The musty smell of the sewers carried all the way through the canals. She turned on her mask, which served to filter out gasses and other toxins in the atmosphere. Lined in Johrei, projecting the image of a fragmented skull, Nyx never thought she’d be using the mask to filter out the pungent odor which wafted its way into her nose of all things. Ignoring the negligible waste of Johrei reserves needed to power the mask, she circled around a narrow walkway to her left, located at an intersection. The canal next to her sounded quiet and brisk, washing away debris and other waste out into the Fringe. Walls carved in greenish gray, the sewers themselves were extremely dim, save for the occasional light which hung near the walls of entry points around the walkways.

  She came across a gleaming object on the floor, recognizing it as the small bead of metal she placed earlier, indicators of waypoints she has visited before. These markers only glowed when she was nearby, a little tampering that Alyx had performed, calling it Johrei synchronization or something akin to that. Groaning at seeing the bead again however, Nyx looked to the remaining paths in front of her.

  Left or right…she thought and began to take the right entrance. It was…another dead end. Flowing water began to squeeze through the gaps of bars placed against one of the canal entryways.

  This fruitless journey continued on for a good half hour or so, but with enough markers placed, she began narrowing the pathways left for her to take underneath the district. Entering a longer section of walkway she hadn’t approached before, she wondered how the others were doing. Although sending hunters on their own wasn’t the standard modus operandi among hunter groups, Shoguns and Daimyos were known to operate in solo missions occasionally, especially the former. Their strength was on par with multiple platoons of other soldiers, and thinking about the protection of their team members often held them back from their full potential.

  Still, Nyx couldn’t help but think to Caz, her brother, the rookie, Abe, Calli, and even Mimi.

  Mimi, she thought, instinctively standing still in place and focusing her attention on her ears as she listened to the slow rippling of water move past her down the canal. Save for that, this place was practically silent, and although Nyx wouldn’t consider herself an expert or gifted in the abilities of the soundscape as Mimi was, she did pick up a few things from her during her time in the Valkyries. She wish her little songbird from back then didn’t have so much influence on her, but here she was.

  Seconds passed, and then minutes, and there was nothing. Nyx sighed and began to walk. If there was any sign of the brothers here, she didn’t see any now. Perhaps the man with the insect head was wrong, or lying? Most likely not, at least not under the methods of extracting information that she tended to utilize, which always got results in the past. Maybe it was –

  Just then, Nyx heard something, like an echo. Behind her? It felt kind of distant. Did she miss something earlier? Not hesitating she began to sprint back down the walkway of the canal, keeping her ears open as she headed in the direction of the echo. It sounded to her like something heavy sliding.

  She kept running and running, finding herself crossing the same pathways she had before. However, this time she noticed a small glint shining from beneath the water of the canal, rolling slowly with the currents. Behind her? She looked back to where the bead should have been. Something had moved it aside, likely unintentionally.

  She placed her ears closer to the wall, careful to avoid touching it due to her deep aversion to grime, and settled in. Hearing something which sounded like knocking metal she tried to move herself along the wall until she could make out the sound better. It sounded mechanical in nature, though of what she wasn’t quite sure. However, there was definitely something behind this section of the wall.

  It was then that she began to lay a strip of explosive plaster against the bottom section of the wall, against the floor, running the plaster along the wall up to the short ceiling of the canal, carving out a door shape. Moving away, she timed the countdown in her head.

  On the other side of the wall, two drones hovered next to two men, watching them as they welded together a section of a strange dark colored vehicle with a strange design. The driver side had exposed doorways on either end, circular in shape, like the inside section of a large wheel, and unlike most other vehicles, the fronts of these vehicles were larger than the back. From the wheel head, which looked metallic in nature, the back of the vehicle sported a large rectangular platform which connected and jutted out from the driver side. On it, rested a rotating turret and below it, four circular extensions glowed a faint blue and hummed.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  The Prowler, with its antigrav properties, was a lesser-used attack vehicle meant for use as skirmishing vehicles out in the Fringe during Enthipid raids. It didn’t have the capabilities of the militarized Sky-Trains, which were capable of braving the Fringestorms which existed further out in the wastelands, past the gray line, a zone which few hunters ever returned from. The storms were characterized, according to anecdotes from the few survivors, by the strange decolorization of the skies as they approached closer and closer to the center of the Fringestorms.

  It was a trip that Cadmi and Siegren Trepidor once braved, and one which led to Cadmi’s current bitterness towards the current state of Neo-Kamakura, and of the world in general. In that expanse, he had encountered something which scarred him forever. Siegren did not share this same fate as his brother, but understood the sentiment he was going through. As the Prowler booted up, lifting higher into the air, the brothers hopped on, feet placed against the sides. It hummed louder, expending Johrei fuel in the process. Mostly used for quick, these mobile assault vehicles were traditionally used for clearing out Elites closing in on the border of the city. Here however, Cadmi intended it for a different purpose.

  “I’ll take the wheel,” Cadmi said, as Siegren nodded. The Prowler, known for its stealth, began to envelop in shimmering Johrei shielding as the brothers hopped on. From the inside, it was easy to see the happenings around them. Outside however, the vehicle slowly began to blend in with the surrounding environment. As the active camouflage began to settle in, an explosion could be heard at the far end of the facility.

  Cadmi looked at Siegren, who shook his head. “Someone destroyed the traps I’ve set,” Siegren said.

  “No matter,” Cadmi said. “We’re done here.” Picking up his comms, he reported in, “All men, we’re beginning the attack.” Though no words were spoken, pings of acknowledgement were head in succession – much more than just the members of the Revenant’s Forge.

  Nyx managed to arrive in the room the brothers were in just as the ceiling began to open up, revealing the interior of a monastery. She recognized it as the one she had been in earlier.

  Underneath my feet the entire time, she thought.

  Just as the brothers were about to escape, she spotted a nearby Suncycle.

  “Nyxandia…” Cadmi said, as Siegren began to take the wheel of the floating vehicle. It began to lift higher than Nyx could reach. “More Valkyries. No matter.” Cadmi raised his voice enough for Nyx to hear, “You’re only one small piece of a bigger conflict, Valkyrie. If only you knew the full truth, you wouldn’t be here hunting me. Instead of going after me, just sit back, and enjoy the spectacle that’s about to take place.”

  “Cadmi!” Nyx yelled. Her eyes widened as Cadmi pulled up a small screen and tapped a button. Suddenly the walls around her began to rumble.

  “You’re not the only one who knows a thing or two about explosives,” he said, right as Nyx tossed some up towards the Prowler. “Shit,” he said, focusing its shields on the bottom section. However, instead of an explosion, it was a smokescreen.

  He didn’t know what was happening but informed his brother. “Get us out of here. Now!”

  As the Prowler lifted up, the brothers could see the minister who sheltered them pressing a button on his podium which lifted up the ceiling of the monastery. Onlookers within the church, faces still surprised at the opening in the center of the large floor, gaped at the Prowler, trailed by smoke, as it began to take off. They screamed a moment later, as a series fo explosion collapsed the lab underneath them, leaving behind dust and ash, which trailed out from the opening.

  Just as the prowler was about to accelerate, one of the onlookers pointed at something bursting out from the smoke along the walls. Nyx, riding the Suncycle, rode up the wall up to the brother’s altitude, and, using the momentum of the vehicle, activated explosives she had set underneath her. The Suncycle burst from the wall, and jettisoned towards the brothers at a breakneck speed. Tossing explosives towards the Johrei shielding, the shards protecting the Prowler bursted momentarily, giving her an opening for her to push through and slam herself straight into Cadmi, who knocked back against the shielding on the other side.

  Grunting, he attempted to right himself, only for the Prowler to shake and tilt wildly from the secondary impact of the Suncycle hitting the side of the Prowler, knocking it towards the edge of the monastery walls as Siegren attempted to stabilize the vehicle and fly upwards again.

  It managed to take off into the skies a moment later, as Siegren set the vehicle on autopilot, guiding it towards a predetermined location. Nyx, who was attempting to stand, saw Cadmi in the corner of her eye attempt to swing a blade at her. Dodging and rolling to the corner of the vehicle in time, she stood up, facing the presence of both of the Treidor brothers. Luckily for her, Prowlers were larger vehicles meant for usage by full hunter groups. She had some space to work with, though still not enough for her to use explosives safely.

  “Pests,” Cadmi said. “Every one of you. Corrupted to the core by a system designed to withhold the truth. You may be strong, Valkyrie, but even you can’t win against both of us here.”

  “We’ll just have to find out now, won’t we,” Nyx said, and activated her Johrei blade.

  Somewhere in the distance, an Auditor reported an anomaly in communication and notified the local Division in New Celebrant to resolve the matter. A young woman, clad in shining armor, acknowledged the request and began to move out.