⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣
Gable stepped onto the coupling, boots scraping against wet steel.
The car rumbled under him.
The Conductor was still in motion somewhere up front, shifting metal in small pulses.
“Cut the first lock,” Gable said.
Two cartel fighters jogged up the side ladder and clamped the grappler arms down. Sparks flew as the claws bit into reinforced plating.
A metallic thrum rolled through the entire train.
The lights under the chassis flickered.
The rail hummed.
“He’s pulling charge,” someone muttered.
Gable felt it too.
Faint static crawling through the soles of his boots.
“Move,” he said.
They hauled on the manual release.
The coupling fought them, metal resisting like it was in the conductors grip.
Then.
CLANG.
It snapped free.
The first car lurched back an inch.
The rail screamed again.
The walls of the next cargo car buckled outward for half a second, ribs bending like a heartbeat, then snapped back in.
Near miss.
Cartel fighters froze.
Gable didn’t.
“Next lock!” he barked. “We run these damn rails! Are you scared!?"
They sprinted toward the second coupling.
A deep groan rolled through the line as the train tried to re-stabilize itself. Every few seconds, a ripple shivered through the whole structure train line. the Conductor adjusting the cars, redistributing weight, setting traps.
Gable spat rainwater and jumped to the next connector.
Another static surge. Stronger. Hot enough to sting.
“Brace!” he snapped.
A blast of redirected current tore through the coupling, turning the air white. Two cartel fighters hit the ground rolling, smoke rising off their jackets.
“Still alive?” Gable called.
One raised a shaky thumb.
Good enough.
He lifted his hand, lightning building between his fingers.
“On my mark—cut it.”
The Conductor hit the rails again, a long metallic pulse shaking the ground.
Gable didn’t wait.
“MARK!”
Lightning tore forward.
Grapplers bit.
The second lock screamed.
Then broke.
The car behind them drifted back, wheels screeching as it lost the engine’s pull.
The entire train staggered.
Somewhere inside the front walkway, the Conductor finally stopped moving.
For a moment, the ridge went dead quiet.
Gable looked toward the engine.
Rain hit the roof in steady taps.
“Yeah,” he muttered. “Come out.”
He raised both hands, electricity dancing between his knuckles.
“Let’s finish this.”
⟢───── Ashes × Aether ─────⟣