Mask

Dead town.

Spikes eyes narrows as he walked through another door, his shotgun at the ready. He started to aim around, before slowly learning in, watching the corner with his shotgun. He scanned around, a soft, uneasy feeling settling into his gut, before using his shotgun to push the door open a bit more, his slitted pupils scanning around the room. He gave a soft noise, before snorting out some smoke, an emerald ember slowly floating out as he walking into the room. He sniffed the air, his nose wrinkling a bit as he took in the dusty smell, before he took a peek though a window, careful not to peer out too much. His eyes widened at what he saw.

A settlement. A pretty big one at that.

Empty.

There were no sounds. No laughter. No cheering. No drinks or food cooking, there were no children running through the streets, not even an angry parent scolding their child.

Absolutely nothing.

Spikes eyes narrowed as he stepped out of the broken doorway, aiming around, looking all around, his eyes tracing over everything. Seeing nothing, he winced as his leg flared in pain as he took an unexpected step, before he kept walking, aiming all around. He scanned around, before lifting his bracer up, inspecting the counter on it, seeing no strange readings, then aimed into a window, peering into it.

Food. Bowls of it. With mold growing on it.

He gave a grimace, before walking to another house, seeing chairs pushed out and the table turned over, rotting food on the ground, blood smeared across the table and on the ground. He gave a glare at the blood, twirling back around and walking around the wall, standing there for a moment as he looked all around him.

He must have found where all those people were from.

He walked around a wall, before giving a grimace as he saw blood on the wall and a fallen body. He walked over, giving the body a once over, then knelt down next to it, resting the butt of his gun on the ground as he sighed. He rolled the body over with a gloved hand, inspecting it, seeing bullet holes in his chest and wet blood.

The man had been looted, his pockets were turned out and his boomer, long, thin with a long magazine., was clearly empty and forgotten. It almost looked like Spikes sweeper, however, it was a lot slimmer with a long magazine. He trailed his eyes over to the wall, seeing blood on it and a hand print, making Spike hum. He looked down to see spent bullets, standing up and walking over, picking one up, looking back at the body, seeing the wall behind it painted with blood and bullet holes, gritting his teeth at the sight.

He dropped the bullet, then started walking deeper into the dead town, looking around. He stopped when he spotted a shop, quirking an eyebrow as he saw the lights flicker inside. He walked over, pushing the door open with the barrel of his gun, suddenly aiming inside, looking around, his eyes narrowing a bit, seeing the back door moving a bit. He stepped over some broken pottery, suddenly shifting as he leaned to the right, aiming his weapon as he did so, opening a door in front of him and peering in.

A bathroom.

With a...sweet roll on the toilet seat?

Spike blinked in confusion, before quietly closing the door, hearing it click at it shut, then continued on. He stopped when he saw a door, quietly opening it and peering through the crack, giving a grimace as he saw another body, decayed and broken, making him shake his head. He pushed the door open, aiming around the alley, before looking up, seeing a light flicker overhead.

He shook his head and continued on, stepping over another body, his eyes scanning around in the dim light. He stopped when he noticed a shadow move on the wall, aiming over and narrowing his eyes as it disappeared just as fast as he spotted it. He walked over, pressing against the wall, before peering down it, seeing a bit of cloth disappear around the corner, his eyes widened at the sight.

He wasn't alone.

He started following, silently walking forward, his weapon pressed firmly against his shoulder, looking around as he silently followed the figure. He stopped when he came across an open area, see the clothed figure turn around a building. His eyes narrowed at how open it was, the primal pit in his brain screaming at him that something was wrong. Said primal instincts were right, but Spike himself only flicked his tongue out, his tail curling behind him as he tasted the air.

He couldn't see or smell anything, so he knelt down, then started to roadie run, sprinting whilst crouching, making himself a.little louder but harder to see. He dove behind a wall, aiming around, his eyes narrowing as he tried to see anything wrong. He saw and heard nothing still, but the pit in his stomach grew as he circled around the building, his weapon held ready, his finger next to, though not on, the trigger, careful not to injure said figure.

After all, it could be a survivor.

He looked around the corner, seeing the figure kneeling down next to a body, rifling through the corpses pockets. The figure itself was rather small, making Spike squint as he slowly inched forward. He slung his weapon around his shoulder, then opened his mouth, saying one sentence that made the figure freeze up.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The figures hand twitched, making Spike kneel down a bit. The figure turned to Spike, brown eyes wide and confused, before it tugged the hood down, showing itself to be a woman.

No...a little girl.

She had a long scar across her cheek, her brown eyes filled with confusion at the sight of Spike, and her hair was brown and curly. The little girl, covered in a grey cloak, took a step back from the corpse, Spike giving her a worried look. If Spike had to guess, the little girl must have been no older than nine years of age, however, Spike himself looked no older than 16, so perhaps he would appear less frightening to her.

"Hey." The little girl stared at him with wide eyes, making Spike clear his throat quietly. "Are you hungry? Or thirsty? I have some food and water if you need some, you don't need to scavenge for it." The girl just stood in silence, making no noise, Spike noticing the scar on her cheek, though he made no mention of it. He pointed down at the corpse. "Did you know him?"

Silence.

"Do you need help?"

The girl spared a glance towards the corpse, before finally shaking her head, Spike giving a soft smile towards her, ignoring how comfortable she seemed to loot the body. He made a step forward, the little girl backing up, so Spike stopped when he noticed her eyes darting behind him. He quirked an eyebrow at the sight, until he felt an incredible pain at the back of his neck.

He screamed in agony as metal stabbed into his neck, electric volts shooting through his system, making him scream in both pain and anger, glowing spit dripping from his mouth as the bolts stopped, the boy swaying a bit, uneasy on his feet. A new round of volts started at the back of his knee, making him roar in agony, kneeling down as the volts travelled up his leg, making him rest a hand on the ground. He made a reach for his knife, only for electricity to go through his side, the pain making him shake, the little girls eyes lighting up in fear as she watched, flashes of blue and white dancing across her face, Spikes eyes narrowing in anger and pain.

"Sweet Celestia! This kid just won't fucking go down!"

Spike suddenly turned, opening his mouth as it glowed, only to be interrupted as he felt another round of volts jab into his neck, his jaws closing, a soft light of green flickering through his teeth, unnoticed by all. He opened his eyes to see three people standing there, cattle prods in their hands, fury boiling his blood, the skin on his neck slowly changing to scales as they pushed into it. He realized that the little girl was bait for whoever wanted to help her, and Spike happened to be that unlucky target today.

An ambush.

He grabbed the cattle prod jammed into his neck, the electricity dancing uselessly against the scales of his neck, and then crushed the prod in his hand, making it spark uselessly. The man who held it gasped in surprise, Spike winding his fist back, rotating his body with it, before slamming his fist into the mans chest, a sickening crack echoing out as the man screamed in agony and smashed into the metal wall, denting it. He groaned against the wall, Spike opening his jaws and releasing a volley of fire, forcing the two women to back up, confusion and fear evident on their faces as he stopped his flames, smoke spilling out of his mouth as he glared at them.

"HE'S A FUCKING DRAGON!" One woman called to the other, both covered in patched up rags and wearing goggles, holding their cattle prods. "WHAT DO WE DO?!"

"STICK TO THE PLAN!" The other woman barked back, seeing Spikes neck slowly shift back to skin.

Spike looked between the two women, before looking at the injured man, him groaning in pain as he lies there. He finally opened his mouth, his throat dry as he spoke, "I don't want to hurt any of you."

"Holy shit, it talks?"

Spike ignored the woman and pointed down at the injured man, his eyes narrowing at them both, seeing them circle around him slowly, "I want to go on my way with the little girl. You atop using her as bait and I don't turn you into a barbeque. Let us leave and you will not see us again."

"We can't do that!" The one woman yelled out, clearly the leader of the trio.

"Why not?"

"Because you have a price on your head, dragon."

Spike paused, peering up at the taller woman, though he had no time to ask her what she meant, as he was sent lurching forward, giving a yelp of pain as he felt something stab into his wounded shoulder. He grasped onto the weight on his back and threw it, the older woman running forward and catching the creature that had stabbed him - the little girl, which Spike had tried to calm down moments ago. He glared at her, only for him to blink in confusion as his vision started to get blurry, reaching towards his shoulder and pulling something out of it.

A needle?

His limbs started to feel heavy, though he tried to lift his arms up, ready for a fight. It would be all for nothing, though. The pair of cattle prods smashed into and shocked his chest, both women pushing Spike down together, holding him there, making him scream into the dead town, electricity arcing across his body. They kept it up for a few seconds, before they finally let off, Spikes eyesight blurry as the little girl walked up, kneeling down and staring at him.

"Mama will be pleased we found him."

Spike finally closed his eyes, his last thoughts being filled with the smiling faces of his friends.

"I-I'm sorry..."

Silver stared at the door, his eyes scanning the door in front of him. Wave, Bright Flare, Meteor and Steel stood behind him. It appeared Stone had volunteered to stay with Bright Light and Storm, to keep an eye out and protect the settlement whilst it recovered, though would link back up with them when they could stand on their own. Silver inspected the door, before looking over at the tampered box, giving a grimace as he saw a bloody handprint on the inside.

Wave opened it, giving a hiss as he inspected the inside, "Sir, this thing is pretty busted up, it's a miracle Spike even went through here at all." Wave said to Silver, who walked over and knelt down next to the young man and gave a grunt, settling for a bit.

"How much time do you need?" Silver asked, inspecting the bundle of wires in front of him. Wave scratched his cheek, staring at the box for a moment, before Silver spoke, "We can find another way if you can't fix it."

Wave looked up at Silver, then back down at the circuits. "Give me a minute...or three."

Silver patted Waves shoulder, then stood up, giving Steel a nod, then stood next to Meteor. Meteor gave Silver a look, before tapping Steels shoulder, jerking her head a direction. Steel nodded in silent understanding, walking away from the duo, Bright seeing the movement and watching the hall they came from.

"Silver."

Silver quirked an eyebrow at this, before giving Meteor a glance, seeing her standing there. She never used his name unless it was something important.

"Go ahead, Meteor."

Meteor took a moment to gather her thoughts, before finally speaking, "Silver, what you did to those Diamond Dogs -"

"I did what I had to." Silver interrupted, adjusting his weapon.

"Silver, you tortured them."

"To find information about Spike."

"WE DON'T DO THAT!" Meteor snapped at him, making him pause. Meteor gave a sigh, before looking at Silver, her voice barely above a whisper, "Silver, you taught everyone here. You know better than anyone that we aren't like that. We've never been like that."

"Meteor." Silvers voice was cold, making Meteor freeze. "Those fucking Dogs killed our people, and they want to kidnap Spike." Silver looked at her, hatred in his eyes, making Meteor shiver a bit at the sight, continuing, "As far as I am concerned, what I did was a fucking mercy, not torture."

"I fixed it!" Wave yelled out, interrupting their conversation, though he stopped when he aaw everyone look at him. "Woah, what did I miss?" Bright sighed, then patted his shoulder, giving a soft noise of appreciation, ignoring Waves question.

Silver looked at Meteor, then quietly said, "This conversation is over. Am I clear?"

Silver gave her a look, before walking towards the door, Meteor frowning at him, Steel walking over and shaking his head, mumbling out, "We better find Spike, I got a bad feeling about this."

"It's not Spike I'm worried about." Meteor mumbled back, staring holes into Silvers back.

The door finally creaked open, the warriors giving a confused look around at a room filled with ash and smoke. Silver pulled his mask on, the others following suit, before stepping in, the leader giving a confused look around. "What the fuck...?" He mumbled out, only to hear a crack, giving a confused look down, seeing a charred leg bones, stepping back a bit.

"What in Celestias name...?"

"Sir, I think...I think they were cremated."

"Yeah...but who started the fire?" Silver asked, before stepping over the bones. He could see bullet holes on the walls, before looking up to a metal walkway, the door shut on it. He looked back over to see the door, a panel next to it, blackened but not melted. "Wave, on that panel. Just...be careful where you step." Silver looked over to see the bones and ash around him, charred and blackened. "These people deserve their rest."

Wave nodded and ran over to the side, giving a soft look at his boot prints in the ash, before opening the panel, his mask twisting back and forth. "Looks like the panel kept this one intact, shouldn't be but a moment."

Bright Flare looked around, before inspecting the ladder, looking up at the catwalk. "Sir, you don't suppose..." Silver walked over, giving the ladder a gentle tug, making it rattle, both he and Flare stepping back as it shook for a few more seconds. "Maybe not." She answered her own question, peering up at the catwalk.

Steel walked over, giving a grunt, "Should we try coms?"

Silver shook his head, answering, "It seems the further we get from The Caverns, the less likely our signal will cut through. We are still receiving something, so the antennae above ground are working, but it seems like something is...blocking our communications. Until then, try to use your radios sparingly until we find the reason why."

The door started to open, cold air blasting in and blowing the ash away from it, Silver walking out and aiming around, his eyes narrowing as he saw a wall with decaying bodies against it. He heard a gasp, though did not look, knowing Bright Flare had spotted the bodies. "Sweet Celestia." Silver kept walking, ignoring Steels words.

"What happened to them?" Wave asked, his mask muffling his speech.

"Executed." Meteor answered, continuing with Silver. Steel, Bright Flare and Wave stared at the bodies, though quickly fell into line. Silver gave a hum as he inspected his bracer, hearing the counter click softly, before looking back at the others.

"Keep your masks on, we have a breach ahead."

"How bad?"

A deep screech was heard, making the team quickly bring their weapons up, aiming down the tunnel. They waited for a moment, only for Silver to bring his hand up, making a motion, the group slowly walking further into the darkness. Though he said nothing, Silver recognized that noise, one that brought painful memories and a feeling of anger that boiled in his gut.

The Bat.

Cherry Jubilee sat at the chair, staring at the radio, tapping her fingers on the desk impatiently. Her eyes were glued to the quiet box before her, her finger tapping loud and rhythmic. She finally tore her eyes away to look at a clock, giving it a slight glare, then looked back at the radio. She started tapping her fingers again, brushing a bang of red her out of her face as she stared at the silent box. It was almost like it was mocking her with its silence, making her grit her teeth.

How dare it. She'll show this little -

"Cherry?"

"FUCK!" The voice had made Cherry jump out of her chair, twirling her head around to see Stone Striker, giving an amused smile, the red haired woman giving a glare. "Lands sakes, ya tryin ta kill me?!"

"Sorry." The woman walked in, giving the radio a glance. "You okay?"

Cherry Jubilee sat back down and sighed, looking back at the radio. "Not really, no." She started tapping her fingers again, Stone rubbing her neck a bit, before sitting in a chair next to her, silent. Cherry started to lean back, then said, "I...I told Spike ta call in once he reached tha next settlement. He shoulda reached it by noe, and they have a workin radio."

"So...why isn't he calling?"

"Exactly." Cherry crossed her arms to stop the tapping. That loud, annoying, horrible tapping. "I know he ain't a kid anymore, but...a gal worries."

Stone gave a hum, before leaning back in her chair, asking, "Ya got the hots for him?"

Cherry quirked an eyebrow at this, before looking at the radio. "Nah, nuthin like that. Sure, he's cute...and knows how to cook...and how to sing...got a great sense of humor and soft eyes, ready to help out the second you're hurt or if you're strugglin with somethin..."

"Mhm?"

Cherry blinked, before rubbing one of her arms, giving a sigh as she said, "He wouldn't ignore me 'bout this. I know the next settlement has gone quiet, but....I assume he would at least holler if somethin bad happened. He just ain't the type to do this."

"And you know this how, exactly?"

"Ah've met him before. And Applejack talked about him quite often on tha farm. There is no way in Tartarus that boy would pull somethin like this."

Stone was silent for a moment, before asking, "You...you don't think...?" She couldn't finish that sentence, Cherry rubbing her cheek in thought.

"I...I don't know, but we should give 'im a few hours. If they don't respond, I'll head out wit ya to look for 'em."

Stone stood up, saying, "I'll get my gear ready."

"Hopefully, ya won't need it." Cherry called as Stone left, looking back at the radio. Something was wrong, she could feel it in her gut, and Cherry always trusted her gut on things like this. Something was wrong, she just knew it. She stared at the radio, tapping her fingers on her arm, staring at the silent box again.

"I hope you're okay, Spike."