Mask

Snarling.

Silver held his weapon against his chest as he waited in the shadows. His eyes scanned the wall in front of him, before he pressed up against the wall even further, quieting his breathing, though his mask did nothing to help. He kept waiting there, watching the shadows, quietly grasping the hilt of his knife and sliding it out as he heard claws scraping against the stone walls, calming his mind as he waited. A Mutt reared its ugly head, walking around the corner, before stopping right next to Silver, sniffing next to him, making him grasp his knife even tighter getting ready. The beast reared up on its hind legs, looking around, before opening its mouth, saliva spilling out from its jaws.

Only to release a really disgusting sounding sneeze.

It shook its head, then gave a soft whine as it continued walking, its body covered in mange and scars. Silver waited a moment or two, before relaxing, sliding his knife back in to its sheath. He opened the door behind him, giving a nod, before walking out of his hiding place, aiming around, careful not to be caught unaware. Steel followed, his wings tucked behind him as he aimed all around as well, followed by Meteor, Stone, Wave, and Flare.

They waited a moment as Silver knelt down, turning his flashlight on and inspecting the ground, before looking to the right. "A lot of paw prints came this way, but I can't tell what of. Too small to be Mutt prints, too big for an actual dog..."

"Diamond Dogs, maybe." Meteor offered, making Silver srand up, looking back to the right.

"More than a dozen." Silver walked a bit, before kneeling down again, giving a hum of confusion. "I see a boot print, none I recognize, though, so definitely not our boy or girls."

"Is that...blood?"

Silver looked over to see Steel inspecting the ground as well, unclipping his flashlight and pointing it down the hallway, seeing multiple trails of blood lead down the hallway the footprints went down. Silver stood up as Steel clipped his flashlight back onto his chest, before the man gave a soft hum in thought. He looked back towards his group, waving over Wave, who ran forward and stood next to him.

"Wave, you remember which way that we should take, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Let me guess...it is the same way these footprints came from, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

Silver stood there for a moment, before brushing his hand through his beard, tracing over the scars for a moment, before asking, "Have you been able to contact home yet?"

Wave shook his head, before leaning in a bit, whispering, "Something is blocking the signal, I can't get through, even though the antenna should be fine."

"I don't like this." Steel mumbled out, shouldering his sweeper, looking all around. "Something feels...cold."

"I noticed that too." Silver mumbled out, before looking back at the others, making a hand movement. They nodded and fell in formation behind him, Silver walking the opposite direction of the footprints, Steel taking up the rear, aiming back down the tunnel.

They kept walking, seeing the blood trail, Steel giving a grunt as he raised his sweeper. He suddenly knelt down, the others taking notice and following his example, before using his magic to summon his spear. He threw it forward, a yelp echoing out, before rushing forward, knife at the ready, pressing it against somethings throat, a strangled sound echoing out as Silver held the blade mere millimeters from the things throat.

"WOAH NOW! SAME TEAM, SAME TEAM!" Silver quirked an eyebrow as he heard the voice, before pulling his knife away, a man grasping his throat, the sleeve of his arm planted into the wall, just missing his forearm. "Sweet Celestia, I just come out here to make sure the Diamond Dogs are gone and I nearly get killed!"

"Sorry, Diamond Dogs?" Silver asked, making the team walk up, keeping an eye out, Steel walking forward and giving the man a confused look.

"Diamond Dogs? Think it's the same ones?"

Silver looked back toward Steel and held a hand up to his bearded chin, humming, "Maybe. That last one said they were looking for...you know."

"Could be a coincidence. The tunnels down here run for miles upon mils, could be another faction." Meteor added, making Silver hum.

"Possible, but I don't think we are that lucky."

The man gave them all an impatient look, before pointing at the spear. "Little help here?"

"Oh, right, sorry." Silver used his hand to rip the spear out, letting it shift into its smaller size and attaching it on his back. "Where did you come from?"

"I'm from the settlement just up ahead, a guard. They sent me down here to make sure no Diamond Dogs were doubling back."

"Diamond Dogs...they wouldn't happen to be looking for someone, would they?"

"Hell if I know, I was knocked out after the fight began."

"Fight?" Stone asked, giving a concerned look.

Silver pointed down the tunnel, giving the man a look, "Come on, walk and talk."

The group started walking, Silver shouldering his sweeper again, giving a look around, "So, about the fight, what happened?"

The man, holding one of the Boomers dropped by a Diamond Dog, a strange looking weapon that seemed to be a mixture of a crossbow and a gun that would load in crystals instead of bolts, raised his weapon a bit as he saw something move in the darkness, though lowered it when it appeared to be some sort of rat, scurrying into a crack in the wall. He then turned to Silver, "Couple of hours ago, we were attacked, but I was knocked out when they blew up the main gates. Used some sort of make shift bomb to blow the gate, attached to one of those monsters. Few of us died, but most were captured alive, as bait."

"Bait for what?" Wave asked, his interest piqued. Had he been in any other situation, his loss of guard would have been disastrous. Luckily, he had multiple team members watching the angles around them. Though, that didn't stop Silver from looking back, quirking an eyebrow, which made Wave shy away and return to formation.

"I dunno, some sorta kid?"

Silver blinked in confusion, "Sorry, you said a kid?"

"Yeah, from what the others tell me." Silver gave a confused hum at that, though the man continued on, "Some sorta...dragon boy." This made the group pause, the guard noticing and looking back at them, confused. "What?"

"Say that again."

"What? Dragon boy?"

Silver turned to Steel, giving a smile, which Steel only chuckled at, though Meteor gave them both a look. Had they forgotten what Silver did to those Diamond Dogs from before? How would they tell Spike? "Any other info you can give us?" Silver asked as they started walking again.

"Cherry Jubilee would know more, she was there. Like I said, I was knocked out during most of it, woke up after in a tent, but the docs gave me a clean bill of health."

A deeper roar echoed through the tunnel, making the group turn around, staring down it.

"We...should probably haul ass, right?" Stone asked, nervous, making Silver nod.

"Double time it, people!"

Spike stared at the door, giving a soft snort of smoke through his nostrils as he saw the broken box that contained the levers he needed. He looked around the room, giving soft grumbles as he inspected the massive frame, before coming back to the box. It was heavily dented, though Spike was able to open it, only to see wires torn out, dim bulbs and a bloody handprint on the inside which has long since dried.

He really hated doors.

Specifically, ones that would not open for him.

Spike pulled his charger out, before setting it down next to him, putting his gloves on and starting to rewire the machine. Now, dragonbloods may be tough, but they can still get hurt by electricity, a tiny Twilight spoke in his mind, though he quickly brushed it away as he plugged in another wire. He pressed a button, waiting for a moment, only to pull his charger from the ground, inspecting the power box for a moment.

The charger he had was usually used to help power his flashlight, though said device was broken at the moment, which made the other function shine through. The cabling and wires he saw in front of him ran on the same design, so he plugged the charger in and started pulling the trigger multiple times, charging the box.

The light flashed at him, Spike peering at the dented doors instructions, trying hard to ignore the bloody handprint on the inside, before flipping some switches upwards, then finally pressing the button, the heavy door in front of him giving a loud, shriek filled sound as it started moving upwards, gears grinding as it raised up. Spike pulled his charger out, then narrowed his eyes as he heard movement on the other side, slowly pulling his sweeper out. He took cover behind a rock and placed his weapon on it, aiming down the hallway, his eyes narrowing.

However, the stench of death made Spike gag, reaching for his gas mask and putting it on, the cracked glass of it meeting him. He noticed a hole on it and adjusted one of his pockets, opening it up to reveal duct tape. He taped across the hole, before breathing in the cleaner air, unable to smell the rotting stench. Now, to a normal human, it may have been strong, but to Spike, a dragonblooded man, it was nearly overpowering. He silently thanked The Doctor for the gas masks, before taking aim again, his eyes going wide at what he saw.

Bodies.

Dozens of them.

All in states of decay, some being clearly scavenged from by animals, others were just burnt husks, some even skeletons. Spike hopped over the boulder, a sick feeling in his stomach as he aimed around, his eyes trailing over the bodies. He could see men, women, and even children, pressed up against the door. He looked to the door and saw the noise he had heard, seeing a body slumped in the doorway, which was slowly closing. Spike backtracked and tugged on the mans clothing, finding it harder not to vomit as the mans arm came off from a tug.

Spike wiped his gloves hand on his pants, to erase the disgusting feeling in his mind. He looked around at the bodies, before giving a soft sigh, muffled through his gas mask. It appeared to be some sort of gas leak that took them all out. A quick, painless death. Many should hope to have such an end, Spike thought to himself as he looked around at all the bodies.

He started to walk forward, trying his hardest not to step on any bodies or bones. He saw that the room had a metal catwalk above, seeing a ladder at the end of the wall leading to it, locked away and broken, spotting a young womans body at the bottom. Spike looked down at a woman, her face sunken in and eyes long gone, making Spike blanch as a rat crawled out of her shirt and scampered off into the darkness, with a piece of meat in its mouth. Spike knelt down, inspecting her body, his anger suddenly reaching a boiling point as he recognized something.

This was no accident. There was a bullet hole in her forehead.

He looked to another body, seeing a mans torso twisted an odd way, bullet holes through his shirt, his blood long since dried and turned brown from decay. He turned to another to see the bodies that were scorched had bullet holes in their legs, and those that had turned into skeletons had broken femurs, showing they could not run before they were burned. He looked to the door on the other side of the hallway, seeing bloody handprints and marks across it, scratch marks from people who tried to escape their torment and pain, only to become the victims one the weapons were aimed at them, and so, their bodies blocked the way. Spikes anger grew and grew, his blood boiling and his throat felt hot, his throat glowing green a bit as he saw the carnage and death around him. He turned, his gaze softening as he spotted something in the corner.

A childs body.

He slowly walked to it, kneeling down, seeing the child grasping something in its arms. He inspected the body for a moment, ignoring the bullet wounds on it, his anger fading into grief as he spotted what he thought he spotted; the childs toy dragon.

Spike slowly rested his hand on the childs head, as if the slightest touch would break the body, before giving a heavy sigh. His heart was filled with sadness and anger, and yet, some small part of him was...happy. Happy? Yes, happy. These people no longer felt pain and, although they had died long before, their suffering had been quick, and now they could no longer be hurt. There was some beauty in that thought, and the fire in Spikes heart reignited, ready to continue on. Spike could only peer out into the mass of bodies, before shaking his head, inspecting the blood covered wall for a moment, before his gaze returned to the small body in the corner, his eyes misting over a bit, before he blinked the tears away. He took a deep breath, his chest expanding in the moment, pulling his mask off, trying to ignore how hot and disgusting the air was, then released a stream on concentrated fire into the bodies. He started breathing more and more fire on the bodies around him, watching as the bodies started to burn, Spike giving out a smoke filled sigh.

The stench was awful, and what was left of the bodies skin and fat caught on fire easily, spreading around the room. Spike shook his head, before looking back at the boys body, Spike gripping onto gis gas mask again, before breathing in, ignoring how disgusting it was to be breathing in all this rot and decay, then breathed another stream of fire, letting it slowly eat at the boy. Once he was satisfied (or, more precisely, the moment he ran out of fuel in his body), he stopped, watching the rooms flames cook the bodies around him.

If Spike was right, then eventually, it would grow so hot in this concealed room that it would cremate these bodies. It wasn't much, but at least Spike could give them the peace they deserved. And he hoped that it was enough for them.

He put his mask back on, the clear air refreshing from the stench of hatred and violence in this room. He let his hands become claws as he pulled his gloves off. He walked over to the ladder, seeing the womans clothes already smoking her skin bubbling from the heat. He swallowed some bile that threatened to come up, then dug his hands into the wall, clambering upwards towards the catwalk, ignoring the whispering around him.

As he clambered upwards, he thought he heard a whisper and stopped, before looking down at the inferno raging below, confused. He saw no moment, and everyone in the room was definitely dead, he didn't smell any living beings in the room since the rat that scampered through a crack in the wall. He blinked, before clambering upwards, the whispering getting louder, though Spike tried to ignore it.

The Geiger counter on his wrist shrieked for a moment as he jumped on the catwalk, the whispering becoming louder and louder as time goes on. He could almost make out voices, though he continued onwards, trying to ignore them. Maybe the others were wrong, maybe he could be affected by radiation, like the rest of them, maybe he was just losing his mind in these tunnels, or - or maybe he could -

"Спасибо."

Spike froze as he heard a voice, before turning around, his eyes going wide at what he saw.

There was no fire. The room was full of silhouettes, there were no bodies, no fire, no smoke, absolutely nothing except these silhouettes. No, not silhouettes. They were black entities...people. They were almost like...Ghosts. The figures were just looking up at him, which sent a shiver down his spine, before he turned to see a small figure right behind him, it held the little stuffed dragon, Spike giving a soft sound as he stared at the apparition. He stopped mid walk and stared at the little Ghost, Spikes weapon forgotten in his hands, before turning around and kneeling down, becoming face to face with the little shadow.

"Wh-what?"

The figures stared at him.

No, the Ghosts stared INTO him. They saw his very being, his very soul, and were judging him. The little one in front of Spike stopped, looked back at the other figures, then turned back to Spike, confusing the young dragon blood. And, for a quick moment, the figure took shape into the boy that Spike had just saw, still holding onto the stuffed dragon. On the little figures face was a soft, sad smile, before it opened its mouth and said one phrase, forever etching them into Spikes memory.

"Thank you."

Spike blinked, and the world returned to normal.

He saw the fire spreading and raging below, Spike standing up and staring for a moment. He turned around, shouldering his sweeper, then walked towards the door, opening it, pausing in the doorway, looking back at the raging inferno he had created. He went through the door after a moment, shutting it behind him. He tore his mask off as soon as the door clicked shut, taking a deep breath of air, just standing there. He felt moisture on his face, before wiping his cheek, giving it a confused look.

Was he...crying?

Spike heard movement down the hall, pressing his sweeper against his shoulder, then silently pressed onward, his tears forgotten in the moment. He started to walk across the catwalk, his draconic eyes peering into the darkness easily. He walked down the stairs, his boots making the stairs groan with each step, before finally reaching the bottom. He looked over to see a hallway with a door deep down it, giving a smoke filled snort, before looking back to see webs covering the hallway behind him, hearing a skitter deep in the darkness. That would explain the noise he heard.

He hated doors. He hated Bugs even more. He better get a move on then.

Silver walked with the guard, giving a grunt as a light shined onto them. The guard raised a hand, the light being turned off as they approached. Guards were watching the group from the destroyed gate, and it seemed people were already back to work rebuilding it. The guards lowered their weapons, one of them sighing and walking forward, rubbing the back of his neck as he saw the approaching group.

"You must be Silver Spear."

The guard held out a hand, which Silver grasped, giving him a handshake, replying, "That I am." The guard that was with them left to grab something to eat. "You wouldn't happen to know where my people are, would you?"

The guard gave a soft look, before looking at the rest of the group, speaking, "Yeah...would...you like to have your people rest up while you meet our leader and see the other two."

'The other two?' Silver thought to himself, before looking at Meteor. "Go get some food and some rest. We'll move out once we are done here."

Meteor just gave Silver a nod and whistled, catching the others attention. Steel and Meteor glanced back at Silver, before continuing on, Steel leaning in close, his wings careful not to hit her, as one sometimes did.

"You think he'll be okay?" Steel asked, making Meteor shake her head.

"He tortured a sapient being back there for information. We don't do that. We need to confront him about that."

"With Spike." Stone butted in, making Steel and Meteor jump a bit.

"With Spike what?" Both Steel and Meteor asked at the same time, making Wave, Stone, and Flare look at the two, quirking an eyebrow.

"You two really need to learn how to whisper." Wave mumbled out, ignoring the looks from curious guards and townspeople.

"Sorry, just...Silver acted so violently when Spike might have...well..." Steel began, before Meteor grunted a bit.

"This isn't the place. Let's grab some food and talk."

Silver Spear, on the other side of the building, followed the guard, slinging his weapon over his shoulder, looking around. His gaze turned into a glare as he saw smashed open doors and walls, with bullet holes in most of the surrounding area, and blood on the floor, before turning back to the guard, saying, "Looks like you guys had one Tartarus of a fight."

"I'll say. That dragon kid knows how to kick ass." Silver quirked an eyebrow at that, though said nothing, walking with the guard. He walked towards a medical tent, before both of them stopped, the guard saying, "She and your two teammates are inside."

Silver smiles, before giving a soft, "Thank you." He walked in, looking around, seeing hurt people lying in bed around him. He saw claw marks being covered on some of the injured people, slowly brushing his hand over his own scars. He walked through, before hearing a familiar voice, smiling, entering through a flap.

"Bright Light! I was so wo -" His voice died in his throat as he saw Bright Light sitting next to the beaten form of Storm. He rushed ober, shoving some poor woman out of the way, giving a shocked noise as he saw Storm, holding a shaking hand out. "S-Storm?" Bright Light looked up, giving a smile, before looking back at Storm, her smile falling, Silver stepping next to her and kneeling down. "What happened to her?"

"Diamond Dogs."

"What'd they beat her with? A freight train?"

Bright Light sighed, only to clutch her ribs, giving a grunt, Silver flashing her a concerned look. She waved him off, before her gaze returned to Storm, "A freight train would have been mercy. Some sort of...big Diamond Dog. It was going to kill her, but Spike..." Bright Light grunted as she gripped her ribs again, making Silver look at her again, resting a hand on her shoulder, making her give him a smile. "Well, let's just say they won't be bothering us any time soon. Better for Storm, they beat the absolute shit out of her."

"You should've seen the other guy..." A weak voice called out, making Silver and Bright Light stand, Storm giving a cough. "Pretty sure it was...seven feet tall..."

Silver sighed, then gave a soft smile, "Seeing as you're well enough to make jokes -"

"She ain't jokin." A voice called out, Silver turning to see Cherry across the room, in a bed of her own, bandages being rewrapped around her chest, giving a wince, before giving the doctor a nod. "Thanks, doc, I appreciate ya."

"Are you the leader?" Silver asked, walking over to her.

"That I am."

Silver held out a hand, Cherry shaking it after a moment, the older man giving a professional air as he stood at attention. "I am Captain Silver Spear, I see you met some of my squad, Bright Light, Storm Chaser, and Spike Apple Sparkle."

"Apple?" Cherry quirked an eyebrow, before giving a grin. "Didn't know he married Applejack, thought he woulda mentioned that."

"No, he just...it is a long story, one we don't have time for, unfortunately." Silver knelt down a bit, before adjusting his gear a bit. "I was told just bits and pieces of what went down. I know your settlement asked for help and you were the closest, mind filling me in on what happened."

"What happened is Spike saved our asses." Silver heard Storm call out, her voice sounding a bit drunk as she weakly raised an arm up. "Motherfucker beat the shit outta the bitch that hit me and wandered outta here like some sorta cowboy, riding off in the sunset. Looked so heroic, like...some sorta musketeer or somethin..."

Cherry and Silver shared a look, before Cherry gave a smile, "She's flyin higher than a kite on our painkillers."

"I can tell."

"Didya know Meteor made a dragon necklace for Spike? Crazy shit, I think she secretly crushes on him."

Cherry then stood up, giving a wince, before tugging her jacket on, giving a sigh. "Too many ears here, I'll fill ya in on what happened." Bright Light chuckled as Storm groaned a bit. "And...give that beaten mess ya call a friend a rest."

Storm groaned a bit, before asking Bright Light in a sleepy, sluggish way, "Can I have my lollipop now, doctor?"

"Good idea." Silver mumbled back, opening the flap and giving Bright Light a motion with his hand. Bright Light nodded, before turning back to Storm.

"Got any embarrassing stories?"

"I got one where I was drunk an tried flirtin with Spike."

"And I would love to hear that one."