By the time they got back to the steelyard entrance, a sick, hollow feeling had settled in the pit of Applejack’s stomach. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t go away even as Adam pounded a fist on the door.

Metal scraped loudly as Everett unlocked and opened it. “You got your quota?” He asked flatly.

“Better, we’ve got fourteen ingots,” Adam replied.

Everett raised a surprised eyebrow. “Is that a fact?” Applejack dutifully showed him the basket, at which point he grinned widely. “I’ll be damned. That’d be a scab record if it was just one of you. Alright, let’s get the goods back to the mill and I’ll see what I can throw your way.”

“We don’t get a bonus for beating’ the quota?” Adam asked half-heartedly as the duo fell into step behind him.

The foreman snorted and shook his head. “Make it up to a whole twenty on your next trip, and I’ll see what I can do.”

“No thanks. Goin’ in there once was good enough for me,” Applejack assured him.

Everett’s laugh was caustic. “Good luck with that. As soon as the other freemen see your tally, and that you didn’t get injured, they’re gonna be pushing to get you sent in again. You’re betting material now. I’d say the way you’re avoiding the steelyard from now on is if you can hold out until Ashur opens up the Hole again. Then again, you’re probably better off taking your chances with the trogs.”

“Well, shit,” Adam huffed, earning a cackle from Everett.

Despite everything, Applejack was glad when they got back out of the shit-smelling makeshift tunnel and back into the ordinary corridors of the mill. It didn’t take long for the three to get back to the foreman’s office, still ringing with the sounds of industry, where he took the basket off of Applejack and told the two to wait while he got things squared away.

“Why does this kind of thing always end up being more complicated than it seems,” Adam asked quietly.

Applejack just shrugged. “Hell if Ah know. Ah can’t believe Ah’m about to say this, but Ah wish Ah was back in the Capital Wasteland.”

“Yeah, no kidding.” Adam glanced out of the office window, checking for slavers. “Before Everett gets back, remember, we’re supposed to be slaves. Keep your head down, and try to act as if you’re actually scared of these assholes.”

“That ain’t gonna be easy when most of them look like they haven’t had a decent meal in weeks,” Applejack replied.

“Just keep your head down, be polite, and don’t look anyone in the eye,” Adam told her. “Hopefully we can find Midea and find out exactly what the hell she wants us to do before they send us back out into the steelyard. I don’t even want to know what the Hole is that Everett mentioned.”

Applejack nodded in agreement just as the foreman in question walked back into the office carrying a small bundle. “Here, this might help you work a little harder,” he said as he handed the bundle to Adam. Original owner can’t use it anymore, on account of decapitation.”

“Decapitation?” Applejack glanced warily at the bundle. “Caused by that thing?”

“Nah, that’s just a work harness. It’s supposed to work by supporting your muscles, or something,” Everett replied with a shake of his head. “We think a trog named Lucy got to him. Real nasty piece of work, that one,” he added darkly. He went strangely quiet for a moment, then shook his head again and jerked his thumb over his shoulder towards the mill. “Anyway, I’ve made a note of your tally so far. Get back in there and get about your business.”

“Actually, one last thing.” Everett raised an eyebrow as Adam gestured to Applejack’s bloody shoulder. “Where can we get some clean water to clean that wound out?”

Everett snorted loudly. “You’re kidding, right? There is no clean water in the Pitt. The boss sometimes imports the good stuff, but that shit is real expensive to get out here, and he sure as hell ain’t gonna give none of it to scabs. Best thing you can do is bandage it up an’ start praying.”

Luna flinched as a bullet struck the crate she was hiding behind. The Moons had entered the enemy compound, stepped into some kind of warehouse full of large metal crates, and were greeted almost instantly by a brutal hail of gunfire. Thankfully, a shouted warning from Trixie had given everyone time to dive behind cover before the bullets started flying.

“I’m gonna push you bastards right back to the Great Wall if I have to!” Their guide shouted as he returned fire, gunning down a Chinese soldier on a catwalk above. Not to be outdone, Sonata used her magic to blast away two more who were trying to inch closer.

Luna shook her head and checked on Trixie. Much to her relief, the young magician was nestled between large metal crates, keeping her hat squashed down so it didn’t stick out above them. At the very least, she was getting better at hiding.

Satisfied that the others were alright for the moment, Luna gripped her stave tightly and risked a glance up at the catwalk. There was only one soldier left up there. He stopped shooting to reload, but a single well-aimed bolt took him out before he could finish.

More gunfire was immediately directed Luna’s way. The crate held up against the bullets, and she made sure she wasn’t exposed at all, but the drumming of lead on steel was still enough to get her teeth chattering. Just as she was working up the courage to lean out and take a potshot, the distinctive scream of a firework tore through the air. Confined indoors, the resulting boom was almost deafening.

Glancing around, Luna saw Trixie give her a curt nod. The firework hadn’t been enough to take out any of the soldiers, but now they were back to splitting their fire, which gave Luna more of an opportunity. She gave her student a thankful nod in return and looked up over the top of the crate. Between Sonata, their guide, and herself, they managed to take down the last of the Chinese soldiers with nothing more than a few near misses and some bruises.

“Don’t mess with the US,” the guide said smugly as soon as the last soldier disappeared.

“We’re going to have to deal with even more of that, aren’t we?” Trixie asked quietly.

Luna sighed heavily. “I really wish I could say no, but you’re probably right. You did well back there though, both of you did. Let’s just see if we can keep this streak going.” The girls both nodded, Sonata looking eager compared to Trixie’s muted resignation.

A quick search of the bottom floor revealed that there weren’t any other exits downstairs. They had to check the catwalks. Luna couldn’t help feeling twitchy as they climbed the stairs, there was hardly any cover on the catwalks at all, but no hidden enemies suddenly jumped out to attack as the group made their way around the room.

Annoyingly enough, the first door they came across was one of the locked ones. Trixie quickly opened it, acquired the briefcase from the room inside, and the four set off once again. Thankfully, the next one led to a series of corridors that went deeper into the facility. Luna kept her stave raised, moving as cautiously as possible, until they turned one last corner and her jaw dropped.

The corridor opened out into a colossal cavern. The path and left wall continued on straight ahead to another corridor, but to the right was a sheer drop to the ground easily a couple of hundred meters below, and an empty space so vast it looked like it could fit the entirety of Rivet City inside. A nearby cargo elevator presumably gave access to both the ground below and further levels above.

“Holy shit,” their guide muttered. All of a sudden he pointed down to the extreme end of the cavern and exclaimed loudly, “There! See ‘em down there? That’s their damn Chimera tanks. Don’t worry, they’re well out of range.”

The mention of tanks was enough to get Luna worrying no matter what the idiot said. Looking down into the gloom, she saw what looked like a road crossing the cavern floor parallel to the level the Moons were on. Hundreds of Chinese soldiers were marching along it in regimented formation, accompanied by several vaguely beetle-shaped vehicles that Luna presumed were the tanks. Thankfully, none of them gave any indication whatsoever that they had seen the little group of infiltrators.

“Ugh, please tell me we aren’t going to have to fight all of those,” Sonata whined.

“Sweet Tartarus I hope not,” Luna replied quietly. She turned her attention back to the path ahead just in time to see several more soldiers taking up positions in the far corridor. “Look out, we’ve got company!”

Luna punctuated her words with a blast from the Tide Stave. The girls dove behind nearby crates as she and the guide gave them cover fire, bullets and spears of light whizzing lethally through the air. Sonata added her own magic to the attack a second later. She was slightly out of range, making it less effective than usual, but it kept the enemy distracted enough for Luna and the guide to take them out.

With the way ahead clear, the group hurried across the cavern and into the far corridor. A long series of corridors and short staircases followed, twisting and turning with no doors or side corridors at all as it steadily climbed higher. The way was suspiciously devoid of soldiers, but Luna wasn’t about to complain.

As the group turned yet another corner, there was a sudden low rumble that shook the entire building.

“That didn’t sound good,” Sonata said quietly.

“No, no it didn’t,” Luna agreed. “That must have been a shot from the artillery. At least, I hope it was a shot from the artillery.”

Trixie looked at her as if she’d gone completely mad. “Seriously? A gun that powerful would have to be massive!”

“Which means it’ll have a minimum range,” Luna countered. “I’d rather get close to a gun that big than a robot or an Equestrian monster that big.”

The blood drained instantly from Trixie’s face. “Do Equestrian monsters even get that big?”

“Oh, they get huge!” Sonata told her almost gleefully. “There’s Ursa Majors, ancient Dragons, the Smooze, Erebus-”

“Let’s just focus on the task at hand,” Luna cut in, regretting having ever opened her mouth.

Thankfully, the very next corridor provided a distraction for Trixie in the form of another locked door. She made quick work of the lock, grabbed the waiting briefcase, and was back out again in under a minute.

Yet more winding corridors followed. Unfortunately, this time there were fresh soldiers waiting around almost every corner, turning the next leg of the mission into a hellish running battle that threatened to fry Luna’s nerves completely. Even Sonata was starting to flag when the group finally reached an empty corridor.

A faint ringing sound pricked Luna’s ears.

“Finally, a health thingie!” Sonata eagerly wrapped her arms around the glowing dispenser and let out a relieved sigh. “Can we bring one of these back with us?”

Luna chuckled wryly. “I wish we could, Sonata, but I’m pretty sure these things only exist in this simulation.”

“Awwww.” The siren reluctantly let go of the dispenser so the others could get to it. Luna let Trixie have a go before using it herself, enjoying the sensation of her stamina rapidly returning the moment she laid a hand on it. They all rested next to the dispenser for a couple of minutes, allowing themselves to mentally recharge as much as they could, but they didn’t dare to linger too long just in case the crawling wall of bones caught up to them.

Right around the next corner the group found themselves back in the giant cavern. They were higher up this time, but aside from that everything looked the same. Even the number of soldiers that piled out of the far corridor to face the group was the same as previously. As they broke through those soldiers and pressed on into another labyrinth of corridors, however, the group found themselves facing stiff resistance right from the get-go. There was no dispenser this time around, just a brutal gauntlet of virtual steel tempered with pain and fear that were both all too real.

The only saving grace was the fact that Sonata’s magic was utterly devastating in such close confines. She was holding herself back a little, mostly so the echoes of her own attacks didn’t bounce back off of the walls and kill everyone, but even those weakened blasts were more than enough to devastate the soldiers and continue reverberating through the corridors.

Eventually, the group broke through and, yet again, emerged in the cavern.

“This place again?!” Trixie exclaimed, understandably frustrated.

“Get ready for the soldiers in the next corridor,” Luna warned, keeping her stave raised despite the way her muscles were burning. “We’ll take them down, then we’ll rest here before tackling the next section.”

Seconds ticked by as the Moons waited anxiously for the soldiers to appear. After a while, with no sign of the soldiers appearing, it was Sonata who finally broke the silence, “Okay, for realsies, are these guys coming or not?”

Luna sighed and lowered the stave. “I guess not. Take five, girls. I’ll keep an eye on the corridors.”

Trixie and Sonata both hurried over to the nearest crates and practically collapsed onto them. Luna felt a twinge of guilt as she sank onto a crate herself; neither of the girls, Trixie especially, deserved to be pushed so far in such a dangerous situation. A second later Luna realized what she was doing and shook her head. She couldn’t afford to start brooding just yet.

The cavern was silent except for the subtly labored breathing of the girls. Their guide looked as if he were out for a morning stroll, but that was hardly surprising given that he wasn’t even technically real.

As she watched the corridors, glancing from one to the other in turn, Luna noticed a faint crackling sound coming from somewhere below. Curious, she got to her feet and cautiously looked over the ledge.

The marching Chinese soldiers were gone. In fact, the whole base of the cavern had disappeared from view, utterly subsumed beneath a writhing mass of shiny black forms. Luna didn’t need a closer look to know that the wall of bones had grown, consuming more and more of the simulation as it followed the Moons. “Break time’s over. We need to move.”

The girls were on their feet in an instant. Neither of them even tried to question it, they just fell into step as Luna and the guide strode to the far corridor.

Instead of a winding path full of soldiers, Luna was surprised to find that the corridor turned and almost immediately opened up into a low, wide room that was packed full of metal racking. Most of it was empty, but a few sections held enormous shells that dwarfed any of the Moons easily. Luna shuddered at the thought of just how big the gun was that could fire such behemoths.

As if to drive the point home, another low rumble shook the building.

“Hmm. Looks like the Commies are getting low on ammo for the big guns,” their guide said thoughtfully. “Maybe we didn’t even need to come up here.”

Trixie threw him a caustic glare. “If this stupid simulation is putting us through all of this for nothing I swear-”

A loud order shouted in Chinese interrupted her threat. The group dove behind cover just as the gunfire started, bullets ricocheting lethally off of the racking and the stored munitions. Luna hesitated, flinching every time she saw something hit one of the giant shells, but the guide showed no such restraint as he gleefully returned fire.

“Be careful what you hit!” Luna shouted over the din. “We don’t want to set off one of th-” She glanced around just in time to see Sonata drawing in a deep breath. “Sonata, no-”

Everything shook as the full power of siren magic blasted through the room like a thunderclap. Luna dropped into a crouch and threw her arms over her head, screwing her eyes shut against the apocalyptic sound even as she braced for the coming explosion. Slowly, too slowly, the attack stopped, the echoes faded away and, somehow, the world was still in one piece.

Luna cracked her eyes open and looked around, hardly daring to breathe. She stared dumbly at the stored shells, wondering how they hadn’t exploded, when suddenly the truth hit her; they weren’t programmed to be actual munitions, just part of the digital scenery like the racking and the walls themselves.

“What’s up?” Sonata asked casually. Luna just glared at her, wondering whether the siren had come to the same conclusion that much faster or if she was just oblivious. Deciding that she wasn’t going to like the answer either way, Luna just stood on shaking legs and gestured for the others to follow.

Beyond the storage area was another low room with a cargo elevator in the center. Staircases on either side led up to the next floor, but the moment Luna stepped into the room more soldiers sprang out from behind some stacked crates behind the elevator.
Sonata wiped them out before they could even get a shot off.

Upstairs brought a return to the gauntlet of corridors. Thankfully, the simulation finally seemed to be running out of soldiers. There were a handful of them spaced out along the route but, aside from another locked door and briefcase for Trixie to deal with, the corridors were largely empty until they finally reached a health dispenser quietly ringing away on a table.

“Thank Harmony!” Trixie gasped as her and Sonata practically fell against the dispenser. Luna knew exactly how they felt, savoring the sensation of her stamina returning and pain fading as she touched the strange little device.

“I wish it would get rid of all the sweat too, I’m soaked,” Sonata grumbled. A second later her brow knitted tightly in thought. “Wait, if this is all a video game, how are we sweating?”

Luna raised an eyebrow, surprised and a little glad to be getting an actual intelligent question from her. “It could just be a part of the programming to make things more realistic, like the armor we’re wearing, or it’s because all of the adrenaline is making our real bodies sweat and that’s affecting us in here.”

Trixie shook her head and let out an exasperated sigh. “I get that you’re a teacher, but do you really have to give us lessons right in the middle of this nightmare?”

“This is the first time Sonata has actually tried to learn something, I’m taking the chance while it’s here,” Luna countered. Not to mention the fact that that small interaction was the closest she had felt to normal since arriving in this radioactive dumpster-fire of a reality. “Let’s keep moving. There can’t be that far left to go.”

With her spirits oddly lifted, Luna stepped around the next corner and felt her heart rate immediately skyrocket again. Another munitions storage room was waiting for the group. Unlike the last one, the metal racking here was almost completely full of giant shells.

The Moons immediately got into cover and prepared to meet the onslaught of soldiers. Once again, however, the simulation had switched things up, as not a single Chinese soldier appeared no matter how long the group waited.

“I wish this stupid simulation would make up its mind,” Trixie muttered.

“You and I both,” Luna agreed. She kept cautiously moving forward, half expecting an ambush out of nowhere, but the group didn’t encounter another soul until the corridor finally opened out into an expansive warehouse.

Metal racking reached from the floor of the warehouse right up to the ceiling high above. It was so densely packed that there was barely enough room for two people to walk between the racks, and every square inch of it was packed to the brim with artillery shells.

The guide sighed heavily. “Yeah, yeah… so I was wrong. Let’s keep moving.”

Luna rolled her eyes and made to step forward, but Trixie suddenly grabbed her arm and hissed a warning, “Wait! Do you see that?”

“See what?” Luna whispered back, immediately on guard.

“There.” Trixie pointed to an empty space between some racking. “See? The air is rippling, like a heat haze or something.”

Luna squinted and leaned forward slightly. There was indeed a slight distortion in the air, so faint it was almost invisible. Trixie really was scarily perceptive. “I wonder if it’s a glitch?”

“Do you really want to take that chance?” Trixie asked pointedly.

Luna blinked slowly at her. “No. No I do not.” Without a second’s hesitation she raised her stave and fired a bolt of magic at the distortion. The distortion flared as it was blasted backwards, crackling and glitching until it resolved itself into a humanoid form lying flat on its back.

The man, if it was a man, was wearing some sort of gray full-body jumpsuit, with a featureless golden visor covering his face. Luna got a brief glimpse of a straight-bladed sword in his lifeless hand before the body disappeared in a blue flash.

“Invisible soldiers. Great.” Luna ignored the awful chill running down her spine and whispered to Trixie, “Do you see any more of them?”

Trixie nodded slowly. “At least two, I think. There’s one in the alcove over there, and I think there’s one behind the racking just ahead.”

Luna looked where her student indicated, hoping that the other hidden soldiers wouldn’t decide to attack all at once, but she couldn’t see them anyway. She looked up at the munitions sitting in the racking and sighed. Hopefully they were all just as decorative as the others. “Sonata? Do you think you can blast everyone in this room from here?”

A disturbingly vicious grin spread across Sonata’s face as she stepped forward. Trixie shouted a sudden warning, but it was drowned out as the siren unleashed her power. Waves of devastating sonic power buffeted the warehouse, Sonata turning her head to direct her magic into every corner, until the power and its echoes combined were enough to drive the others to their knees.

The invisible Chinese soldiers weren’t so lucky, as several of them were blown away by the magical storm. Incredibly, two of them actually got to their feet and tried to force themselves forward, but a couple of utterly silent bursts from the guide’s gun were enough to finish them off. It was only when the thunderous echoes finally died away, leaving a ringing silence in their wake, that Luna realized that Sonata had stopped.

“All done!” Sonata planted her hands on her hips and gave a satisfied nod.

Just as Luna let out a relieved sigh, she spotted another static-laced distortion streaking directly towards Sonata. Luna shot to her feet, intending to shove her aside, but Trixie got there first.

Sonata choked as she was yanked back by her collar barely a split-second before a translucent sword swept through what would have been her neck. The materializing soldier stepped forward for another swing, but a shot from the Tide Stave made him skip back again. He narrowly deflected the next shot with his sword.

Luna gritted her teeth and kept firing. The soldier backpedaled, parrying or dodging every shot that came his way, until the guide added his assault rifle to the mix, finally bringing their enemy down in a hail of bullets.

“Don’t mess with the US,” the guide said smugly.

Luna wasn’t nearly as confident. She kept looking between the spot where the soldier had fallen, the eerily silent warehouse they still had to traverse, and Sonata, who was massaging her sore throat. Hopefully, her voice was still good to go; it was only thanks to her magic that the Moons had made it as far as they did. Their guide had saved their bacon against the stealth soldier, but Luna was under no illusions as to their chances of survival without Sonata’s power.

“That was too close,” Trixie noted.

“Yeah. That sucked, but it was nearly, like, super sucky. Thanks.” Sonata gave an appreciative nod to an astonished Trixie before stepping to the front of the group again. “I’m gonna hit the room again, just in case.”

Luna braced herself for the blast, but even so the sheer power of it was still almost overwhelming. This time, the echoes faded without revealing any hidden soldiers, though the Moons kept their guard up all the same. When no invisible soldiers came running at the group, they finally dared to venture into the warehouse.

Thankfully, as nerve-wracking as it was to creep through the warehouse, wary of every shadow or empty space, the Moons were able to pass unmolested. All of the doors on the first floor were sealed shut, but they did find a metal staircase that led up to a series of winding catwalks high above.

The walkways proved to be mercifully clear. They stretched over the entirety of the warehouse, but eventually they led to a short corridor and a nondescript door. A health dispenser sat on a table right next to the exit. The Moons eagerly made use of it; after dealing with the invisible soldiers it was desperately needed, and opened the door.

An icy chill greeted the group as they stepped outside. They were back out on the cliffs. The cliff edge was right in front of them, protected by a metal guard rail, while a narrow rocky ledge allowed passage to the left and right.

Just as Luna stepped outside a colossal boom shook the ground, knocking dust from the doorframe. Her heart in her throat, she whipped her head around and spotted a massive concrete platform off to the right. An absurdly big cannon was squatting on top of it like some grotesque metal gargoyle.

“That’s the Front down there,” the guide said grimly. “Those guns are pounding on our guys. Let’s take ‘em out!”

Luna shuddered as she imagined what it must have been like as a soldier during the war, getting shelled by guns as big as that. It hardly bore thinking about. Shaking off such dark thoughts, Luna readied her stave and set off towards the cannon. The ledge was strangely devoid of any soldiers, not that anyone was complaining, and soon came to a short stairway leading down to a plateau.

The artillery emplacement dominated the area. Tall cliffs rose up behind it, with a small clearing at the base giving access to the rear. A narrow defile at the bottom of the cliffs led elsewhere, presumably to another cannon.

Luna looked up at the massive weapon in wonder. “How in Harmony are we meant to destroy that thing?” Almost as soon as she said it, she heard a loud chime coming from her belt. Glancing down, Luna’s eyes practically popped out of their sockets as she saw what was very clearly a big boxy explosive device on her hip. “That wasn’t there before, was it?!”

“Who cares? Just stick it on the stupid gun!” Sonata snapped.

“R-right.” Luna unclipped the bomb and turned to inspect the artillery. As if the developers had anticipated her next dilemma, a faint red silhouette appeared right at the back of the concrete platform, showing her where to plant the bomb. The brief moment of relief that Luna felt was quashed mere seconds later as she stepped over to the silhouette and spotted a bunker, likely full of soldiers, lurking on the other side of the artillery piece. The only silver lining was the fact that the bunker’s window wasn’t quite facing the point where the bomb needed to go, so, with a little luck, she’d be able to place it without being seen.

Just as Luna screwed up her courage and stepped forward a bullet smashed into the concrete next to her head. She flinched and skipped back just as the report of the rifle rang out, echoing off of the cliffs. “Where did that come from?!”

“There!” Trixie threw down a couple of smoke bombs as shouts filled the air. “There’s an invisible guy on the cliff! Get the bomb set before the smoke clears and let's get out of here!”

Luna quickly pressed the bomb against the platform. It stuck like glue, so she tried pressing the conspicuous red button on top of it. The loud beeping that started up was ominous enough for Luna to get the hint. “It’s done, let’s go!” She grabbed the girls and sprinted for the defile she had spotted earlier, ignoring the crackle of gunfire as they burst out of the smoke and not stopping even as they plunged into the narrow rocky corridor.

The explosion came just a couple of seconds later. It was almost impossible to describe; a blast that shook the earth, turned the mind to jelly and made the air itself scream in agony. Despite its power, the noise only lasted for a few seconds. Soon, all that remained were the echoes rolling through the chasm, and even they faded to naught in just a matter of seconds.

“Hell yeah! Take that you red bastards!” Their guide shouted suddenly.

The Moons all stared at each other incredulously. Sonata smirked, snorted, and finally burst out laughing as if he had said something utterly hysterical. Despite everything, Luna found herself smirking as well. The smile was wiped off of her face a second later as another colossal gunshot tore through the air.

“What the- there’s another one?!” Trixie screeched.

“It seems that way,” Luna said grimly. “Let’s go find it, but keep your eyes open.”

The defile went on for only a hundred yards or so before abruptly reaching another clearing. The second artillery gun sat on a concrete platform, identical to the first, only this time there was no bunker nearby to protect it. Instead, there was just a table bearing a health dispenser placed conspicuously next to the glowing red silhouette where the bomb should go. A wide path on the far side of the clearing appeared to lead to yet another artillery piece, poking out above a rocky bluff.

“Let’s blow this beast apart!” The guide exclaimed eagerly.

Luna looked around suspiciously. She half-expected there to be a dozen or so invisible soldiers lurking in plain sight, waiting to ambush unsuspecting souls. “Trixie, do you see anything?” The young magician looked around carefully before replying that she didn’t. “Okay. You two head over to the far path and keep watch. I’ll go and plant the bomb.”

Gathering her courage, Luna took a deep breath and ran over to the gun. She felt horribly exposed, her shoulder blades itching as she waited to feel a bullet between them, but despite her fears nothing whatsoever happened as Luna crossed the clearing. As before, a bomb appeared on her belt as she approached the silhouette. Luna planted the explosive, armed it, and sprinted for the path where the others were waiting.

Prepared this time, the group huddled down in the lee of a large boulder as the artillery gun made its apocalyptic exit from existence.

“That’s two. Let’s finish the job,” the guide said when the dust had settled.

“Does that mean that the next gun is the last one?” Sonata asked hopefully.

Luna gave a noncommittal shrug. “If we’re lucky.”

Buoyed by their success and the hope that they were almost finished, the group moved quickly and quietly along the path, pausing at each turn to cautiously check for any waiting soldiers. Soon enough, they reached the final clearing and its artillery. Just like the first, this one had a bunker next to it for protection.

“Trixie, do you see any invisible people?” Luna asked quietly, fully aware of how ridiculous the question was.

“I’m not sure,” Trixie replied in a whisper. “I think there’s something up on the cliff behind the gun, but I can’t tell if it’s a soldier or just the wind blowing snow around.”

The uncertainty in her voice was enough to set Luna’s teeth on edge. The cliff that Trixie had indicated was too far away for Sonata’s magic, and even if it wasn’t there was still the issue of the bunker. As the group dithered, deciding what to do, a familiar crackling sound from behind sent a shiver down their spines. The Moons all reluctantly looked back over their shoulders.

The wall of bones had caught up. It was advancing faster than ever before, skeletal limbs growing and reaching out from the writhing mass almost as fast as someone could run. Time was up.

“Trixie, distract whatever’s on the cliff! Sonata, blast the bunker, then both of you run!” Luna didn’t wait for an answer before she sprinted for the gun.

“Last gun! Blow that thing off the map!” The guide shouted after her.

Angry yells rang out as soldiers piled out of the bunker, only to be smashed off of their feet by Sonata’s power. A moment later a firework streaked past, sparks scattering in its wake, and exploded against the cliff with a fantastic blue flash.

The bomb was waiting on her belt when Luna reached the gun. Acting almost on instinct, she slammed it against the concrete and jabbed the red button.

Just as Luna turned to run a bullet smacked straight into her chest with an audible thud. She stumbled, almost tripping over in shock, but the armor had done its job and she managed to keep her footing as she scrambled away from the gun. A second firework screeched through the air, its explosion providing cover for Luna's mad dash to safety.

The explosive demise of the final gun sent Luna sprawling. Pain lanced through her knees and hands as she scraped along the rocky ground, but it was nothing compared to the relief she felt as her surroundings began to crackle and warp. Looking up on a whim, a jolt ran down Luna’s spine as she spotted the little girl from before sitting cross-legged a short distance away, grinning at her.

“How interesting.” The girl’s voice was astoundingly deep and masculine, with an accent that Luna couldn’t quite place. It was the last thing she heard as the whole world went dark. “Keep pressing on, Frau. Entertain me more.”

Next Chapter: Chapter 198 - Paving the Way... Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 32 Minutes