Chuck watched as his fellow mounts picked up Julia and Shiv. But Francis and Jack hadn't made it free of the horde yet. They kept having to stop and defeat groups of attacking skeletons.

It was a clever tactic, making them burn through resources without committing the main force. The skeletons would pick at them until they were out of mana. Then, they would swarm.

The Magical Charger eyed the partially collapsed platform his friends had until recently occupied. Behind it was a still burning hellscape, though most of the flames had died down. The math works out… if I can get moving fast enough.

A plan formed in Chuck’s mind as he started to run. “Rainbow One is inbound. If you can't come to me, I'm coming to you. Grab on as I pass by, because I'm not stopping anytime soon.”

Chuck triggered his Afterburner ability and burned five Stress to supercharge it. Then, he spent five more Stress to trigger his Iron Horse ability. He wouldn't have anything left in the tank after this, but the Magical Charger didn't care. It was time to burn grass and haul ass.

The world around him turned thick and slow. The normal carousel music that played when he triggered his Afterburner sounded distant and distorted. He pushed forward, beating the air into submission as it tried, and failed, to fight his movement.

The world continued to slow as he pushed himself harder. It felt like trying to run through liquid concrete, and his legs threatened to snap under the strain. But Chuck’s Iron Horse ability kept his body from coming apart.

He was half way to Francis and Jack when the undead noticed him. An army of skeletons crawled out of the ground, separating him and his friends. Which was unfortunate for the undead in his way, because they reminded Chuck of gophers.

"I HATE GOPHERS!" The horse raged as he remembered what the burrowing bastards had done to Epona. A goddess, cut down in her prime, her leg broken because she stepped in a gopher hole. Now they wanted to take Francis too?

Chuck lowered his horn and accelerated like a rainbow rocket powered snow plow. "DEATH TO GOPHERS!"

***

Francis heard Jack’s gun go silent and knew that meant his own Divine Weapon would disappear shortly too. Teleport took too much mana, otherwise he would have simply brought everyone to safety instead of fighting through the horde.

Jack watched the Marine fight for both their lives. The hound knew that if he died, he would be returned to the palace with one health. But when dying meant being torn limb from limb by undead, it was much less appealing. And they were advancing on him.

Besides Divine Weapon, most of Jack's abilities were built around survivability and buffing his crew. He didn't have much in the way of offensive capabilities. Then again, maybe there was another way he could help.

“Francis, I need you to have Mac fire on our position to clear a path for Chuck. I can shield us from the worst of it.” Jack lied, knowing full well that he would only be able to save one of them.

But it was fine, Jack had gotten used to dying long before he came to Vahnis. Death was practically an old friend of his. (And they knew all the same people.)

The Marine didn't hesitate. “Mac, I need you to clear away the undead around us so Chuck can get in and out. Fire on my position now, but try not to kill us.”

The demonic cat obliged. It would have done the magical napalm trick, but taking on another ten Stress would have been unpleasant to say the least. And it would have definitely cooked Francis.

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Instead, Mac started casting Dissolve Bone. It probably wouldn't kill the Marine, though it might make him wish he were dead.

Jack reinforced Francis’ defenses as the spell hit, pushing the Marine’s Resist Physical up high enough that he wouldn't be affected. Which was a good thing too, because the effects of Mac’s spell were nasty.

The hound had been expecting an explosion. Instead Jack watched all the skeletons around them begin to melt. They continued to attack, even as they fell apart.

At first Jack thought he hadn’t been affected. Then he felt his teeth growing loose in his mouth and knew what was coming.

“Bloody hell…” Jack said as his body collapsed and crumbled into fine gray sand. He had taken too much damage to survive having his entire skeleton magically removed.

The Marine took a moment to process that this was the third time he had seen Jack crumble into dust. He knew the hound would be back at the palace when they returned. It was crazy to think anyone could survive something like that. But the battle wasn't over.

Chuck blasted through the weakened skeletons as more continued to emerge from the ground. Francis grabbed the Magical Charger’s saddle and held on for dear life.

Francis had been expecting Chuck to turn around and go back the way he came. Instead the horse kept going, moving towards the partially collapsed dirt platform. The Marine barely managed to get saddled up before Chuck hit the dirt ramp.

Looks like them Duke boys are at it again, Francis thought as they sailed through the air.

They landed hard, but Chuck kept moving. The skeletons wouldn't be able to catch up. Not unless they were rocket powered.

Francis laughed as the realization that he had somehow survived washed over him. They weren't done fighting, not yet. But at least they were all alive.

***

Jack did not reappear in front of the palace like he usually did. Instead he found himself in a long black stone hallway lined with flickering arcane torches.

“Hello?” the hound called out as he tried to figure out where he was, “Is anyone there?”

A wall of darkness crept towards him, extinguishing the torches, then it abruptly stopped. Jack peered into the shadows, wanting to run but knowing it was probably pointless.

A low familiar chuckle echoed out from the darkness. “Hello, Jack.”

Jack clenched his fists. He knew that voice. Every hound knew that voice. It had been a childish daydream to think he could find a place, even by accident, that AtropOS wouldn't follow. After all, it had been the one that ended his life and sent him here. Though, that second part probably hadn't been intentional.

Back home, AtropOS had gone around trimming the threads of those who lived too long or broke some hidden rule. He suspected it hadn't changed careers after coming to Vahnis. Though, the idea of AtropOS hanging up its scythe and becoming a baker or something almost made Jack laugh.

“What do you want?” Jack asked, knowing full well that if AtropOS decided to kill him again, there was nothing he could do to stop it. Though he wondered if technically, since it had already killed him once, it might be forced to leave him alone. AtropOS wasn't actually evil, merely efficient. It had a job, and it did it very well. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Oh, I get so lonely down in the dark. I just wanted to have a little chat. You know, catch up on old times.” AtropOS laughed. “It's rare that someone lives as long as you did. Very few find themselves in need of my attention, and even fewer manage to avoid it. Most pass naturally, which is preferable.”

“I am well aware.” Jack’s wife had passed on long before he did, and it still hurt. When they got married, he had promised to love her forever. And he had kept his promise. “So, what brings you to Vahnis?”

“Well, you know me. I go where the people are, and I like seeing new faces,” it said amicably. Usually when AtropOS decided someone needed to die, it didn’t chase them. It simply informed the unlucky person when they would be departing the mortal coil, and told them to plan appropriately. AtropOS was the universe’s most aggressive travel agent, and it only booked one way trips. (Yet somehow, it had a better rating than Spirit Airlines.)

Jack decided to rip the bandaid off and ask the question that was really on his mind. Seeing AtropOS was one thing. Everyone met AtropOS if they lived long enough. But finding out it had been contained was something else entirely. “How the hell did someone manage to trap you here in Brexis? It's like finding a black hole in a glass jar.”

“Most people assume I’m stuck here,” AtropOS said as it stepped out of the shadows “But the truth is, I can leave whenever I want.”