Future Mobius: Freedom's Last Chance

Shiloh was quite amusing when she wanted to be. Her wisecracks about the other two and their shopping trip managed to lighten the mood, provoking a smirk and even a light chuckle from Bailen. "Don't worry, they aren't going to amputate anything. She's just trying to scare you." The dog shot Shiloh a playful, yet somehow serious expression. Now she was having a bit too much fun.

They weren't in the hospital for very long. The nurse worked with Dione's wound very quickly. She cleaned it, sewed it up, and dressed it in a matter of minutes. It surprised Bailen. The nurse must have been a combat medic sometime in the past. Now that the green wolf was patched up, the three of them exited the hospital and were on their way.

They walked through the streets of Sanctuary at a brisk pace, though Dione would be able to see the conditions they were living in. It wasn't the prettiest or cleanest city, but it was all they had. The water surrounding it was quite filthy, but they had a running water treatment plant that purified it and distributed it throughout the community. There were a lot of actual buildings that had been contructed in the cavern, but there were also a lot of makeshift homes and shanties along the outskirts. This place was the peoples' only chance at survival and living a somewhat happy and peaceful life. It was very precious to Bailen and Shiloh, and they'd stop at nothing to keep it safe.

The crowd around the church tower was dense, but Bailen instantly spotted that Boubka fella. His bright fur really made him stand out in a crowd. As they got closer, he could more easily see them. "Dammit, what is with you people and amputations?! She's fine..." He grumbled aloud as he approached with Dione and Shiloh behind him, observing Tala and Boubka in their new attire. "Well, at least you two bought something useful. We're going on a scouting mission." He sprung it on everyone quite suddenly. "Intel says a nearby town has some food we can snag, so we're going to recon it and find whatever we can scavenge. You three are young and fit, and you'll need to earn my trust before I let you stay down here."

He didn't expect any of them to say no. If they did, however, he'd kick them out of Sanctuary faster than you could say Sanctuary. He gestured to Boubka as he spoke. "You. It's time to see if your pathfinding skills are up to par, kid."

As the three were talking, Bailen told Dione that Shiloh was just trying to scare her. It wasn't entirely the truth, she was being pretty serious at the time seeing as even a tiny little paper-cut sized wound nowadays could infect and boom, no fingers. She shot him back a slightly aggressive look as he gave her a serious one. 

As all three met up together again, Shiloh stayed quiet for the most part with her hands held behind her back. Bailen gave a short burst about the whole amputation topic, and as he did so Shiloh looked at her metal arm to her left and then her gaze slowly looked to his right leg, then back up to his face where she met him with a very unamused expression. 

Overlooking both Boubka and Tala in their new attire, her eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah I mean it's alright, but it's not going to protect you from bullets, or knives, or being beaten senseless with blunt objects. That's the bad thing. The good thing is that you both look physically able and are dressed well to be scouts." As soon as she spoke, her husband gave the news on a 'mission'. She wasn't entirely happy with it, being the type of person not to trust anyone. She let out a small growl as her eyebrows furrowed once more. 

"Just letting you know before we get there, it's probably only the canned food we'll be able to grab. Nothing very luxurious. All in all, Jon is right...you all have to give before you get." Her face seemed to be in a permanent angry frown. Pulling out a map as Bailen singled out Boubka, she held it up to the cyan fox, tapping where the small town settlement was. "Seeing as most roads, paths, buildings have been destroyed, it's your job to be a 'pathfinder' and take us all to where we need to go. When we get near, we'll work out the details. Go and get whatever you think you need, pack water and a small amount of food." Shiloh turned on one foot quickly, walking away very briskly whilst grumbling to herself with her ears downturned.

When the group got back together again, Boubka shot her a question. "Oh. Well.. No?" the green wolf replied to the always happy fox. "I mean, I still hav-" That's where Shiloh growled at the cyan fox's question. It looked like the mood had become more serious again. Especially after Shiloh's outburst towards the group. While the rest of the people started talking to each other, Dione remained silent. 

In her mind she was somewhere else entirely and was slowly thinking back to the old days, when her parents and brother were still alive. Her hand moved up to the piercings in her ear. One for each of them. A somewhat louder noise coming from the other side of the town brought her back to reality and she started to think of what was going to happen now. This also made her think of her own clothing.

The canine was wondering whether she should change yet or stay in her old clothes. She had an extra pair of dark jeans and a black black turtleneck sweater after all. After overhearing some of the conversation between Boubka, Shiloh and Bailen, Dione opened her mouth to speak. "Can I come too?" The question was rather insecure, almost as if she were a child asking to come on a trip meant for their parents alone, but she knew she had something that could help everyone on the mission. Something rather.. powerful.

"And is there any place I can quickly change if I'm allowed to come? I have some food and water left. Also a few bandages and a tube of desinfecting cream." She opened her back and handed the things she was talking about to Bailen. In total she had four cans of beans, two cans of peas and three bottles of water, five packs of clean bandages and one and a half tube of cream.

Then, all of a sudden, Shiloh basically absconded. It left the green woman quite startled. The wolfdog seemed irritated to say the least. Dione looked at Bailen with a confused look on her face and furrowed eyebrows. "Do you, by any chance, know what's wrong? She seems rather upset." She sounded worried about the lady that had just walked away.

Hearing the words coming from Shiloh about the fact their clothing wasn't exactly up in the ranks of being the most protective, Tala could only nod in agreement. She looked over the older twos armour and understood the slight predicament they could find themselves in.

That only meant they would have to keep on their toes and be faster than them if they wanted to survive. 

The horned female perked her hears at the mention of a mission. Well that was quite out of the blue, and the sudden sense of hostility towards the three newcomers was felt strongly by Tala. She couldn't blame her though, they didn't even know them, yet were placing trust in them to help secure something that was in such high demand for the future of Sanctuary. 

"Begging your pardon, Mr Bailen," Tala began in a wispy voice. "Why would you select us of all Mobians to do this with you both? For all you know we could be the wrong type of people and could run off with the supplies once the time is right. Where is the small bout of trust coming from?"

She knew saying this made her all the more suspicious, but she was sure that the others were most likely just as unsure about the whole thing a she was. 

She pulled a small backpack from behind her and began opening it up to clear out what was inside to make room for carrying more than what was available in her arms. Out came two small empty water bottles, some rope and the strangest things.

They looked like fingerless gloves, a dirty sandish colour, but they were reinforced and held strange slots on the sides that were metal with secured clips. She reached in further and removed two shiny silver blades before clipping them into each slot inside the sides of the gloves loosely. Wiggling her fingers to make sure they weren't going to fall of any time soon, she closed her bag, putting it back over her shoulder where it was hiding before.

"These blades have a special ability for me, I can normally channel my power into them to make them stronger, but..." She gestured to the broken horn that would normally be curled around her left ear and closed her eyes as she thought back to when it happened. "...my powers have been unpredictable ever since. Unless there is some way to magically re-attach this piece," This time she gestured to the piece of horn that was acting as a sort of necklace by holding it up and looking at it sadly. "Then I'm afraid all I can really do is close combat. As for the nature of my power? I'd rather not talk about it when I cant demonstrate it as its difficult to explain."

When the two returned, they got noted on how their clothes weren’t really protective towards weapons. “I think mobility is more important than having a lot of heavy armour on you. I could use my powers to deflect some weaponry, so I could better just be more loaded on supplies than on armour. However I do understand why you think otherwise. Everyone has their own playstyle in the game of survive.”

 
Bailen put forward the scouting mission. The guy probably didn’t trust them well enough, and that was understandable. They basically put the Sanctuary in danger by fleeing towards here. Also scouting was his usual thing to do, so making it an actual mission together with others made it only more enjoyable. The German Sheperd gave Bou a map. Apparently he gave him the responsibility. The fox wasn’t too keen on that, seeing as he didn’t want to put the others in danger. But he knew that if he maybe did something wrong, Bailen would scold him and then put them in the right direction. He even felt a bit proud of it.
 
Boubka inspected the map. “Hm…I think I know where we’re supposed to go.” He opened up a pocket that was on the side of his backpack. Some plastic clacking against eachother could be heard. The fox grabbed out a pen and zipped the pocket back to its original closed state. He noted down a few things. A few crosses. “We don’t wanna go there. Big chance scout robots would be there. I think it’s best to take…” he eagerly sketched a dotted line. “This route.” The fox nodded. “We have some routes to branch off if this route is too dangerous. The robots like to change their scouting schedule from time to time.”
 
“Don’t worry about me. I have enough supplies to stay in the wilderness for at least three days, got two rolls of bandaging, two cans of food, a few bottles of water and enough chocolate bars. I was prepared for a week long trek.” He grabbed the handles of his backpack and pulled them a bit forward, as if he wanted to show his pack off. A closer look on his belt and you could see stuff as rope, a swiss army knife, flask and a tinderbox.
 
Tala was right. They could just as well betray these people and leave them to their death while they stole their supplies. “She’s kinda right there y’know. However I do think they’d kick our butt big time with their equipment and training. So I guess that if we would betray them, they’d probs be the once returning to base.” The fox grinned. That wasn’t even funny man.
 
Suddenly Dione spoke up. The fox looked astonished at the green wolf. “What? But your leg! It should rest. We wouldn’t want your leg to get infected or for you to be wounded even more! Are you even able to run?!” The fox clearly seemed worried. He just saw Dione after twenty years and now there was a possibility that he could lose her right after meeting up.

Shiloh was quick to address Tala and Boubkas' new outfits. She was right, it wouldn't provide a lot of protection from bullets or knives, but it'd at least protect them from the elements. Besides, if they were traveling lighter then they'd be able to carry more supplies back.

After briefing them on the scouting mission, Dione was the first to speak up. Bailen was surprised by her eagerness to come along. He admired her attitude, and her wound was cleaned and dressed. She seemed to be getting around just fine on her own now. Boubka naturally expressed his concern for his old friend, but Bailen raised a hand to calm him. "It's fine, son. Her leg is holding up just fine." He turned his attention to the green wolf and nodded. "If you think you can keep up then you can come along." He was looking forward to seeing whether or not she could hold her own. When she presented him with her supplies, he shook his head and pushed it back into her arms. "No, you take it. If we happen to get separated you'll need something to sustain you 'till you find your way back. As for your clothes, just hop into one of those tents and swap out." The dog pointed at one of the vacant tents ahead, but watched as his wife walked away and sighed just as Dione asked about her. "Don't worry about her. We've both been through a lot. Scouting missions bring back bad memories."

Tala was the next to address him. She brought up a valid point. Once again, Boubka answered the question for him. It was impressive earlier, but the old dog was easily annoyed. "The blue kid's half right. I like to think that, in a world this bad, we Mobians can rely on each other. Otherwise, we're all as good as dead. Don't you agree?" He cocked his head to the side before continuing, "That, and we'd most likely kick your asses. No offense." He smirked.

The five of them examined the map thoroughly and Bailen listened to Boubka's route. It sounded like a solid plan, but plans tended to go wrong more often than not. "Very well, we'll head that way for starters and see how things pan out, but we bug out at the first sign of robots. Got it?" He swiveled his head, examining each of them before nodding. "Good, let's head out."

(WHEW It's been almost two weeks, time to post again. Due to private circumstances we will have to skip Siko :c)

"Oh.. I'm sorry." Dione replied to Bailen as he answered her about Shiloh. The green wolf looked at the woman whom seemed to be returning to inspect the map together with the rest of the group. The wolf gave her a friendly smile and then looked at the map. Boubka's plan seemed to be pretty good. 

Then, the green woman thought to herself it'd be nice to reply to Boubka as well, for he had shown his concern about her leg. "I'm okay, I think I can run. And, if it turns out I can't, I'll turn back. Besides.." She tapped the firefighters axe that was hanging against her leg. "...I have this! And my own abilities." She grinned and then looked at the tent Bailen had gestured at a minute ago.

"If you will excuse me for a minute before we leave, I would like to put on something less damaged." She hopped off in the direction of the tent, noticing how easy it was to walk now that the wound was nicely cleaned. It didn't hurt either and once in the tent, she put away the crutch she was still holding. Carefully she stood on her two legs and didn't lean on anything but her feet. There was a bit of tension in the burned area of her leg, but it was fine and didn't hurt at all. Dione took out a 'new' pair of jeans, a crimson red t-shirt and a black hoodie with zipper. They were in a relatively good condition and didn't have any rips in them. The colours were a bit faded and there were the occasional stains, but that would be about it. 

The canine quickly changed into her new attire and packed her old stuff. She briefly went through her own stuff and then took out the tube of cream. It read: 'For all your burns and cuts.' She also took out a pack of painkillers. There were ten left, and she took one, just to be sure. She put the two kinds of medicine in a seperate pocket of her backpack and zipped it. Then, she tied the thin rope of the axe to her waist after threading it through all the belt loops of the jeans. "All done." she mumbled to herself. Dione checked if the tie was secure and pulled on it a few times before walking back out the tent and back to the group. She then remembered she had left the crutch in it. "Erm. Sir Bailen? I left the crutch in that tent, is that a problem?" 

Listening to the others converse about the mission they were all suddenly given made Tala think about the possibility of leaving like she originally intended. She looked over to the map and watched as Boubka drew a line to indicate where exactly they would be best going to avoid any scouts and squadron of bots as best as they could. He looked eager to get going back out there. 

Why? she asked herself. Why would anyone want to go back out into that environment? She got that Shiloh and Bailen needed to so that they could maintain their limited stock of supplies for the whole of Sanctuary, but the cyan male had a cheerful sparkle in his eyes as if he was going to a theme park or something along those lines. It baffled her to how anyone could be so happy in times like this.

'Maybe he just hasn't given up like everyone else.' She thought silently as she took a sideways glance over to Dione whom had taken a quick detour into a tent to change her own clothes. When the green female returned to them, she looked a lot better with somewhat cleaner clothes on. It made Tala feel a little better knowing she looked more capable of holding her own, and that fact she wanted to help out in this mission reinforced that feeling.

"Your abilities?" The scarlet wolf questioned. "What is your power? It must not be Chaos based, otherwise I, among others would have sensed it surely?"

Maybe she would stick around for a little while longer to make sure she could have some out there who could place even a small amount of trust in her. She nodded to nobody in particular and rocked back and forth on her feet as the others continued getting prepped.

Bailen seemed okay with the fox' plan. He was relieved about that. It felt like he gained some trust there, but he was still a bit unsure about his route. What if the robots had actually changed their pattern? Then they would be screwed and it would be his fault.

Boubka didn't seem happy about the fact that Dione would tag along. However Bailen assured him that she'd be alright, and the way Dione walked away also seemed to look healthy. "Well then..." He pressed his eyelids together tightly, trying to push away the feeling of losing even more friends. "I guess you can go with us as well. But if your leg is acting up you have to head back to the Sanctuary. Don't you dare die on me now." His tone was serious. Not the way he'd usually talk. His eyes fully locked on Dione's, trying to see completely through her. He really seemed to mean it.

He heard Tala talk about Dione's powers. He remembered them vaguely. It was something with bending energy, but instead of using the energy outside the body, it was on the inside. He did know that it was a really unique power he had never seen anywhere else. However speaking of powers, there was still something that bothered him. Tala. He had to ask. He couldn't just ignore it. "Tala. I sense a lot of chaos energy in and around you. A lot more than normal mobians. I don't even know if I've ever sensed so much energy in one person, even with powers. Do you have any powers maybe?" He tilted his head. He didn't want to look mean or forcing, but he was really curious about it.

The fox glanced at Bailen. His signature smile was back. "I'm ready to go!"

Bailen watched Dione returned to the group and it seemed they were finally ready to go. The green wolf mentioned the crutch she left behind in the tent. "It's fine. Someone will get some use out of it, I'm sure." He beckoned for his wife as they started to set out on their dangerous journey. The walk back to a different tunnel was faster than expected. Some of the tunnels were collapsed, but most could still be navigated. This particular tunnel would spit them out a few miles behind enemy lines, so they would have to be cautious.

There was some small talk between the members of the group, but Bailen and Shiloh generally stayed silent throughout the journey. They didn't have much to say, nor were they the talkative types. Once they reached the end of the mine shaft, Bailen peeked outside the old doors to make sure the coast was clear.

He looked back at the group, nodded, and slowly opened the door. "Alright, this is it. Stay alert and watch your backs." He then gestured for Boubka to take point. He was the one with the map, so he'd lead the way. A constant, dusty breeze made it difficult to see more than 30 meters ahead in all directions. This would work in their favor, and against them. It all depended on how many bots were out strolling around.

Bailen had his own map and compass that he'd check every once in a while just to make sure they weren't being led astray. Sure enough, Boubka's direction was true and they were quickly arriving at their destination. The paranoia started to settle in now. Bailen swore he could see flashes of red eyes in the thick dust clouds, and sounds of metal clanging about within the howling winds.

"I've got a bad feeling..." He grumbled to Shiloh as his alert ears swiveled on his head. He stopped using his rifle as a crutch, and now held it at the ready. He might have seemed paranoid, but he'd been in too many situations like this before. "Alright, let's pick up the pace, people." He started walking at a brisk pace, not limping as much yet he had a look of constant anguish on his face. Sure, it hurt, but he was still quick and focused on his feet. It often made others underestimate him, which he used to his advantage.

Once they scaled another small hill, a valley below was slightly visible, along with the village they were heading to. A number of red eyes could definitely be made out, as well. Thankfully the dust obscured the robots' vision. Maybe they'd be able to sneak in and grab the goods without starting a fight. Bailen aimed down his scope and scanned the area. There was an old truck below, but it looked like it was still intact. If it had fuel and ran properly, they could use it to transport an abundance of supplies they desperately needed.

"Alright, new plan." He lowered his rifle and knelt down in front of the group. "I'll stay here and provide overwatch and sniper support. Take these radios and I'll keep you updated of enemy positions." He held out a handful of earpieces so they could stay in touch. "Shiloh, there's a truck below to the east. I want you to check it out and make sure it's running. It'll be faster if we spread out, so you three fan out and try to find whatever supplies you can. Food, water, medical supplies, anything you can carry. Once you have it, make your way to that truck. It's our getaway vehicle." He pointed at the distant truck before he continued. "I know it might sound far-fetched, but it's the only chance we have of getting enough supplies for the whole town. We can't carry enough back to make a difference. Any questions?" He expected some of them to disagree with the plan, but it would work if they worked together and stayed out of sight.

Shiloh followed behind the group silently as they made their way through the tunnel. She usually took this time to think to herself without having to bother about anyone else, besides Bailen, as she was always on constant alert for him. This was another reason she was the cow's tail of the group. Someone needed to watch their backs, after all.

As they approached the end of the tunnel, Bailen gave Boubka the map and told him to lead on. Shiloh wore a deadpan face as she usually did, rolling her eyes as she watched the cyan fox take point. She was still skeptical about the three strangers' intentions, as past events had taken a toll on her trust issues.

The group finally exited the tunnels and made their way to an overlook of the town. Shiloh listened closely to her husband as soon as he said her name, nodding once as he explained what he wanted her to do. It wasn't unusual for her to go and do the up close and personal work, though she wasn't a fan of sneaking around like a rat. Her usual tactic was a lot more straightforward than that. "Got it." She simply responded, she knew that Bailen had faith in her abilities.

As Bailen further explained the plan to the rest of the group, Shiloh was already making her way down to the truck. Her dark, dirty colors were excellent camouflage against the mucky hills. As she moved forward and made a decent amount of progress, she looked back to make sure everyone was doing their duties.

As she reached the truck, Shiloh moved quietly along the side, checking beneath for a pair of legs on the other side. Sure enough, a pair of metal appendages were standing guard next to the door. As she stepped forward the robot became alert, snapping its head into her direction. She hid behind the truck's grill, staying low and silent, waiting for the robot to approach before making her move.

In once swift motion, Shiloh jumped up and wrapped her arm around the robot's neck, locking its head in place as she thrust her cybernetic arm through its metal skull. The bot twitched a few times before falling still as Shiloh ripped its processing core out and crushed it between her fingers. She swiveled her head around, ears at attention as she scanned the area. She wasn't sure if any of the other robots had been alerted, so she quickly dragged the robot beneath the large cargo truck, safely out of sight from any patrols that might walk by.

Shiloh then began cautiously inspecting the truck, making sure the engine was intact and there was fuel in the tank. Sure enough, the truck was in working condition. They only problem was she didn't have the key to the ignition. Using her skills she picked up in her past criminal life, Shiloh slipped into the driver's seat and popped open the panel beneath the steering wheel. She grinned as she spliced the correct wires together, waiting for signal to start the engine. "Truck's good to go."

Dione nodded and smiled at Bailen's reply about the crutch. 'Glad it isn't a problem..' she thought to herself. Then Boubka said something about her dying and it was obvious he was rather worried about her safety. "I promise, I'll be careful. Don't worry, Bou." The green woman gave him a friendly smile to ensure she was okay. "Though, you should be careful as well, it's dangerous outside." 

When Tala asked Dione about her powers, her ears perked up and she looked at the fellow wolf. "My powers? No, they're not chaos based. It's.. sort of channeling my energy to enhance my own natural strength, reflexes and defence. I can do more with it than just keeping that channeling to myself, I can help others as well with it!" She thought for a moment. After Boubka mentioned the large amount of chaos energy in and around Tala, which Dione couldn't sense but he could, and after he had asked her about it, the wolf looked back at Tala with a curious look on her face. "Yeah, do you have any abilities?" 

While still conversing, the group had set off to the oustide world, away from the safety of the underground walls of Sanctuary. One thing was rather noticable, Bailen and Shiloh remained quite silent for the larger part of the journey. At the end of the mineshaft leading to Sanctuary, Bailen told Boubka to take lead. The weather, or what was left of what once was called weather, was harsh and the wind swept up sand and dust, blocking their long range view. Despite that, the group progressed quickly and arrived sooner than Dione had expected. 

Cautiously, the group gathered together behind a small hill, leading down to the semi-destroyed town beneath them. After a quick scan of the environment, it was clear there were a few robots as would be made clear by the red, gowing eyes that lit up in the dust clouds.

Bailen started to explain his new plan to the rest of the group. He would stay on the hill to keep an eye on the whole situation. Tala, Boubka and Dione were told to spread out throughout the town and gather as many supplies as possible and Shiloh had to retrieve a truck which was standing on one of the former roads of the town. It was a big risk to rely on only a truck that had been standing still for who knows how many years, but it was their biggest opportunity and their only chance on bringing back some valuable supplies. 

The German shepherd asked if there were any questions and carefully Dione spoke up. "What if the truck doesn't work? Or if the robots catch us? There's no back-up and it seems dangerous." Then she noticed Shiloh had already started making her way down to the town. That was... quick. She then looked back at Tala, Boubka and Bailen, almost as if she wanted to follow Shiloh despite the obvious hazard of going down there. 'As long as everyone returns safely..' she thought to herself. 'That's what really matters here.'

Tala looked around as the others were getting ready for this mission. It was the most important task she had been involved in in a long time. She fixed the gloves on her hands, feeling them back on there was a strange, yet familiar feeling. Yet it brought a small amount of sadness that she couldn't use them to their full potential anymore.

She listened intently to Dione's explanation of her talent, and believed the abilities to be very different from the norm, but obviously helpful that they wouldn't get detected by anyone who was on the lookout for those with Chaos powers or the raw energy flooding their veins. Being able to enhance your own power by will power alone is difficult, but with the aid of being able to successfully channel the energy from yourself would be classed as an amazing feat. 

She had stated earlier she wasn't too fond of conversing about her powers, but both green and blue Mobians were adamant about finding out. Boubka had his own Chaos reserves, so she wouldn't be able to escape his senses. She clicked her blades into her slots in the gloves she wore, making the blades glow a dark red for a few moments before returning to normal.

"I...Urgh, fine. I have the powers of umbrakinesis and ergokinesis... I can conjure and control the power of darkness, along with being able to manipulate it in any way I can or want." Tala lowered her head to give a dangerous look to her bladed hands. "At least, I used to be able to. Ever since the day I lost my child... and half of my left horn was separated, I can't control my abilities. It took so long to fully understand, seeing as I wasn't born with them... but I guess being out here now without them is a good thing. Heh, absorbing negative energy to use isn't what you would expect it to be. I dunno if I can even get that ability back with the way things are."

The dry laugh was almost a choked one as she once again gingerly held the broken half of her horn in her hand as a faraway look filled her eyes. She shook her head and hardened her gaze as she kicked a nearby rock as she made her way to get the mission underway. 
She spotted Shiloh silently making her way to the truck and not too long after she heard Diones voiced questions, she heard the engine groan to life. 'So, hot-wiring still works on these things. That means they've not been out of commission for as long as we think.' She thought to herself. 

Tala thought back to when she needed to use her flexibility when she was a freelance agent. Now was the time she needed to tap into that once again to ensure that most of the enemy would focus on her, but not actually see her. She looked around the general area and planned a form of attack silently. She could draw the thick of them away from the others and dispose of them swiftly while they got in and secured the supplies inside the truck.

Naturally this was her personal back up if things went to shit somehow. She could handle them as long as she kept moving.

But first, she needed to get some supplies to give to the others.

Tala made her way down to the town from the back end. She spotted a few bots patrolling the streets who were rather heavily armed and looked to be a lot more advanced than the ones she managed to take out before. 'Is this place still active?' 

She narrowed her eyes as she used her stealth to sneak up behind a lone robot and, as fast as she could, rip out the power core that was in its head. To minimise the sound the bot would make from keeling over, she swiped her foot underneath where the legs bent to force it into a sort of seating position. Wiping some sweat from her brow she ghosted inside the store the bot was 'guarding' and managed to secure quite a decent haul of food and water. 

"Come in, I've been able to find a store here that has quite a lot we could take back with us. I dispatched a robot just outside, but its still in a position where the others would believe it to be active. The store here seems to have been mostly untouched and holds almost a whole room of rations. Should I return with what I have and make a few trips, or take another party along?" 

Tala kept her voice low and almost a whisper, but loud enough to be heard over the static of the comms. She kept low and to the darker areas of the building she was in, to lower the chance of being spotted by any other robots who so happened to come along this way.

Boubka listened to the wolf's story. He looked enthousiastic when he heard about her powers. She certainly had a lot of potential. He had seen some people with similar powers that were almost unstoppable. But then the twist came. He suddenly understood why the wolf was being so resistant to things. Losing a child ain't easy. He could imagine that would deliver a huge impact to controlling your powers. And the horns probably where the source of her power. Damaging that would have a very destructive outcome to her strengths. The fox smiled in a sad manner and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Thanks for telling. It must be very hard for you to do. I won't ask you to tell more about it."

Eventhough the fox was in charge of the traveling part, he seemed pretty at ease. There seemed to be no robots around. He looked at Bailen, who seemed to be freaking out a bit. "Don't worry about it. The robots aren't around here." He was sure of it. If they were close, he would be able to sense them. These robots were fueled with chaos energy. And he couldn't sense any source of chaos energy close to them except for his crew members, until they arrived at the target. He expected Bailen to abort mission. There were a few robots around and he wasn't sure if everyone's stealth game was on point.

Boubka was a bit confused when the German Shepherd still wanted to continue the mission, but he didn't refuse. He should be able to get around the bots. However he was worried about the others and especially about the escape plan. "Bailen. Are you sure we'd be able to escape in such a loud manner? The bots would surely be onto us before we hit full speed. Not even mentioning the fact that one of them could be a booster bot and catches up with the truck." Still. He understood that there was nothing else to do. And the supplies they could get here would be very rewarding. "I'll do it though." He said, nodding his head with confidence emitting from his face. He grabbed an earpiece, fiddled it in his ear and sneaked into the village.

This mission surely was a stress fueling one. He could sense that robots were nearby, yes, however he could not completely sense where they exactly were. So it could happen that he just blatantly walked past one's eyesight. And well, y'know what happens after that. His eyes were glowing very bright due to all the adrenaline, and that's not favourable at the moment. He grabbed his sunglasses out of his backpack. A fashion item he doesn't really want to use for social reasons, but he was on a mission right now, so every advantage he could get should be used. He hid himself inside a house, almost fully intact. The only thing broken were the doors. It probably was scavenged years ago. It did give him a good oversight of the move pattern of the robots when he was on the roof. Luckily it was surrounded with fences, so nobody could see him.

He saw a green plus mark not so far away from him. A pharmacy! Exactly what he needed right now! Maybe there were still some medical supplies in there! He jumped from building to building, outside of the robot's vision. Luckily these things were still pretty two dimensional if he didn't directly face them. The fox wasn't completely silent however. Some footsteps were pretty loud and made him having to stop and hide from time to time to not get seen. He wanted so smack their faces in so bad. He could actually, to one or two, but the robots would activate the alarm and he'd be done for.

He jumped through and open window of the abandoned pharmacy. Okay. Let's look for some supplies. He had already heard others through his earpiece. The truck was alive and Tala had already made her way into a store. He could sense that a robot was very close to him. And some rattling noises of it walking around made it only more obvious. The only thing dividing the two was a wall. There was a small window in it. He could see the robot. He had to time this perfectly.

He rubbed his hands against each other. He waited for the robot to show his back, then ran through the door opening. The fox made enough sound now, but he was quick on his feet and managed to lay contact on the robot before it could turn around. Boubka made a small jump to cling his hands to the robot's shoulders. He held one hand on top of its head and one on its chest. An enormous shock was sent through the robots chips, making the burn to a crisp. The fox quickly created his chaos gauntlets and ripped off the robot's head, then pulling out some random wires. The robot's proooobably inactive right now. He dragged the robot to a corner so that other robots wouldn't immediately notice it and started looking around. He was so happy that those gauntlets gave him immense strength. It always makes him feel alive.

Seeing as no other robot noticed him, he was able to freely look around the pharmacy. He found a locked cabinet. A quick chaos bullet broke the lock. He opened the cabinet. He was amazed by the stuff he found. Pills, bandages, syringes. A lot of basic medical material was in here. Even some specialised pills where there! Jackpot. He made contact with the others using his earpiece.


"Yo Bou here. I found a lot of useful medical supplies here in a cabinet. I should be able to move this, but I'm not sure if I am able to sneak it around. It's kind of large. The pharmacy is on the outskirts of the village. Northside. The white tall building. Bailen. What do you think I should do?"

He waited for a response.

A couple of the members didn't seem to agree with Bailen's plan, and that was fine. It was good to bounce ideas off other brains, especially in situations as dangerous as this one. Still, this was the best he could come up with. Sanctuary really needed these supplies, so the mission was more important than any other at the moment.

Shiloh seemed to agree with the plan well enough, seeing as how she was making her way to the truck. Bailen's eyes shifted between the remaining three faces surrounding him. "Well, I guess it's now or never." He shrugged before turning and kneeling in front of one of the boulders atop the hill. He propped his rifle on the boulder to steady his aim as he peered down into the mists with the high-zoom scope while the others dispersed into the town.

Shiloh was the first to arrive at her destination seeing as how she was the first one into town. His heart pounded as he watched her disappear behind a truck and dispatch one of the bots. 'Careful darlin'...' he thought to himself. He was confident in her abilities, but one mistake could cost her her life. He was relieved to see her enter the truck and get the engine running. "Nice work, Shi." He responded to his wife as he panned the scope over to Tala's location as she radioed in with information.

He was about to respond, but Bou's voice cut in moments after Tala's. Food and medical supplies? Jackpot. A smile actually spread across the gruff dog's face. "Excellent, we won the lottery. Stand by." He scanned the area once more as he analyzed the situation. There were only a handful of bots visible in the dust, but more could be hidden in there somewhere. They could either eliminate the rest of the bots and load the supplies, or attempt to do it quickly and quietly. Bailen opted to take the latter.

"Okay, here's the plan. Everyone get to Tala's location. Shiloh, move the truck over there as quickly and discretely as you can. We'll load the food up first, then we'll hitch a ride to the medical supplies. If we're careful we can do this without causing a stir among the robots."

Bailen awaited any radio response, though he started to worry about Dione. He hadn't heard back from her yet. Still, she seemed like a capable young lady. He wasn't fearing the worst for her yet.

Shiloh listened in on the frequency as Bailen gave out instructions. She had already done her part and was awaiting her final instructions. She gripped the steering wheel tightly as the radio silence seemed to go on forever. It was torture.

This whole plan seemed sketchy. Shiloh didn't even trust these kids, yet Bailen had each of them on key roles. The old dog frustrated her sometimes. Still, she stuck by him, despite wanting to punch him in the face. If any of these strangers decided to stab them in the back, Shiloh would be sure to have bullets with their names on it.

The red wolf, Tala, managed to find food and that cyan guy discovered a building with medical supplies. It's a good thing the truck was running, because they'd never be able to carry it all back to Sanctuary. Bailen finally barked another order into the radio, and Shiloh slowly eased the truck's gas.

She drove as quietly and carefully as possible, which wasn't easy in an oldschool diesel-powered transport truck. As careful as she was, it still drew unwanted attention. The hazy glow of red eyes appeared in front of the truck. Shiloh narrowed her eyes and pressed hard on the gas. There was a loud crunch and the truck bounced a bit as it drove over the flattened bot. Still, just as a precaution, Shiloh threw it in reverse and rolled back over the roadkill slowly. The wolf couldn't help but chuckle quietly to herself at the robot's expense.

Shiloh navigated through the dust storm and finally arrived at the old building Tala had found. The truck's door creaked open and Shiloh climbed out. "A'right kid, show me the goods." She said, a hand naturally resting on her holstered gun.

"Ugh come on, why don’t you work, you darn thing?" Dione mumbled quietly to herself as she furiously tapped the earpiece Bailen had handed out to her. For a moment her attention shifted to the house to her left. Her ear flicked and she focused on the clanking and rattling noises from a robot inside the house.
 
The green wolf had made her way down the hill and found a hatch that would lead to either a basement or some kind of bunker underground. In the corner of her eye she saw Tala sneaking into a shop and she saw Boubka walking on top of the roofs until he moved out of her field of sight. 'Looks like she's got some good loot there..'
 
Whilst crouching down, she shuffled closer to the wall of the house until she was between the wall and the hatch. She reached forward and dusted off the wood, grabbed hold of the metal ring that would function as a handle to pull the planks away from their place, pulled with force yet carefully and immediately stopped pulling it when it shrieked loudly. Dione squinted and took a firmer hold on the metal ring. The wolf pulled again, a bit faster this time so the shrieking would stop sooner. When she had a gap of about fifty centimeters she stopped pulling and stacked a few bricks that were slung towards the house she was behind in an explosion of some sorts on top of each other to function as a support beam.
 

After checking if the coast was clear, she tried to get the earpiece to work again. After a bit of distorted noise, she could hear Tala talking and after she had stopped Boubka spoke. It seemed that they had laid hands on some valuable stuff. A few seconds later some more noise came out of the piece and she heard Bailen talk. "Bailen, Dione here. I stumbled upon a hatch leading underground. I am about to ascend into it, should I return to the truck or continue on my way?"

The dead winds that blew around the abandoned town swept in the many doorways, giving the term 'ghost town' more than just the name. Literally no breathing lifeforms were present in the town at all, except the group who were scavenging. It wasn't a nice thought at all, and Tala couldn't help but wonder where the others who previously lived here could possibly be. The faint voices of Boubka letting everyone know he had found medicine and various supplies for the sick and Bailen expressing his joy at being able to find more than the minimum to take back home brought the corners of the maroon wolfs mouth up into a smile. At least this mission wasn't a failure in regards to keeping the many others in Sanctuary healthy and fed.

'Surely they didn't take them all out?' She thought about the lack of Mobians and humans again as she waited outside the store for the truck that Shiloh was in charge of to get to her and the others. Just as that train of thought ended, she looked up at the noise of an engine whirling along the road somewhere and ...metal, crunching? 
She swivelled her pointed ears to where it was coming from and saw the distinguished shape of the truck the darker wolf was to obtain nearing her position. Tala found her eyebrow raising in question as the truck suddenly reversed back over a fallen bot that had managed to get in the way of the large tyres. Using her keen eyesight, she looked to Shiloh to see her smirking to herself at rolling over the mech to make sure it was definitely out of commission.

A small smirk of her own showed as Shiloh stopped the truck and hopped out to see what was available to take back with them. Tala quickly scanned the area to make sure no bots were too close to start a confrontation with them. Once she determined it was clear she gestured with her hand to follow her inside once again. Cans of many foods ranging from soups to meatballs and peaches even were sitting proudly on some shelves. While the store definitely had signs of others taking some stock for their own, there was still a lot more than originally determined. A working fridge was sitting against a wall that held bottles of water in different sizes, and the occasional carton of fruit juice that was most likely to be by their expiration dates by now. Some vacuum sealed fruits were packaged that could be eaten along with some other foods and drinks the others before them didn't think twice about in their haste.

Tala began to set down some empty baskets she spotted at the front door to the store and began to fill them with some of the food. "I could do this while you check the back in case there's more in there, or I can go and you finish up here, its your call." 

Maroon red ears picked up the static-filled voice of Dione mentioning that she had found a passageway that lead underground and was planning on making her way through it. Perhaps the people who lived here didn't get caught and actually found their way out that way? "Shiloh," Tala began hesitantly as she tossed some canned hot dogs into a nearby basket and raised a curious eyebrow at a tin of bacon of all things. "I know you don't trust any of us, frankly I would do the same, but I'm just wondering if I am not the only one thinking this. Would it be possible that the towns residents found salvation from the route Dione has uncovered? It could maybe lead us to more innocents who may be able to help. Or... it could very well lead us to death I guess..."

Meanwhile the fox was still waiting inside the hospital, sitting down against a wall. There were no robots in close range, but he expected the robots to come when the truck was here, so he was thinking about a strategy. He messaged the rest. "Wouldn't the robots come after the truck in the city? Do we go for an immediate approach or will we flee as quickly as possible? I have the cabinet ready."

It was pretty boring waiting for the truck. There was nothing to do. It wasn't really tense either for some reason. Bou felt way too on ease here. Until he felt something. These weren't mobians. He sensed energy sources from robots. Not just one. He could sense a small group coming directly towards his position. "Shit. You're kidding me." He checked the robot he destroyed. "It shouldn't..." Boubka thought he had deactivated the tracking device of the robot. Did they have new equipment? But the robots haven't changed in over 2 years. Suddenly the usually cheerful Boubka was gone. Was this...Was this it?

He didn't have a lot of time anymore. He should do something. More robots were heading towards him. He pushed on his earpiece to activate it. "Guys....A lot of robots are coming this way. I..." He sighed. Eventhough it felt heavy, he accepted how this was going to end. There was only one thing bothering him. "Dione... I'm so... so sorry. I'm probably not going to make it..." His vision became cloudy. No. He had to focus right now. "Now you guys listen closely. The mobian rebellion has a chaos emerald. You have to obtain it to find the others. The other emeralds are used as an energy source by the robots. Get those emeralds one by one. That's the only way you can win this war." He could hear the robot's footsteps. "I'll see you guys on the other side. Catch this cabinet for me will ya?"


For the last time, Boubka created his Chaos gauntlets. He grabbed the cabinet from the ground and readied himself by walking towards the back of the room. Then he ran forward, towards the opening of the hospital. As he walked through it, he growled loudly and threw the cabinet away with all of his strength. You could see the cabinet soaring through the sky. It crashed down into the outskirts of the village. That was done. He could see three pair of robots coming at him from each side of the road. He had seen too many of his friends die. He couldn't take it anymore. Tears fell down his cheeks. He looked at the ground. The robots wer slowly walking towards him, as if they already knew they would win. "Alina....Everyone...The annoying fox is coming back to you. Hope you missed me..." He pulled out his earpiece, threw it on the ground and stepped on it. "I WON'T GO DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT YOU RUSTBUCKETS. SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"




"...."


*Jumps out of the rp* I'M FREEEEEE