Sonata looked around curiously as she ambled through the station. Flickering lights overhead provided only the faintest illumination, but it was more than enough for the keen eyes of a Siren.

It was obvious that the place hadn’t been used properly in a long time. A faint smell of rust was just about noticeable, and the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust, save for where it had been disturbed by two pairs of oversized footprints. Sonata remembered Fawkes’ massive boots and wondered if he had passed this way with Adam. She amused herself for a little while by looking at the faded posters on the walls, including one that had some guy in Brotherhood armor asking people to lend ‘Uncle Sam’ a hand, but she soon got bored and set about finding somewhere quiet to fix her amulet.

Annoyingly, the ladies’ toilets were completely caved in, and going in the mens’ just felt weird. There weren’t even any neutral or non-binary restrooms in sight.

A short way further in, Sonata found the doorway that led into the main part of the station.

The station was nice and spacious. It would have been better if there weren’t piles of debris, cobbled together barricades and walls of sandbags dotted around everywhere, and if the stench of rot wasn’t even stronger here, but not everything in life could be perfect.

“Oh, perfect!” Sonata grinned as she spotted what looked like an old information booth of some kind made out of steel, complete with an intact door that could be pulled to for some privacy. Just as she hurried towards it, however, she heard the clatter of dislodged stone and a low moan from somewhere down below.

Sonata looked around in confusion. It took her a second to realize that there were concrete walls on either side of the path, meaning that she was on top of a mezzanine above the tracks. She stepped over to the nearest wall and peered down into the gloom. There was clearly more debris down on the tracks and platforms, but it was too dark to make out any details. “Hello? Is anybody down there?” Sonata called out.

A loud, rasping groan answered her.

“Are you hurt or something?” Sonata sighed and rolled her eyes as whoever it was just groaned again. She considered just ignoring it and leaving them to their problems, but thought better of it when she imagined what the Rainbooms might do if they learned that she had ignored someone who sounded injured. “Ugh, fine.”

Sonata searched until she found a broken-down old escalator and started down towards the platform, grumbling under her breath the whole time.

The sick reek of decay grew stronger the further down she got until it almost brought tears to her eyes. “Ugh, gross. Why does it stink so ba-eep!” Sonata yelped as she stepped off the bottom of the escalator and immediately slipped on something that squelched under her foot. She looked down, desperately hoping that she hadn’t just stepped in dog poo or something.

It wasn’t dog poo.

Sonata cocked her head in confusion at the sight of the weird knobbly tube-like things piled by her feet. They looked almost like intestines, but that couldn’t be right. As she stared blankly at the mess on the floor, convincing herself that they absolutely weren’t once part of a living creature, Sonata realized with horror that the tubes were connected to something large and lumpy nearby.

The body looked like it had been decomposing for a while. Its skin was flaking and peeling away from its muscles, disgusting fluids coated what was left, and it lacked any hair whatsoever, not to mention the ragged hole in its belly where its guts had spilled out. Before Sonata could fully process what she was seeing, the sound of approaching footsteps caught her attention. She looked over her shoulder, searching under the mezzanine, and her heart leapt into her mouth as a figure emerged from the shadows.

It was human, or had probably been at one point, but now it was every bit as decayed and noisome as the corpse at Sonata’s feet. The creature was naked aside from a tattered old pair of pants and, horrifyingly, was carrying an equally rotten dismembered leg in its arms. Gore dripped from its mouth.

Sonata’s breath hitched as she suddenly remembered Sunset’s stories about feral ghouls. “You’re, uh, you’re friendly, right?” She asked shakily.

The ghoul snarled and dropped the leg before launching itself at Sonata. She squealed and tried to run back up the escalator, but she slipped on the spilled guts again and fell painfully to her knees on the metal steps. The ghoul was on her before she could get back to her feet.

Sonata barely managed to get her hands up in time as the ghoul pounced on her. She caught its arms, only for it to immediately snap at her face with its teeth. Every movement crushed her further against rusted metal as she struggled to keep the monster at bay.

In desperation, Sonata released one arm and slugged the ghoul in the side of the head. The creature slipped off-balance, and Sonata took the opportunity to slam its skull into the side of the escalator. It barely flinched. Undeterred, She kept it up, ramming the ghoul’s head against the metal framework until she heard a wet crack and the creature went limp.

Silence fell almost immediately, broken only by Sonata’s labored breathing and the thunder of her pulse in her ears. She took a moment to catch her breath, then shoved the ghoul aside and stood up, wrinkling her nose at the dirt, blood, and rotting gunk that covered her clothes. Aria probably would have come out with some snarky one-liner, or kicked the heck out of the corpse for good measure, but Sonata wasn’t particularly feeling it. Between the danger, the smell, and the fact that she now needed fresh clothes and a shower, she was rethinking her plan to fix the amulet right away.

Just as Sonata gave up and decided to return to Rivet City, she heard metal clang up on the mezzanine. Her head snapped up, and her blood ran cold at the sight of another monster standing at the top of the escalator.

It looked vaguely like another ghoul, but there was no natural process that could create a mutation like this one. It was skinny to the point of being skeletal, but even hunched over it stood over seven feet tall, with unnaturally long arms that reached down just past its knees. Worst of all were the creature’s eyes. They were pure darkness, so deeply black that they were clearly visible even in the dim light, as if reality itself had somehow ceased to exist within its eye sockets. The monster’s head lolled around as if it were only loosely connected to its neck, but those terrible eyes remained locked on Sonata no matter what the head did.

Sonata knew that she should run. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to get away, but with the ghoul-thing blocking the path back to Rivet City, her options were limited; get past it, or risk the metro tunnels. The decision was made for her as the creature let out an ear-piercing shriek and launched itself down the escalator.

Sonata screamed and ran as fast as she could. She sprinted towards the nearest tunnel, dodging around piles of debris and more dead ghouls as she heard the scrape of claws on stone from behind. As soon as Sonata got into the tunnel she dove to the floor and scrambled under a metro car. Barely a second later an emaciated arm thrust underneath and snatched at her, missing her by inches.

The monster snarled in anger at being cheated of its prey. Sonata rolled out on the other side and turned to run, only to see that the path behind was blocked by fallen masonry, while only a little further ahead the entire tunnel had caved in. She dithered for a moment, trying not to panic as the monster crawled after her, when she spotted an open door in the car. Sonata darted to it and clambered inside, then hopped on a moldy chair and vaulted out of a window on the other side.

Ignoring the pain that shot through her legs as she landed, Sonata quickly scanned her surroundings. Shadowy figures were gathering back in the station, presumably more ghouls, or there was a side door a short way further down the tunnel.

There was only one real option.

Sonata ran through the door and slammed it shut. Inside were a couple of odd machines and another open door on the other side of the room. Weirdly, the faint sound of firecrackers was wafting through the open door. Scared and confused, Sonata dove behind one of the machines and curled up into a ball, trying to make herself as small as possible.

A second or two later the door was smashed off its hinges, forcing Sonata to clamp a hand over her own mouth so she didn’t cry out in surprise. She heard the monster that had been chasing her barrel through the room and straight out the other side without so much as slowing down. Sonata didn’t dare to move, just in case the beast came back. Her caution was justified as, shortly afterwards, she heard a lot of hissing and shuffling as what sounded like a whole group of ghouls traipsed through the room. Something about the firecrackers going off in the distance must have annoyed them, as they all snarled and charged off in the direction of the noise as soon as they heard it.

Sonata cowered silently behind the old machine, not daring to move a muscle as she listened out for any more ghouls. After a while of hearing nothing but the firecrackers and ghoulish screams from deeper in the tunnels, she risked a peek out from behind the machine and, satisfied that there was nothing else in the room, Sonata crept back to the tunnel and cautiously looked out.

Her caution proved justified, as she spotted two more monsters like the one that had chased her lurking in the station, doing something to the dead ghouls. Sonata tried to figure out a way of sneaking past them, but nothing came to mind. The way back to Rivet City was blocked.

Sonata scowled and ducked back into the small room. Getting out of Rivet City had been easy when she had found a chance, but now that she wanted to go back it was proving to be almost impossible. As much as she hated the idea, the only option Sonata could think of was to head further into the metro and see if she could find a way back to the surface. First though, she needed something to defend herself with.

Fixing and using the amulet was a no-go; the risk of attracting a horde of ghouls was too great, so Sonata quickly searched the room for anything useful. Unfortunately, the only half-useful thing she managed to find was a screwdriver. It would have to do. Clutching her tiny weapon, Sonata crept out of the other door.

Beyond was another tunnel. Broken-down metro cars were lined up as far as could be seen in either direction. The sounds of firecrackers and angry ghouls came from the right, but there was something about the left path that just felt… off. Sonata couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but her instincts were telling her that whatever was lying in that direction was something that she did not want to meet. Even so, the idea of casually walking towards a group of angry ghouls was just plain dumb, even by Aria’s standards.

Sonata frowned as she thought, not used to being the one who had to come up with plots and skullduggery. The pressure of coming up with something before more ghouls came through certainly didn’t help matters.

Even getting inside the metro cars and sneaking through them one by one wouldn’t work, as a quick check revealed that the connecting doors between the nearest ones were rusted shut. As she sighed and turned away, Sonata had a sudden flash of inspiration. She stared blankly at the thick metal connectors that linked the cars, slowly piecing together whatever it was that was forming in her mind, then finally looked up at the top of the cars.

There was too much debris underneath the cars to crawl under them safely, but crawling across the top shouldn’t be too difficult.

Sonata grinned and clambered up on top of the connector between the nearest cars. Getting on top of the car itself was harder; there weren’t really any convenient places to put her hands and feet, nor was there much room between the roof of the car and the tunnel ceiling, but after a bit of struggling she managed to get herself up there.

Crawling along the top of the subway cars proved to be a bit more challenging than Sonata had expected. She didn’t have enough room to crawl properly, so she had to drag herself along on her belly, climbing back down and up every time she reached a gap between cars was an absolute pain, and there was more dust up there than she was comfortable with, but it was worth it. As expected, small packs of ghouls came hurrying through the tunnel every now and again, all heading towards the sound of firecrackers that were slowly getting closer. Sonata froze each time the ghouls went past, remaining still and silent until they had gone.

Eventually, Sonata saw the tunnel abruptly end up ahead. The ceiling had collapsed and almost completely flattened the car in front. At first, she was afraid that she had crawled all this way for nothing, but as she got closer she was relieved to see that there was a gap underneath a huge slab of concrete, large enough for someone to walk through if they crouched.

With just a quick look to make sure that no more ghouls were coming, Sonata awkwardly clambered off of the metro car and ducked under the slab. She navigated a path under more wrecked concrete, crawled up a pile of debris on the other side, and cautiously peeked over the top.

The place must have once been a station, but the entire ceiling had collapsed at some point along with a large part of whatever building was up above it, burying the floor below under a mess of shattered concrete. Even the mezzanine had been almost completely crushed, replaced by a huge mound of debris that reached up towards the exit corridor. Dead ghouls were sprawled all over the place, while a handful of live ones crouched here and there, feasting on something that Sonata didn’t want to think about. One of the ghouls glowed with a sickly yellow hue. Even as she watched, the ghoul let out a sudden pulse of light and a few of the fallen ones around it started to stir.

Sonata had seen enough. She ducked back down and tried to pick her way across the treacherous ground towards the exit corridor as carefully, and quietly, as she could. Thankfully, the ghouls were distracted by their vile meals, so Sonata was able to pass by without getting spotted. Just as she reached the bottom of the mound leading up to the corridor, the sudden sharp crack of more firecrackers made her flinch and snap her head around.

A group of armed people with mismatched clothes and apparently crimson skin were advancing out of a half-buried tunnel at the other end of the station, shooting at every ghoul they could see. Sonata paled as she realized that the noises she had been hearing hadn’t been firecrackers, but gunshots.

The ghouls reacted immediately, snarling and hurling themselves at the new arrivals in a bloodthirsty mob. Sonata watched, transfixed, as the two groups tore into each other with appalling savagery. She assumed that the crimson people would be able to slaughter the ghouls thanks to having guns, especially as more of them were emerging from the tunnel to reinforce their friends, but the half-rotten creatures attacked utterly without fear, and the pulses that the glowing ghoul let out allowed those that got shot to keep fighting regardless.

A shiver ran down Sonata’s spine as she spotted the monster that had chased her earlier crawling out from under a wrecked escalator. The monster glanced at the fight, then reared up and let out an ear-splitting shriek that made even Sonata’s bones rattle. A cacophony of snarls and shouts broke out from all sides, as if in answer. Moments later, more ghouls emerged from hidden and half-buried tunnels all around the station; a trickle at first, then a flood, until the area around the crimson people was awash with a sea of flesh-eating nightmares. There were even a few ghouls that moved in a blur, leaving clear magical trails in their wake.

The sight of ghouls with magic reminded Sonata that she had left Rivet City for a reason, and that she was currently kneeling on a pile of concrete out in the open like a moron. Right as she realized that, the monster turned and the two of them locked eyes. “Uh-oh.”

Sonata whipped around and belted up the mound of rubble as fast as she could move, giving up on stealth entirely. Loose chunks shifted beneath her feet, but she somehow managed to remain upright. As she approached the top, Sonata saw that the mound didn’t actually reach right up to the corridor, instead peaking and descending again so it hit the wall about six feet below the edge. She’d have to jump for it.

At the last second, Sonata leaped up and caught the edge of the floor, but before she could pull herself up something grabbed her ponytail and dragged her back down. She cried out in pain as she was slammed onto her back, narrowly avoiding cracking her skull on exposed rebar. Her blood froze as the monster stood tall over her, hissing loudly, its unnatural eyes boring into her soul.

Sonata tried to scramble away from it, but the monster pounced on her and grabbed her forearms, pinning her to the slab below. She fought to escape, but it was too strong for her to budge. As she struggled beneath it, the monster tilted its head back and opened its mouth wide. A horrifically oversized tongue pushed out of the mouth, pulsating in a way that was somehow obscene. To Sonata’s horror and disgust, the tip of it peeled open like the petals of a flower, revealing what could only be described as an enormous yellow slug. The slug writhed in the air, then shifted to point itself right at the siren’s face.

“Get lost, you freak!” Sonata managed to get a leg up and shove the creature off her. It tried to get back on top of her, but she got both legs up and kicked it full in the chest, knocking it back down the mound. The monster was back on its feet in a flash. It growled and crouched, ready to launch itself after its prey again, when an immense shadow suddenly dropped from the ceiling.

Dust and grit rained from the ceiling as a colossal bat-like creature slammed to the ground right on top of the monster, causing a miniature avalanche of debris. Sonata panicked and scrambled to her feet as the mound started to collapse beneath her feet. Desperation gave her strength as she jumped for the corridor. She managed to catch the edge again, and this time nothing pulled her back as she hauled herself up and lurched into the corridor.

Sonata didn’t dare to look back as she sprinted through the corridor, burst through the rickety gate at the end, raced up the steps outside, and emerged into a hellish warzone.

Sunset raised an eyebrow as she looked down from the top of a snow-covered cliff. A large shack lay not too far from the bottom, a ramshackle structure partially built out of wooden slats and scrap metal. A brahmin paddock was marked out next to it by a wooden fence, with the brahmin themselves resting in a cobbled-together shelter in the corner to avoid the snow. A couple of people wearing distinctive trenchcoats and hats were tending to them.

“Looks like we’ve found the Regulator HQ,” Applejack noted.

“So what are we waiting up here for?” Rainbow asked bluntly. “Let’s get down there already.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 164 - Mall Mutant Mauling Mayhem Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 53 Minutes