The gryphon groaned as the pale mare bounded into the room, red trenchcoat fluttering, and rump-bumped him out of her way. Then she adjusted her purple shades and smiled down at Octavia. "How ya doin', Octy? I heard you brought the shake to these poor fools! Sorry I wasn't around to witness ya doin' it." She held her front hooves together in a curious way, as though trying to represent an engine block. "But from the way the cultists are muttering to one another, I'd say you still had a kickin' audience. Schoolin' a dragon has got to be worth some fire-tributes."

"It is good to see you, Vinyl." The earth pony smiled up at her friend. "But... how are you out of your barrel? Was I really unconscious for that long?"

"Naaaah. Beakie here," she hugged the resisting gryphon. Something cracked. His eyes bulged and his beak opened in a silent scream. "Gathered up a bunch of flesh and dumped it into my container. Yum-yum! I always knew he liked me."

He gasped for air, then protested, "it was a strategic decision." Vinyl loosened her grip a bit, and he flopped to the floor. "The Lady Bon Hadescream would have ordered it, if she had been here. Prisoner control, facility security, not to mention casualty recovery and prevention." The officer pulled himself upright and glared at the vampire, then glanced at the gray mare. "Besides, I had to interrogate her about the explosion."

"And I'm innocent." Vinyl tilted down her purple shades and tried to put on a guiltless expression. "Ooooh, that reminds me. Kitchen-guy is a fan of me, but who isn't, right? And apparently of you as well." She reached into her trenchcoat, produced something large wrapped in tin foil, and waggled it in front of her ghoul's nose. "Here ya go. Tzatziki-sum'tin and grilled veg inside a wrap." It smelled delicious. Octavia reached out and reverently took the food, then unwrapped one end. The scent of grilled mushrooms, zucchini, peppers, and onions, with just a hint of lemon and the earthy firmness of olive oil, filled her senses. "He called it a... a gimmie-yo, I think. I've had 'em before, they're awesome."

"The correct pronunciation is 'gyro', the gy makes a sort of ji sound." And it was delicious. She tried to eat in as dignified a manner as possible, but her growling stomach soon compelled her to take ravenous bites out of the wonderful, wonderful food.

"Yeah, so I'm not just innocent, I'm totally a hero." Vinyl grinned even wider. "ARGUS wanted us out, so they put a jumping spider-bomb in the crate and had a kill-team on standby for when the building went boom. If I hadn't opened the crate, somepony else would have died at the center of that blast." She smiled at the gryphon, who was struggling to breathe so he could grumble. "Aren't you glad you fed me all that raw meat?"

"Mhere..." The gray mare blushed and swallowed. Not until she had bitten into the wrap did she realize how truly hungry she was. Her body had exhausted most of its reserves regenerating itself, and was now crying out for more fuel. "Where did the raw meat come from?" Octavia asked. Both of them just stared at her. The vampire winked. "Oh. Oh. Oh, I see..."

"Yeah, you killed a bunch of ponies while I was napping! I'm super-proud." The vampire hugged her friend. "Beakie here drug most of their bodies downstairs, hauled my barrel out of the armored-fun-vee, and dumped in all the juicy bits." Vinyl smiled her toothy grin. "I think he poured in some sodium hypochlorite and hemlock too, but I'm sure that was just an accident. After my meal, I was up and about, rallying these poor, misguided cultists to my banner." She snickered. "They had this whole top-down model for their cult, can you believe it? It was like some four-year-old had read a political science book. All based around some "Great Glow" doomsday prophecy from their leader, and "inner sparks" that amounted to justification for anything they wanted to do... as long as they obeyed the leader." The DJ adjusted her red hat. "Total tyrant-against-the-system setup. Naturally, I had to educate them on proper anarcho-capitalism and mob-based rule via consent of the governed, using my fan club as an example."

"I... if I recall correctly, when you explained that to me, it seemed to revolve around everypony buying your albums, shirts, lanyards, and posters." Octavia took another big bite.

"Yalp," confirmed the gryphon. "That's about how things went this time as well. I don't know how, but she turned the atrium into a concert stage complete with a merchandise booth."

"Fight the power!" yelled the unicorn. "With the might of commerce and music!" This caused the gryphon to clasp both claws over his face and whimper softly. "It was a ton of fun. Beakie and I had a real good-cop, evil-cop thing going on. I was the good one, of course."

"Oh?" The gray mare asked curiously.

"Yup. I was the one telling everypony that yes, I am the real Vinyl Scratch, and I can drop the sick sounds to prove it." She patted her trusty headphones. "He was the one blathering on about all the boring stuff." Her voice dropped to a gruff impersonation of the gryphon's. "You are all guilty of high treason, sedition, possession of artifacts of mass destruction, conspiracy to assassinate elected officials by forbidden arcane means, unlawful summoning of Greater Forces, something-something-something I don't speak legal-wordflubbery, production and distribution of illicit drugs grown by use of forbidden arcane means..." Her voice trailed off, and she glanced over at the gryphon. "By the way, are any of those sweet chems still sitting around? I am totally willing to take one for the team and test to see if they're the real astroturf, if you know what I'm sayin'." She nudged him with an elbow. "Eh? Eh?"

Rollins only whimpered louder.

"So while I'm rollin' the good times and setting up for a jaw-dropping show... thanks for saturating that whole place with magic by the way, it made things way easier," she winked at her friend. "Good ol' Lieutenant Fun Police here and his troop of black-armored intimidators were standing around looking mean. He was rattling off all their crimes, and then he pretty much just went all," she threw back her trenchcoat for dramatic effect, "I am the laaaaw! The verdict is death, to be carried out immediately!" She held up a hoof as though it was a laspistol. "Pew, pew, pew! And there's anodda one fer ya ugly mug! Court's adjourned, creep!" The vampire sat back on her haunches and waved her hooves. "Then I had to tell him no, no, we're not gonna shoot all these ponies, because they understand what they were doing was wrong. But he wouldn't listen..."

The gryphon cut his eyes over to the gray mare. She nodded silently, showing that she understood Vinyl's tale was only tangentially related to actual reality.

"...and then after I clotheslined him, I grabbed him and slammed him down onto the mat, and all the crowd chanted 'spinebreaker!' Next..."

It was a very entertaining story, but most of Octavia's attention was focused on the very delicious food in her hooves.

"...they elected me their Queen, but I said 'No, for nopony but Celestia deserves that title, and even she rejected it long ago'..."

Over on the other side of the bay, a few of the wounded Operatives glanced at one another and grinned. If nothing else, the Asset was funny.

"...and I had to burn that throne room upstairs, which was a real waste but I ain't gonna put up with that stinky incense..."

"She has actually been a very great help," the gryphon admitted quietly to the gray mare. "The cultists listen to her and follow her directions. I think most of them are trustworthy now, they've seen the results of their actions. That can have a very powerful effect on the mind, even a warped one. Also, just to be on the safe side, I took blood samples from all of them." Trust, but verify. He had photographs and prints too. Paperwork made the world go 'round. "They can run, but they can't hide, not if we put out an APB through the normie police."

"...and then it was rock 'n' roll all night, party every day!" The vampire pumped a hoof in the air. "My three-meter tall speakers blasting sizzlin' hot wubs into their brains, lights, improvised pyrotechnics, dry ice fog, awwwyeeeah! All that would turn anypony back to the side of truth, justice, and the Equestrian Way." She rolled her shoulders. "Somepony get me a carrot dog, extra mustard! And a monster truck!"

"I'm... very glad you are awake once more," the gryphon said to the gray mare, while the pale unicorn posed. "Very glad."

"Did you really give her hemlock?" the gray mare asked softly. His tail flicked nervously from side to side in response.

"So, to sum up that heroic epic, Beakie threatened to kill them all and explained why, because of some really old laws, it's totally legal for Operatives to do that. I told 'em they'd be okay as long as they swore off all that bad stuff and promised to listen to the Operatives, and then I knocked them flat with pure sound." She grinned wide. "Awwyeeeah, it was awesome. Ooh, that reminds me, who do I bill?"

"Bill?" the gryphon leaned back and glared at her with one eye. Was he hallucinating all this?

"Yeah, I mean, a DJ-P0N3 concert ain't cheap. All these cultists are pretty much bankrupt because of their communal style of living, and I already soaked all the bits out of 'em that I could with that merch booth. So... somepony owes me a lot of bits for a short-notice concert in a challenging environment." She pushed her purple shades up her muzzle. "I'm thinking seven figures, lots of nines, plus expenses. Costly, I know, but definitely worth it. You now have an army of totally loyal headbanging ponies who are blaring my tunes as loud as they can all over this dive. That's priceless." Vinyl shrugged. "There's some things money can't buy, I know, but for everything else..." She saw the expression on the gryphon's face. It was one he had learned from The Lady Bon Hadescream. The vampire grinned wide, just as her ghoul had when taunting Scoffing Song before that musical duel. "There's Marestercard."

Steam appeared to be venting from the gryphon's ears. He clamped his beak together and counted to ten, but before he could respond the vampire appeared to lose interest and turned back to the gray mare.

"I'm sad I missed your cello duel, though. From the way Beakie tells it, you should have warned that son of a gun once, you're the best that's ever been!"

"Not quite," the cellist said humbly. "I merely exploited a weakness and prayed that would be enough to tip the scales. And... it is blurry, but I think my plan would have failed anyway, if I heard correctly."

"Naaah, no way. You don't make dumb mistakes, Octy. That's my job!" Vinyl laughed. "Right, Beakie?"

Rollins took a deep breath, scooted out of the vampire's reach, and coughed. "You got the job done, Strings. Nopony else could have. Be proud of your abilities." He waved over at the injured Operatives. "They're alive because of you. Those cult-heads, who don't deserve it, are alive because of you." With a nod toward Vinyl, he added, "she's mobile because of you too. Yeah, taking a spear in the side from that ugly unicorn in the nightgown wasn't part of your plan, but that wound up working out pretty well. You punched her in the pride, and that pushed her over the edge. Because of you, we live to fight another day. That's a win in my book, and anything else can wait for the debrief back at Central."

"Yup, there's gonna be medals all around," Vinyl promised. "Medals, celebrations, feasts, concert tours, movie deals, action figures, inspirational posters, little kids wanting to be 'just like you' when they grow up..."

Octavia munched her wrap while her friend continued to babble. Finally, Rollins cut her off.

"We'll get a trip to the showers if we're lucky," said the gryphon. "Then I'll be back here with an administrative restructuring team, and you two will be off on another assignment. While you were running around wowing the cult-heads, I planned transport getting us and the wounded back to Central with the dragon bones. Fortunately the railroads are still independent ground."

"They could hardly be otherwise," the gray mare said quietly after swallowing. "But you were worried before that we might not be safe even there."

"Not when we were running scared, no." The gryphon tried to hold back a yawn. "ARGUS could have ambushed us on the way, or even tried something stupid aboard the train. We're higher profile now, though. I was able to swing by the train station with a few Imparters watching my rear, and convince the pipe-smoking stallion who works in the unmarked travel office." As much as he liked the train ponies, he wished they were able to speak more casually. A lit pipe was a lit pipe, not a signal flare to great inspirations, and a request for aid was not a petition for rolling armor, pulled by the motor of the world. Then again, the Organization had their own odd turns of phrase. "They'll get us back to Central, dragon bones and all."

"The iron bands that bind the land," agreed Vinyl. "Ah, oppression. Always makes my skin crawl."

Rollins rolled his eyes. "Order is what makes your skin crawl, vampire. The railroads hold Equestria together, moving freight and ponies across the land with speed and regularity. Every line of track, every suspension bridge, and every steaming train is a testament to what can be accomplished without your kind's interference. That is why you feel uncomfortable every time you ride a train." He suddenly yawned, then shook himself and poked a bandage. The pain helped him focus. "Locally-based operatives will remain to hold this hotel. Educarchy attention means that they're as safe as it gets around here." He rubbed his eyes. "Most of the storefronts are intact, as are the stockpiles. We can set up a new station, coordinate the employees from there. Hopefully most of the noncombat employees went to ground in time. ARGUS probably didn't have a chance to go on a city-wide murdering spree, especially now that the Educarchy is on to them. Stuff like that usually attracts the normie police as well. So... we should have this city back up to full productivity within a month... maybe." Rollins sighed. "One city... another month... and there's a lot of others on fire right now." He looked down at the floor, turning over data in his mind and not liking the results any more than the last time he ran the numbers. It was depressing enough from his perspective, he could only imagine how horrible things looked from behind The Lady's desk.

"But... Octy saved the day." Vinyl scratched her blue mane. "When you save the day, you get the happy ending. That's how this is supposed to work. Unless you have to find the secret level exit or something." She waved her front hooves in the air threateningly. "Is Vinyl Scratch gonna have to choke a Beakie? Is that how we unlock the secret happy ending? Don't tell me it comes as day-one downloadable content. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry about day-one paywalled downloadable content."

The gryphon turned to look at the vampire and let out a long sigh. "Strings saved the city from a threat that we were not sent here to stop. If we didn't have some dragon bones to show for it, this entire operation would have been a waste of time in the eyes of the bean-counters." He glanced over at the gray mare and smiled sadly. "Not The Organization's bean-counters, mind you. The higher-ups."

"The same individuals who are doing nothing about the campaign of terror ARGUS is waging against weaker secret societies?"

"Yalp." He looked back at the vampire. "We were sent here by The Lady to-"

"To kick hide and chew bubblegum, and she didn't give us any bubblegum!" interjected the vampire with a grin.

"To keep this city profitable," he corrected. "The Organization needs money to function. Money to buy equipment, money to produce stock to sell, money to pay employees. You can't pay ponies enough to fight unspeakable horrors," he gestured to the injured Operatives, "but everypony needs to eat and wants to put a little away. The employees who don't carry lasrifles when the sun goes down need to be paid as well. Money, money, money. We try to make as much as we can the honest way." He coughed again and clutched his front. "ARGUS eats from the taxpayer's trough, or worse, and the taxpayer isn't even cleared high enough to know that's where the money goes. We need this city producing, and right now... right now, things are a bit worse off than when the three of us arrived here."

Octavia regretfully finished the wrap and folded the foil. Her stomach felt better already. She looked up at the gryphon. "Perhaps in some ways, yes. But we are better off in others, aren't we, Lieutenant?"

"Yeah." He nodded slowly. "Yeah, the monster problems in the city that we were sent here to sort out have been dealt with. Now we just have to rebuild the command structure so that operations can continue. Hmm." The gryphon rubbed his chin. "It'll be touch-and-go for a bit, but we could come out of this ahead, especially if the Educarchy starts rolling back ARGUS holdings in the city." He thought for a moment. One other Bon Hadescream unit was operating in-city, but if they were who he thought they were, they were running as dark as it got. Robbing high-security vaults was risky business. Ahh, the thrill of the heist. That kind of work had even gotten him shot in the head once upon a time... "Of course, that sort of power struggle would also invite trouble from monster groups who want to grab new turf. Hmm. The purer-than-thous are gonna send an Inquisitor, but which one?" He scratched his head, then smoothed out his feathers. "Ugggh. I need to ask The Lady what to do about that."

"You'll figure it out," Vinyl assured him. "That's why I let you live."

Author's Notes:

Another chapter published. I spent a goodly portion of today finishing this up, as well as fleshing out the final chapter. Most of this content has been written for a while, it just needed editing and polish. Still, it takes a lot of time and focus to review, format for upload, and validate any chapter. I think it's worth it, though. We're gonna finish this by the end of October, or bust!

Since this is Vinyl's "return" chapter, I wanted to give her a chance to bring the crazy we all know and love. Her description of the concert took several drafts, the initial one was too gloomy and made the Operatives sound like bloodthirsty murderers, while the second simply didn't get the point across. I think the final version expresses Vinyl's (likely flawed) perspective of events pretty well!

As for references, there's a little wink to Mad Max: Fury Road, Judge Dredd, and those good ol' Mastercard commercials. (Some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mastercard.) A little jab at videogames that ship half-finished and charge you for the rest of the game as DLC is in here too. There's even a nod to the Dave Chappelle Show and They Live.

I'm hoping to have the last chapter of this story arc out this weekend. As always, thanks for reading, and let me know what you think of this chapter in the comments!