She helped him up. " Do you need to rest? "

"No," he gritted out. "Keep going. We have to--" Suddenly he straightened, his hand going to his sword.

(Ping)

" what? " She turned around.

Isiea turns to look.

Ahead of them, the steam cleared, parting enough to reveal a hulking figure standing on the tracks. A horse made of iron and snorting flame, steel hooves pawing the ground. His glowing eyes watched them balefully.

" great. The horse is back. "

,, He must have survived. ,, Isiea notes, clearly a little surprised.

"THOUGHT YOU GOT RID OF ME, DID YOU?" Ironhorse boomed, his voice reverberating off the machines around them. "IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN A CAVE-IN TO KILL ME. I MADE THE MISTAKE OF UNDERESTIMATING YOU BEFORE. THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN."

Movement surged around them as hundreds of gremlins crawled into view, hissing and crackling. They swarmed over the machines like spiders, laughing and chittering, and scuttled along the ground. In seconds, they had them surrounded, a living black carpet. Ash drew his sword, and the gremlins hissed at him nastily.

Two figures appeared through the steam on either side of the girls. They marched forward in unison, and the gremlins parted to let them through. Warriors in full battle armor, with helmets and masks covering their faces, stepped into the circle. Their insectlike suits looked like something from a science-fiction movie, somehow ancient and modern at the same time. Their breastplates bore the insignia of a barbed-wire crown. Drawing their swords, they stepped forward.


"Get back," Ash muttered to the girls, squaring off against the armored pair coming at him.

" Ash you are in no condition to fight. " Lise muttered to him.