Mask

Breathe in.

Spike couldn't help but feel those words echo in his mind, breathing as he clambered upwards, using his hands to rip into the wall, breaking open the stones into hand holds. Not far behind was Storm, clearly having a tougher time, slipping a bit for a moment, grasping onto a rock to stop herself from falling. She looked back down, giving a soft snort of air before looking back up at Spike, opening her mouth, before stopping.

A perfect view at his rump.

She coughed and looked away, blushing, before suddenly slipping again, giving a gasp. She reached a hand up to try and grasp something, before Spikes tail shot down and grabbed her hand. She gave an embarrassed smile, before mumbling her thanks, Spike pulling her a bit to help her grab onto the holds.

"Almost there." Spike spoke, digging his hands in more, before clambering up again, creating a bigger hand hold for Storm. He stopped for a moment at the edge, before peeking over the edge, then looking back and nodding to Storm. He clambered over the edge, then held his hand out, Storm taking it and being helped up. Spike grasped his radio, speaking into it, "Silver Spear, do you copy?"

Static.

"Silver? Steel? Anyone copy?"

Static again.

"We're too deep." Storm spoke as she walked forward, giving a hum as she inspected the dirt, finding the tracks again. "Didn't realize Bright Light was a climber."

"Me either." Spike mumbled out through his mask, the cracks across it quite noticeable to Storm. She gave a hum as Spike walked forward, "She went this way, so we'll keep following."

They kept walking, Storms eyes darting to Spike, before coughing in her hand a bit, giving a soft look. "So, back there...wanna explain that to me?" Spike thought back to the caverns below, before looking at the wall and humming softly, running a hand along the wall, nodding to himself, seeing the carvings along the wall, Storm giving them a passing glance. "Spike?"

"Huh?" Spike looked back at Storm, seeing her stare at him in worry. "Did...did you say something?"

Storm put her hands on her hips, giving Spike a soft look, before finally saying, "Spike, you had a full blown mental breakdown or...something back there! You can't just act like nothing happened after screaming loud enough that Canterlot could hear it!"

Spike rubbed the back of his neck, before adjusting his helmet a bit, looking back at her and admitting, "I have no clue what I saw. Images, I think."

"Images?"

"Sounds. Feelings." Spike added on, before staring up at the rocky ceiling. His eyes glazed over as the images struck his mind, before he shook his head, a phantom pain emerging from the incident. "And...I heard Twilight. Saw her, too. Whatever it was that sent me that...mental image knows exactly who I am."

"It does?"

"Yeah. It also knew Twilight, she or whatever it was, it was asking for my help." Spike nodded, before waving Storm over, pointing towards the ground. "Light moved through here. And, if I remember correctly, we can link up in the caverns ahead and wait for back up." Storm looked at Spike, studying his face, before finally elbowing him, giving him a knowing look. "Or...we leave a sign at the cavern ahead when we meet Bright Light, then I will continue on ahead to try and get information on Twilight and the others."

"And what makes you think Twilight is even alive?" Storm asked, though as soon as the words left her mouth she winced at the look in Spikes eyes that flashed for a moment. "It's been five years, Spike. If they were alive, why haven't they tried contacting us? Or even go looking for us?"

Spike was silent for a moment, before he turned to her, his eyes lit with the fire of determination, and spoke, "I know they're out there. And I won't give up on them." They stood there for a moment, Spikes eyes adjusting to the darkness, his pupils turning into slits as he pulled his snapper out, walking forward, his tail waving behind him as he walked. "I know they'd do the same for me."

As he walked ahead, Storm took a moment to absorb the information, though a tingling at the back of her head told her something was watching her. She turned back, her eyes shifting in the darkness, her flashlight twirling around in the dark, lighting the way. Seeing nothing, she clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, before continuing after Spike, following him, not seeing the glowing eyes in the darkness return, watching them.

Silver was sitting on a crate, flicking his lighter open and close, staring off into the darkness. The loud, metallic clicking echoed in the room, weapon resting against the crate as he watched, his stare empty and blank. She perked up a bit, squinting into the darkness, before shaking her head, walking to the other side, adjusting her weapon against her shoulder. Bright Flare looked at Silver, before looking at Steel, who was currently putting bullets inside of a magazine, giving him a stare.

Steel looked up, giving a surprised look when Flare stared at him. "What?" He asked, mask by his side. She elbowed him, then jerked her head towards Silver, making Steel growl out quietly, "He doesn't wanna talk, what can I do?"

Bright Flare opened her mouth to say something, only to stop when she heard a whistle. Silver got up out of his seat, stuffing the lighter in one pocket and another item in the other pocket. He stuffed twp fingers into his mouth and gave a sharp whistle back. Suddenly lights flicked on in the darkness, Stone waving something over.

Meteor walked in, wiping the blood off of her knife onto her sleeve, a few people trickling in, one of them carrying a wounded man on his shoulders. "Alright, everyone rest up and tend to the wounded." Meteor ordered out, Silver waving her over, Meteor turning to one of the men with a large backpack on, speaking to him, "Tell nase we've made it to the first checkpoint. And to tell the Mayor to stop worrying, they're fine." Meteor walked over to Silver, scanning over the ground, her eyes tracing over every member of the squad, before looking around for something, finally stopping in front of Silver. "Sir."

"Meteor." Silver spoke, motioning to a rock in front of him, Meteor taking a seat as Silver took a seat on a stone of his own. "Status?"

Meteor opened her pack and pulled out a piece of paper, motioning to a crate nearby. "Well, we came across the station, like you said. Lost a skyblood to a pack of mole things there, found him later on. Well, the parts they didn't like, at least." Silver and Steel shared a look, Stone walking over and picking the crate up, walking back over and setting it in-between the two. "Another man, earthblood, was injured by a Mutt on the way here, but he should be fine. Luckily, it missed his femoral artery, so he'll live with some medical attention." Meteor set down the map in front of them, brushing it a bit. "We got this from the station before, found it on a body. Apparently, the miners who lived in these tunnels decided to have all sorts of maps, in case a tunnel collapsed or they got lost."

"Good work, Meteor."

Meteor looked around, before looking back at Silver, adjusting her mask on her chest, finally asking, "You're missing a few. Where are the others?"

The air was sucked out of the room with that question. Stone tapped Flares arm, catching her attention, jerking her head one direction. Flare nodded and they walked away, Silver looking down, Steel rubbing the back of his neck.

"Star Gazer is dead." Steel spoke, catching Meteors attention, before continuing, "The others are missing. Fell down the hole out there. We lost radio contact with them, but we think they're still alive."

"I see..." Meteor gave Silver a look, the man staring at the map. She cleared her throat, then looked back at Steel, giving a soft whistle. Silver looked back up at her, his eyes hard, but full of pain, Meteor giving a soft smile. "Kid is tough. He made it."

Silver nodded, then looked at the map, before pointing at their spot. "Now, if I am reading this correctly...got another hour or two before we hit the group of survivors...but this cavern down here has some sort of figure right there, like a skull?"

"It's a Diamond Dog skull." Meteor said, making Silver and Steel look at her. "I recognize it, we saw a one being attacked by the Bugs on the way here. Skull looked a lot like that after a spray of acid."

"Okay, so, we got regular dogs, mutated dogs, and now Diamond Dogs. What else?"

"Well, strange thing is, this map right here says there is a tunnel in a nearby mountain that has something in it." Silver quirked an eyebrow as he looked back at the map, though Meteor continued, answering his unasked question, "I don't know what it is, but it was big enough news to mark it on the map."

The radioman, named Wave Surfer walked over. Wave Surfer had blond hair done in dreadlocks and had glasses on, with a cute little wave etched on his helmet, the same as his cutie mark. "Sirs, ma'am." He greeted them, before kneeling next to them, pushing his glasses up as they slid down his nose. "Made contact with the Caverns, reported the losses. They'll have a group run supplies to us once they get a cart ready to go."

"Thanks Wave. Anything else?"

"Mayor Mare says hi, sir."

Silver chuckled a bit, before looking at the map, his eyes tracing along the caverns below, before tapping on the map, saying, "The caves below, they connect to the Diamond Dog one...and then further ahead, they connect to the area the first group of survivors are in?"

"Yes, sir."

Silver nodded, then rubbed his cheek, brushing his hand through his beard, "Storm, Bright Light and Spike will meet us there." Silver finally spoke, catching Meteor and Steels attention.

"Sir?" Steel asked, not sure if he heard correctly, giving Meteor a glance, one she returned, just as confused.

"If I know anything about those three, it's that they will continue on with the mission. We'll meet with them there." Silver stood back up, nodding to himself. He then turned to the rest of the group, barking out orders, "I need a head count of who is fit enough to move on! Medics, help those that are too injured to move on, and I'll leave three men here to help you hold this position!"

Spike kept his weapon up, aiming down the cave they had just been through, his slitted pupils scanning to and fro, watching in the darkness. Storm gave a grunt as she slammed her shoulder against the door, before sighing a bit. She sat there for a moment, wrapping her hand around her injured shoulder, nursing it a bit as they sat there. Storm inspected the door, before looking down, seeing Bright Lights boot prints leading into it.

"She must've barricaded the door." Storm mumbled out, resting on it for a moment, Spike taking a moment to scan the cave again, before turning to Storm. He walked over next to her, pressed his ear against the door and rapped his knuckle against the door a few times, before nodding to himself. "Pretty heavy too."

"Yeah, if I knock it down, everyone and their mothers will hear it." Spike admitted, inspecting the door for a moment. He looked upwards, before quirking his head a bit, Storm looking up with him.

She turned her flashlight on and looked above the door, Spike wincing at the light entering his vision, his slitted pupils slowly turning back to the rounded ones, the dragonblood humming in thought as he watched.

It was a vent.

Unblocked.

Storm attached her flashlight to her chest and took a knee, holding her hands out. Spike nodded, then placed his boot on her hands, Storm lifting him up, with Spike grabbing onto the grate. He dug his hands into it, then pushed the grate forward, it falling into the vent as Spike lifted himself up. He peered into the vent, tugging his gloves off and digging his hands into the vents metal bottom, slowly clawing it open with loud metal groaning. Finally, he had it open enough, giving Storm a thumbs up, then moved further into the vent, his tail disappearing from Storms sight.

He poked his head in, looking all around, before slowly lowering himself downwards. He took his knife out, scanning the room once more, before looking back towards the door, seeing a shelf in front of it, along with a few tools wedged against it. Spike looked around again, before walking over to it, then kicking some of the tools, breaking them in, then digging his hands into the metal shelf. He started pulling the shelf away, a loud, metallic shriek echoing out as he tugged it away from the door.

He stopped for a moment, listening for any movement or noises, before continuing, gritting his teeth as it scraped against the ground. He finally pulled it away enough, then unlatched the door, opening it, letting Storm in. He quietly shut it, then bent the latch with his hand, locking it behind them, then grabbed a splintered pickaxe, wedging it into the doorframe, nodding to himself, before turning to Storm, saying, "We should take a break."

"No. No, I'm good."

"Storm."

"I said I'm good."

Spike walked over to her, pointing back at the door, giving her a glare, "I climbed up a cliff, fought several Diamond Dogs, and just suffered a psychic overload from something in those tunnels within the span of three hours." Spike hissed to Storm, before motioning to a crate nearby. "I am going to sit down for a bit, because I am exhausted. I suggest you do the same."

Storm felt a twinge of guilt shoot through her, she then looked down. "I didn't mean...Spike I just-"

Spike sat down, then held his hand up, giving her a soft look, "Sorry, I didn't mean to, it's just...been a tough day. We lost...we lost Star Gazer. I saw his body, and I couldn't..." He trailed off, before wiping his eyes, feeling tears threatening to spill over. "I couldn't even bury him."

Storm dropped her weapon to her side, then walked over to Spike, kneeling down, resting her weapon on the crate and embracing him. Spike felt tears flow freely from his eyes after a moment, shutting his eyes and hugging Storm, a sob wracked his body as he gripped onto her.

"I'm so sorry, Spike..." Storm mumbled out, Spike squeezing her tight in his grip. She took his helmet off and brushed her fingers through his spikey green hair, scratching his scalp as he cried against her. "I know it hurts to lose someone. Don't worry, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." She didn't know what to really do, so she just held him there and whispered soft things to him. "Breathe in. Breathe out."

After a solid fifteen minutes of holding onto each other, six of which were filled with Spike sobbing for his fallen comrade, they finally sat in silence. Spike let go of Storm, though she held on for a few seconds longer before finally letting go. Spike wiped his eyes, before taking a swig of his water, looking at Storm. "Thank you."

"Of course, Spike."

"No Storm....I really mean it. Thank you." Storm smiled and bumped her shoulder against his, before drinking from her own canteen, the young dragon looking around, finally asking, "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, sensible thing would be to meet up with Bright Light and stay at the area, tell Silver what you know, then continue on with the plan." Storm mumbled out, before rubbing her cheek, looking towards the door at the end of the underground tool storage they were in. "However, something tells me you wanna ask around in the area about your friends, so we gotta hurry before Silver gets there."

Spike nodded, before looking at Storm, "I don't think Bright Light will like that though."

"Well, she can deal with it." Storm looked around, before shaking her head a bit and turning her flashlight on, attaching it to her helmet. She hummed a bit, asking, "What do you think this place was?"

Spikes long tongue flicked out, before adjusting his weapons on his back, trying for his flashlight again, only to remember it was broken, making him snort out some smoke. "Best guess is that it's a tool storage of some kind. Maybe for vehicles, digging equipment?"

Storm walked over to the large, metal doors and inspected them, before looking down the sides, seeing a smaller door, whistling to Spike. Spike stood up, pulling his boomstick out and walking over, adjusting his helmet onto his head and fastening it. He nodded to Storm, who nodded back, then slowly opened the door, gun at the ready, Storm slowly following with her sweeper. Spike, silently aiming around, gave a look around, before quirking an eyebrow at the tunnel ahead.

Another gate?

Spike walked forward, Storm hanging back a bit and taking aim, nestling herself again the wall, keeping herself behind cover. Spike looked around at the walls, seeing multiple spaces for him to take cover in, just in case things got dodgy, then looked back at the gate. No movement that he could see, sparing a glance backwards at Storm, who had taken aim towards the gate.

A bright light flashed on, Spike hissing through his teeth as he was temporarily blinded, using his hand to shield his eyes as he squinted. The voice that piped up behind the wall, loud enough for them to hear, "Now, y'all have exactly five seconds to turn your hide round before we get to burnin it off!"

Spike shot up in recognition, then called back, "Cherry Jubilee? Is that you?"

A few seconds of silence followed, before the light pointed away, a woman with red hair, a beauty mark under her green eyes, many (including Spike) thought said mark added to her natural beauty. She couldn't help but squint, before giving a grin, saying, "Spike! Hadn't seen hide nor hair of ya in a while! Lemme just get the boys to open up the gate!"

Spike sighed a little, then waved Storm over, the gate slowly screeching open, Storm giving Spikes shoulder an affectionate bump. "Look at you, lady killer. All you have to do is smile and they practically fall for you."

Spike took a deep breath in, then snorted out some smoke, looking back at Storm, "Do I sense a hint of jealousy?" He teased back, making Storm chuckle, holstering her sweeper.

"Long as you can keep it in your pants, we should have no issues with this little side track."

Finally, the door opened and Cherry waved them in, Storm and Spike smiling. Cherry, however, took Spike into a bone crushing hug, making him grunt in surprise, before lifting him up a bit. "Damn, look at you, boy!" Cherry set him down, then brushed his cheek with a hand, "Ya look hungry, they been feedin ya enough?" Cherry looked at the snickering Storm, then took held her hand out. Storm took it, Cherry shaking it and smiling, "Sorry 'bout that. Name's Cherry Jubilee, though my friends just stick to callin' me Cherry."

Storm smiled, shaking Cherry's hand, giving a chuckle, "My name's Storm Chaser. See you already know Spike. See one of our own recently?"

"Sure have. She's in the radio room. Tryin to contact your buds."

Spike made a motion with his hand, Cherry and Storm walking ahead of him, though he didn't immediately follow. He turned to look at the closing door and into the tunnel, his eyes scanning it for a moment, before he looked back at Cherry and Storm, following them towards the radio room.

For a second there, Spike felt like he was being watched.