

“These two are annoying…” Amane sighed, sitting up against a wall. “Twilight, you talk to them. I’m gonna go take a nap while Zero finds a sword…”

“Go ahead, Amane…” Twilight sighed, using her magic to heal the bruised and beaten Zero, who slowly crawled out of the rubble he had been smashed through.

“Thank you, Miss Sparkle, for assisting us.” Selena nodded in her direction. “As my friend here so bluntly said, we do not know where we are, nor do we have any idea of the situation this world is in.”

“How’d you know the world was in trouble?” Twilight asked. “Also, just call me Twilight.”

“Well, while I am unknowledgeable in the culture of this world, I can assume that a ruined and destroyed city, not to mention a blood red sky, are usually a sign of trouble.”

“Right… of course…” Twilight nodded. “Well, it all started two years ago…”

Author's Notes:

Alright, another chapter done!

Sorry it took so long, I was being a procrastinating moron and haven’t gotten anything done over the months... it’s a bad habit of mine.

Also, while Vargas and Selena are from the game Brave Frontier, they did have a crossover event with Phantom of the Kill, and so I decided to add them. Plus they coincide with the crossover I did with Seb, so yeah!

Hope you enjoyed, and I’ll see you in the next one!