The Zombie Chronicles: Road to Sanctuary

The dead, cooling body of Daisuke sat slumped against the wall, with a still-smoking hole in his chest.

Just outside the building, a handful of Ragers slowly wandered into the building, involuntarily twitching and spasming as they strolled inside.

One of them glanced over at Daisuke, growled in disapproval, and passed him right by, paying the body no mind.

A purple aura began to resonate around Daisuke as his greying eyes slowly began to darken.

And with one deep gasp, Dark was once again in control.

Locked in the form of Daisuke, Dark clutched his not-beating heart and gasped for breath as he limped out of the hall, right past the Ragers, who were none-the-wiser of the dead man passing them.

Stumbling out of City Hall, Dark glanced at the surrounded Humvee and sighed.

“Sorry, ladies, you’re gonna have to fend for yourselves.” He said, limping past the scene, thankful that their commotion was drawing all nearby Ragers away from him.

“Okay, come on, Daisuke… just gotta… make it to the hospital… Just… gotta… make it to her. ”

With his destination in mind, Dark marched onward into the overrun city…

The girls all sat in anticipation as the sounds of the Ragers ponding on the vehicle only grew increasingly unbearable. However, that was the least of their problems. The combination of the warm weather outside and their accumulated body heat was beginning to become overwhelming…

Applejack sighed, wiping sweat from her forehead and turned to Rainbow.

“Are ya’ sure ya’ saw ‘em? I didn’t see anyone…”

Rainbow panted as a lack of clean air was starting to set in. She started searching the compartments for any useful items, finding a screwdriver and a pocket knife in the glove box.

“I’m sure, AJ… we just gotta wait for them to get their asses down here.”

As they waited, they heard more rumbles coming from inside City Hall… Sunset nervously kept her eyes glued to the building through the back of the humvee.

“We gotta get in there… he’s fighting her on his own…” She said, her leather vest tossed aside against a chair.

Fluttershy scooched over, setting her hand on Sunset, setting a hand on her bare shoulder.

“He’s going to be okay… he has our powers, remember? We just need to focus on getting us out of here, then we help him…”

Applejack chuckled.

“Yeah, if he needs it. He was givin’ her hell just a few minutes ago.”

Rainbow frustratedly sighed as she shut the last un-searched compartment, pulling out her shirt as it started to cling to her skin.

“Okay… here’s what we got… Sunset, Fluttershy, you two take these. If those freaks get in before they can help us out, we’ll have to fight our way out…” She sighed, handing out the very few weapon options…

Fluttershy nervously held the knife, dreading the idea of using it.

Sunset took the screwdriver, trying to go through the best ways to use it as a stabbing weapon.

“Remember to double-tap them when you get them down-- we can’t risk leaving them to turn to Rotters…” Sunset reminded the group.

With those encouraging words, everyone clutched the handles on their doors, ready to pop them open…

“Okay-- one… two…” Sunset started.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang, and the Rager pounding on Sunset’s window slumped down, and the glass was smeared in blood.

As Sunset processed what just happened, more gunshots followed. As the girls all peeked out their windows to try and see who was saving them, several thuds rang out from the roof.

“Hope y’all are still alive in there!” Butch’s voice rang out.

Several gleeful reactions were heard as Sunset pounded on the roof.

“Yeah, we’re in here!” She shouted.

“Okay-- everyone hold on to something!” Brick’s voice said.

Everyone did their best to follow through with his order, and in moments, the humvee was lifted off the ground, slowly ascending as all three brothers lifted on the vehicle.

“Now, you should really hold on!” Boomer shouted.

Sunset looked down at the several Ragers trying to reach for them and immediately put the pieces together.

“Oh, shiiiit …” She muttered, quickly putting on her seatbelt.

Everyone desperately followed, Rainbow wrapping her arms around Fluttershy.

“Alright, we’re ready!” Sunset shouted.

As she took a deep breath and shut her eyes, the brothers let go of the humvee.

For precious seconds, the girls all began to lift off of their seats, only being stopped by their seatbelts…

Those seconds passed, and the humvee slammed down on the ground, crushing the Ragers underneath. The girls were all jerked back as the humvee made contact with the ground, crushing the zombies underneath them with a sickening crunch .

The group all caught their breath, undoing their seat belts, and exiting through the side doors.

As they stepped out, they saw a large group of unfamiliar faces shooting at the remaining Ragers, dispatching them and clearing the area.

“Alright, people, that’s it for here-- I want a big group watching this road right here. The last thing we need is more of those things piling on us from this way. And someone, get that gate closed!” A familiar voice barked.

Sunset quickly turned and saw Shining Armor, his beard shaved, leading the charge.

“Shit, Shining!” Sunset shouted, running towards him.

Shining smiled, and the two briefly hugged.

“I didn’t think we’d see you again!” Sunset laughed in relief.

“Yeah-- it’s been a long couple weeks… Now, what the hell happened here?”

“The girl in charge let the zombies in. Kyle’s down there, right now, trying to stop her!” Rainbow shouted.

Shining’s eyes widened as he took in that information.

“Okay-- we need to split up. Two teams, one accompanying Sunset and the others, the rest with me pushing into the city. Let’s move!” Shining shouted.

With that, numerous soldiers, both women victimized by the Caribou and men who were put under control by them, joined Sunset and the others. Tagging along was Brick.

“Boomer, Butch, you two help the city-crew. We need to get a lock down on this thing!” He instructed

“There’s a hospital right downtown, we have it fortified for now!” Sunset shouted.

“Hospital downtown, got it! Alright, people, let’s kill some Z’s!” Shining shouted, leading the charge of multiple vehicles, including the newly-acquired humvee…

Sunset, Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, Brick, and several soldiers all turned to the City Hall, still hearing rumblings from down below…

“Hold on, Kyle… we’re coming for you.” Sunset whispered.

Back in the subway, Kyle regained his footing, breaking free from Princess’ grasp.

He clenched his fist, trying desperately to tap into the power of the Geodes again.

Princess lunged at Kyle, going for a firm punch. As she made contact, Kyle grabbed onto her hand, bright orange magic flowing through his veins as his feet dug into the ground at the impact.

She let out a maniacal cackle.

“You really think you can stop me?! You think that just because your daddy died and some kids beat on you in high school, you think you have all the answers?!”

Kyle’s eyes briefly widened, and a sharp gasp escaped him.

“How… how do you know about my dad?”

Princess gave a low laugh. Her facial features were barely noticeable due to the overall darkness of the subway, with the only light source being the hole in the ceiling leading to the surface as well as her blackened eyes and facial veins blending into the darkness.

“Sweetie, I know more about your dear old dad than you do!”

Kyle stood his ground, even taking a few steps forward, much to Princess’ surprise.

She tried to push back, the two equalling each other and reaching a stalemate…

Kyle knew he couldn’t fend her off forever, but he knew that he had to hold off just long enough for the X to wear off or for the others to make their way down and help.

And considering that Princess had five syringes worth of X pumping through her system, he was praying for the latter.

“Reading your dad’s file made me gag! ‘Oh, look at me, I’m giving shelter to whatever crackhead or illegal wants one!’ like some fucking saint! And don’t mention his pathetic son, trying his hardest to follow in his footsteps-- but is failing, each and every step of the way!”

Despite the hurtful words, Kyle kept his focus on keeping her from gaining the advantage, both in the fight and in his mind.

“Silent treatment, huh? No witty banter?! Don’t you know that’s what audiences love?!”

Kyle’s efforts to push Princess back were thwarted with one firm kick between the legs. Princess threw Kyle into the subway tunnel wall with the dirty move, leaving an imprint as he struggled with the blow to his privates.

“At least, that’s what Dad always shoved down my throat during shoots for some run-of-the-mill flick.”

Slowly recovering from the cheap shot, Kyle pulled himself out of the wall, beginning to fall to the ground below. However, with one quick swipe of his hand, an elevated platform of diamond formed, catching him before he got too close to the ground.

“Your dad… Your dad loved you! Mine only cared for me when I made money for him! Anything other than that, who gave a fuck?! ‘Oh, this shoddy producer wants to fuck my daughter for a role? Better make her dress for it!’ ‘What’s that? My daughter’s check for a 12- month film shoot was only $50? No problems, there’! The people of this city aren’t any better! All of them, feeding his hunger for power over years … They all deserve to die, just like he did!”

Kyle landed on the ground, pulling himself back up to his feet. Princess watched as he took several deep breaths, slowly recovering from the beating as he glared up at her with an icy rage beginning to form…

“So… that’s what did it?”

Princess’ eyes briefly widened, but that shock quickly shifted into rage…

“That’s what pushed you to starve thousands of people? To feed them to the zombies? Because they liked your movies? Because they didn’t know what your father was doing to you, what the studios were doing to you?”

Princess started to form a rebuttal, but Kyle quickly continued.

“I watched both my parents die! I went through hell at Crystal Prep for months-- my history teacher came onto me, and I sure as shit didn’t say no--, I went and put down my mother after she turned into some twisted, rotting monster! What happened to you is no excuse to punish everyone around you, Princess!”

Kyle’s rage was rapidly starting to outgrow Princess’, something that she had a hard time processing…

“You… I… they need to die, Kyle! They’re the ones who ruined this world, not the zombies! Once they’re gone, we can fix things! Make them better than what it was before…”

Kyle let out a scoff.

“You’re wrong! All of this is wrong , Princess, and you know it!”

“‘Wrong’ is just a word that changes depending on who’s in charge! You wanna be that guy? You wanna be in charge-- make this place like dear old daddy’s Sanctuary? Well, you’re just gonna have to kill me!”

Princess went for another charge, but the power of the Geodes kicked in before she could get close. A red blur was what remained of Kyle by the time Princess’ fist reached where his face previously was.

She desperately looked around to try and follow the blur, but just as she turned right behind her, she was met by a firm kick from Kyle, sending her into the support pillars.

“I’m not gonna kill you… but you’re not the one walking away!”

Princess pulled herself out of the concrete and glared towards Kyle, her eyes glowing a familiar red. As she blasted toward him, Kyle instinctually waved his hand, forming a red diamond projection that caught the beam and reflected it into the ground.

Growing frustrated, she lunged at Kyle, but tapping into a different power set, time slowed to a crawl, giving him plenty of time to swerve himself out of her way. She wound up smashing head-first into the ground, causing the subway to shake and for dust to fall from above them…

Kyle quickly turned to face her again, ready for her next move…

She lept towards him once again, but acting quickly, Kyle went to dodge her attack. However, as he tapped into Rainbow’s power, slowing down time, and Princess slowed down to a crawl as she charged him, her gaze suddenly locked with his. His eyes widened as suddenly, Princess rushed to Kyle at his speed, grabbing him by the throat and slamming him against the ground.

Kyle’s wind left him as he gasped for air. With one firm kick, Kyle was sent rolling against the ground, landing by the rails.

“You little shit… When I’m done with you, I’m gonna take what’s left of this city and level it!”

Kyle’s gaze left Princess’ for but a moment, and he began to chuckle. His chuckle slowly transformed into a laugh as Princess continued to hover closer to him. Her fists clenched as the sound of his cackling grew too much to bear.

“Oh, what?! What could possibly be so funny to you, right now?!” She screamed.

Kyle’s laughter ceased and simply smiled, his amulet glowing a familiar pink aura…

“...Surprise.”

Boom!

Right under Princess’ feet, the chocolate-smeared Injector combusted, releasing a blue mist into the air. Princess gasped for air and coughed as she breathed in the Chemical X antidote…

Kyle slowly rose to his feet as Princess fell to the ground, struggling to stand.

“You-- cough --you-- cough, cough-- mother fuck-- ” Princess continued to cough, barely able to speak.

Kyle stood tall as Princess suddenly began to vomit a black bile, forming a puddle of black liquid as the entirety of the Chemical X was forced to exit her system. Moments passed betwen Princess trying to curse Kyle out before either coughing or puking some more. As it started to come to a close, Princess tried to stand and run at Kyle.

“You’re… gonna fuckin’ pay--”

As she started, however, she slipped on the puke and landed on her back, just as another round of vomiting started…

Kyle suddenly saw Princess gag and struggle as she began to choke on her own puke.

For only a brief moment, he contemplated leaving her there to die. He almost listened to that subconscious thought, starting to turn away from her. However, he couldn’t bring himself to walk away… Running over, Kyle quickly turned Princess to her side, allowing her to breathe as the vomit stream continued.

Once this round of puking died down, Princess looked over to Kyle, the color in her eyes finally returning.

“Why… why did you…?” She asked in absolute bewilderment.

Kyle caught his breath, still tired from all of the fighting.

“Because enough people have died today.”

As the two caught their breath, Kyle noticed the gem around his neck begin to go dim as his diamond-casted hand began to dissipate. After a deep breath, his focus returned to Princess.

“I know how it feels to have your life ripped away from you… My dad might not have been like yours, but when I lost him, it was like the whole world was suddenly against me. I had my mom and Sonata, but that was it. I was alone… and no-one should face that pain alone. I'm sorry that you did.”

Princess still struggled to recover, coughing up the remaining black fluid. She looked up towards Kyle, tears forming in her eyes…

“It’s… too late, Kyle. You really think… I can still change?”

Kyle stayed silent for a moment, forming his words carefully.

“We don’t have a choice but to change. I think you changed already. What’s stopping you from changing, again?”

From above, Kyle spotted a rope landing on the ground, with Sunset being the first to climb down, quickly increasing her pace after seeing Kyle still standing. As soon as her boots touched the ground, she quickly held Kyle in an embrace.

“Kyle! What happened? Is it over?” She asked.

Kyle turned toward Princess, who was slowly beginning to stand…

“Yeah. It’s over…”

Brick hovered down next, approaching a staggering Princess.

“Princess Morbucks, you are under arrest…”

Princess glared at Brick, her rage compelling her to try and fight back. However, that rage quickly passed, and she turned away from Brick, hanging her head in shame as Brick carried her back up to the surface.

Sunset and Kyle both climbed the rope back up, Kyle momentarily struggling due to only having one hand once again. Once they reached the surface again, Rainbow and Applejack were there helping Brick restrain Princess.

“What do we do with her?” Rainbow asked.

“I dunno, lock her up somewhere?” Applejack suggested.

“I say we leave her out there-- she would’ve done worse to any of us.” Sunset commented.

“We can argue about it later. Right now, we have to deal with the horde in the city… any ideas, anyone?” Kyle asked.

Applejack turned towards the members of Shining’s militia.

“Well, we got an army, now… we could just start clearin’ ‘em out, put our Geodes to use, again…”

Kyle thought about it, looking down at his amulet. As he held it in his hand, the gears in his head began to turn…

“Or, we just need to put one to good use. I need a big truck, some loudspeakers, and a destination… preferably somewhere to dump a shitload of zombies into.”

Back up above, Dark continued on towards the hospital, his breathing labored and his stumble much slower than it was earlier…

“Come on, you big bag of bones… just a little… more…”

He turned a corner, finally seeing the hospital. His glee brought very little life back into the shambling corpse as Dark marched down the road…

However, his joy was cut short as the sound of the infected were audible from within.

“No… no, no, no…”

Dark’s stumble quickened, and as he reached the doors, he saw that the front lobby was completely infested, despite Kyle’s efforts to draw the horde away. The biker girls’ truck was still left outside, giving him some relief. He stepped inside, seeing the staircase at the other side of the building…

He took a breath in preparation.

“Well… I’m a dead man, anyway.”

He walked inside, sneaking past the Ragers who all paid him no mind. As he ventured deeper into the hospital, he noticed that they weren’t even looking his way. Even as he finally reached the stairs and limped up, not one zombie even looked at him…

With that comfort in mind, Dark reached the top of the steps, where he saw numerous chairs and hospital beds shoved against the entrance to the second floor…

“H-hello…?” He struggled to speak, feeling the short burst of extra life begin to fade away.

He heard cluttering from the other side of the barricade, and a pair of green, feline-like eyes looked through the assortment of furniture.

“Hi, there… is there a Scootaloo on that side, by any chance?” Dark asked, finding that his legs were having trouble supporting his weight…