The next day rolled around, and the train was still moving strong through the frozen battlefield. Snow whipped across the windows, the tracks disappearing beneath endless white as the armored train cut through the storm like a steel beast.
For a while, everything stayed quiet.
Then Shadow's voice cracked over comms.
"We've got movement. Raiders. All white gear, faces covered, approaching the side of the train on snowskimmers."
Outside, dozens of raiders came flying through the snow, their vehicles gliding across the ice at terrifying speed. They matched the train's pace, spreading out along both sides like wolves closing in on prey.
Blue Blaze stepped toward one of the side doors and lifted his staff. Kia energy sparked around him as snow gathered from the ground, compressing into heavy white boulders. He hurled them beside the raiders as warning shots, sending explosions of snow and ice across their path.
The raiders didn't slow.
Blue Blaze clicked his tongue. "Alright then. Guess they don't take warnings."
Shadow didn't wait for the first breach. He leapt off the side of the train, coat whipping behind him as he landed hard on the back of one of the snowskimmers. Before the rider could react, Shadow knocked him out, threw him into the snow, and took control of the vehicle.
The icy wind tore past him as he sped beside the train.
"Blue Blaze," Shadow called through comms, "support down here."
Blue Blaze grinned and started launching more snow boulders from the side of the train, knocking raiders off formation and forcing them to scatter. For a moment, it looked like they were gaining control.
Then the raiders changed tactics.
Hooks fired into the train's side.
Several raiders began climbing.
Shadow swerved his snowskimmer close, jumped, and grabbed the train's edge, pulling himself back onto the roof. The moment he landed, he was already fighting, striking down raiders as they climbed up over the metal surface.
Blue Blaze kept the sides clear, blasting away anyone trying to get too close.
Then a roar split through the storm.
The whole train seemed to shake.
From the white blur of the battlefield, a massive snow beast charged alongside them, its paws crushing through ice and snow as it closed the distance. Its body was huge, covered in thick white fur and armored plates of frozen hide. With one powerful leap, it landed on top of the train, making the entire roof buckle beneath its weight.
Blue Blaze's eyes widened. "Yeah… we're gonna need Ice King and Nightcoil."
A hatch opened, and Ice King climbed onto the roof, followed by Nightcoil.
Ice King looked around at the chaos and smirked. "Couldn't hold it down without me, huh?"
Shadow ducked under a raider's swing and shoved him off the roof. "Talk later. Fight now."
Ice King raised his staff and sent waves of ice across the train roof, freezing raiders in place long enough for Shadow to finish them. Nightcoil went straight for the beast.
He charged forward and launched his chain. The heavy ball whipped through the air, wrapping around the beast's legs. Nightcoil pulled with everything he had, tripping the creature and sending it crashing hard across the roof.
The impact shook the train.
But the beast got back up almost immediately.
Nightcoil barely had time to gather his chain before throwing it again, this time wrapping it around the creature's neck. He jumped onto its back and pulled tight, trying to choke it out.
The beast thrashed wildly, whipping its head side to side. With one violent movement, it flung Nightcoil over the edge of the train.
For a second, he disappeared.
Then his chain caught.
Nightcoil swung beneath the side of the train, boots scraping against metal, before using the momentum to launch himself back onto the roof.
"Okay," he breathed, landing in a crouch. "That thing is stronger than it looks."
By then, Ice King and Shadow had cleared most of the raiders on top, while Blue Blaze kept the sides locked down. Ice King turned his attention toward the snow beast and pointed his staff.
"Nightcoil, move."
Nightcoil jumped clear.
Ice exploded forward, wrapping around the beast's body. The creature roared as its legs froze, then its torso, then its neck. A final blast from Ice King sent the frozen beast sliding off the roof.
But as it fell, its massive body slammed into the side of the train.
The whole train lurched.
For one terrifying moment, the wheels lifted off the track.
Blue Blaze grabbed the railing. "That's not good!"
Ice King slammed his staff down. Ice erupted beneath the train, forming thick supports along the side. The frozen structure caught the weight and forced the train back into position, guiding it onto the tracks before it could derail completely.
The train stabilized with a violent jolt.
Everyone stood still for a second, breathing hard as the snowstorm swallowed the last of the raiders.
Shadow looked out into the distance, eyes narrowed behind his mask.
"That wasn't a real raid," he said. "They were testing us."
Ice King's expression turned serious.
"Yeah," he said. "I agree."
Blue Blaze lowered his staff slowly. "So they're coming back?"
Shadow looked toward the endless frozen battlefield ahead.
"Harder. Stronger. And probably with a real plan next time."
The train kept moving.
And now they knew the first attack had only been a warning.