The old Vanguard outpost hummed faintly with restored power, but the atmosphere inside was anything but stable. The revelation from the video log still weighed on them, heavy and unspoken. Elias sat at the main console, his gauntlet linked to the system as data streamed across the flickering screens. His mind worked faster than his fingers as he tried to make sense of what they had just discovered.
Project Genesis. The thing the Vanguard tried to bury. The thing the Academy was now desperate to reach.
Marco leaned over his shoulder, tapping furiously on his console. "Okay, so good news first. The outpost's systems are partially operational, and I managed to piggyback onto some old Academy signal relays."
Lira crossed her arms. "And the bad news?"
Marco winced. "I, uh, also may have just confirmed that the Academy's already moving full force toward the vault. And I don't mean a scouting team. I mean warships, ground forces, and siege constructs. They're going all in."
Reinhardt scoffed. "They sure are overcompensating for something."
Cecilia smirked. "Guess that means we made an impression."
Ivy, still scanning the perimeter with her bow in hand, shook her head. "If they're moving that much firepower, then they're expecting resistance. Either from us or… something inside that vault."
Varian, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke. "The Academy never sends a full invasion force unless they fear what they are about to awaken."
Elias exhaled, his mind racing. "Then we need to get there first."
Lira leaned on the table. "I'm all for beating them to the prize, but unless you've got a teleportation spell hidden up your sleeve, we're gonna have a hard time outrunning a fleet."
Marco snapped his fingers. "About that—I have an idea."
Everyone turned to him.
Elias narrowed his eyes. "Should I be worried?"
Marco grinned. "Always. But this one's actually good. The Academy has the numbers, but we have a shortcut." He pulled up an old Vanguard transit route, an underground passage that ran beneath the dead zone leading straight to the vault.
"According to these records, there's a subterranean mag-rail system from back when the Vanguard used to move high-priority assets across the continent. It's been dormant for centuries, but if we can reactivate it, we'll be able to reach the vault in hours—while the Academy is still marching across the surface."
Elias raised an eyebrow. "You can get it running?"
Marco scoffed. "Please. I could rewire a toaster into a railgun. This'll be easy."
Cecilia nodded. "Then we better move fast."
Reinhardt stretched, rolling his shoulders. "I dunno, part of me kinda wanted to punch our way through an army."
Lira sighed. "We'll probably still get that chance. Don't worry."
Elias checked his gauntlet. "Alright. Everyone gear up. We're heading underground."
The entrance to the Vanguard transit tunnels was hidden beneath layers of collapsed stone, rusted steel, and time-worn debris. It took all of them working together to clear a path, with Reinhardt using brute force to shift the largest obstacles, while Elias and Marco rerouted power to the ancient elevator system leading down.
The moment the heavy steel doors groaned open, a gust of stale air swept over them, carrying the scent of metal and dust. The tunnel beyond was massive, its walls lined with tracks and dormant railcars, remnants of a forgotten time. The lighting was dead, leaving only the glow of their equipment to illuminate the darkness.
Marco pulled out his scanner, frowning. "Okay, system looks mostly intact, but I need time to jumpstart the main power grid."
Lira glanced down the tracks. "And let me guess—we don't have time."
Ivy's voice was tight. "Movement. Something's down here."
Everyone tensed.
Varian placed a hand on his sword. "Constructs?"
Ivy shook her head. "No. This feels… different."
Elias's HUD flickered as he ran a scan. "There's something ahead. Heat signatures, but they're distorted."
Before anyone could react, the shadows moved.
The first attack came from above.
A figure lunged from the ceiling, moving with inhuman speed, its body wrapped in tattered Vanguard armor, its eyes glowing with a hollow light. Elias barely dodged as clawed hands slashed toward his face, missing him by inches.
Reinhardt swung his hammer in response, sending the figure crashing into the rail tracks.
But then—it got back up.
More shapes emerged from the darkness, crawling from the walls, stepping out from the ruined railcars. Dozens of them.
Cecilia muttered, "I hate it. I hate it so much."
Lira swore under her breath. "Okay, what the hell are these things?!"
Varian's grip on his sword tightened. "Vanguard… soldiers."
Elias's blood ran cold. "No. They're not alive."
The creatures rushed forward, moving like a tide of twisted corpses wrapped in decayed armor. Their bodies were part metal, part flesh, as if they had been left down here to rot and something refused to let them die.
Marco shouted, "Oh, fantastic, we've got tech-zombies! That's a new one!"
Ivy loosed an arrow into one of their heads. It pierced through cleanly, but the creature barely staggered before lunging again.
Elias cursed. "They're running on old Vanguard tech! Some kind of failed preservation system—they're still operating on combat protocols!"
Reinhardt grinned. "So we just hit 'em harder."
He charged, hammer swinging in a wide arc, sending two of the creatures flying into the railcars, their bodies cracking apart on impact.
Lira dodged between them, daggers flashing as she aimed for weak points, severing joints and power cores where she could. Cecilia moved with her, phasing in and out of shadows, her blade slicing through whatever remained of their nervous systems.
Elias activated his gauntlet's energy pulse, striking one of the creatures in the chest. The force tore through its failing circuits, sending it collapsing in a heap.
Marco yelled over the chaos. "I need two minutes to get the rail system running!"
Elias growled. "Then you have one!"
More creatures poured in from the tunnels, climbing over the railcars, their glowing eyes locked onto one thing— Elias.
Lira dodged a strike, flipping over a fallen railcar. "Oh, they really don't like you!"
Elias punched another one square in the face. "That makes two of us!"
The creatures suddenly stopped.
The entire tunnel shook violently, dust raining from the ceiling.
Then—a new presence stepped forward.
A figure larger than the others, wrapped in heavily reinforced Vanguard plating, its face completely covered by a metal helm. Unlike the others, it radiated power, its movements deliberate.
Varian stiffened. "That is not one of them."
Elias locked eyes with the figure, his gauntlet humming with energy.
The creature raised a massive blade, pointing it directly at him.
In a voice filled with distortion, it spoke.
"Vanguard Core detected. Priority target acquired."
Elias inhaled sharply.
"Marco," he said, his voice dead serious.
"Yeah?"
"Start that train. Now."