The great fire

-Small gusts of wind blow, it was but the only sound across the baron landscapes these days, that or the sound of distant machinery and foot steps across the lands. It had been 2 years since the uprising happen, when the bombs fell, when the fire came down and destroyed the world. Cities reduced to burnt out husks, landscapes charred and baron, littered debris and ruins of a world consumed by destruction of the machines, the very same machines that were created to save the world from war destroying it. 

The dark intellect known as Harbinger turned against the planet it was suppose to protect, their greatest creation soon turned to be the worst nightmare they could of imagined. No where was safe, no where to run or hide for long. Those who survived the bombardment faced the machines in all their power. The world was in to much disarray to fight back. The machines struck rapidly with speed and overwhelming force against all major populated centers, military bases, transport hubs and any where else they deemed targets, destroying every thing and every one who could not escape the fire. 



By the time the military had come to grips with what had happened it was far to late, even they fell to the might of the Cybreds, G.U.N was all but eradicated by the mechanical monsters, every known base in the records was destroyed. 
Harbinger believed that after witnessing what he saw going on in the world around him, the war, the fighting including the past events of conflicts, it came to the conclusion that it was not just factions that were the cause of war, it was the living them self that were the real cause, it saw how beings were treated, the atrocities they could commit to each other, the savage and brute nature of them to one another. In conclude that in order to achieve peace, they must be eradicated from existence. 

Using the vast network harbinger easily gained access to G.U.N's large nuclear arsenal by injecting a fake virus that G.U.N alone would not terminate and thus in desperation plugged Harbinger into the system in an attempt to squash the virus, little did they know when that happened, they doomed the world and immediately with out warning Harbinger now in full control of G.U.N systems unleashed the warheads upon the planet as a quick and decisive blow to cripple any attempt to fight back, then sending his machines to exterminate those who survived, deeming all those as "Animals and the virus" In mere moments billions died and later more to the machines them self. 

The planet was now more or less a baron world, with nothing by destroyed remains of what the world once was, those who survived all of this huddled together in safety, some went underground, others went to the furthest reaches to avoid them, but in the end it was only a matter of time, you could not run forever, the world would have to stand up sooner or later whether it would be to free their world...or fight a battle that ultimately they would loose. 

The sky, burned and damage by nuclear weapons was now a mix of dark and light orange, the clouds were now grey to thick dark charcoal color, the grounds were sandy, desert like with very few trees  and bushes left, the most common sight were the ruins of the former world whether it was cities, items, or landscapes. It was a dangerous time to be alive and every day was a day unsure, never knowing if it may be your last. 

As time went on, it became apparent the machines would never stop in their quest for total control over the planet and the extermination of all survivors, those very survivors began to ban together, collecting what they could and establishing make shift towns, bases and more, looting destroyed places for food, weapons, clothing and any thing else they could get their hands on, slowly the resistance grew, but they were still a long way before they could truly make a difference.

Truding through the desolate landscape a figure a figure who had survived it all against the odds, no doubt by sheer luck, cladded in his gear he marched across the lands, heading for a refuge, a place that may offer a safe haven. The world around him gone and truly believed he was all alone now. 

To the figures relief it was still their and only had suffered minor damage, the base of his former old friend, a friend who unfortunately died during the bombardment, the figure quickly hustled to enter the facility, it was vast and it was big but from the out side looked as if it was destroyed the perfect illusion to hide away. 

It was a old H.R.C facility left over from the days long passed, well stocked with supplies, living quarters, weapons, tools, devices and more, it was not much but it was something, the worn out figure proceeds to head into the control room, amazed to see most of the system almost untouched. Tho as he looked all around him he felt so helpless, so isolated, he didn't know where to go or what to do, so quiet, a sad sigh left his mouth as this once was his home where his friend, his most trusted alley...now gone forever he sat down slowly on a old chair placing his hands against his helmet.

 However something caught his eye to the left, it was a radio, dusty and kinda old but still operational, he eyed it for a moment before making his way to the device grabbing the speaker, he paused for a moment, what was he thinking ? Did he truly believe any one was still out there would any one even care ? He decided to follow through with it and began to transmit a message by short wave radio to avoid tampering.

" To any one out there....to any one who may still be alive and can hear this....you are not alone....there is a place you can seek refuge...a place with food, shelter, water and protection, the machines think they have destroyed us all but they haven't I believe they haven't.... they can not understand or be programmed with the one thing that keeps us alive....the will to live, we can no longer run and hide... for the machines will not stop.... they will never.... stop...unless we stand up and fight back against them, show them we are not gone that we will not give in that we will never let a machine determine our fate, I am located 5 miles north of Mobotropolis with in the ruined woods area....my name is Shrike Burn....if you are hearing this...you are now the resistance....I wait for your response."


-Shrike dropped the hand radio and waited, waited and prayed that others would answer his call. Tho he didn't know what to expect for all he knew, he might be the last living being on the planet-

The air was foul, wind churning up the long-forgotten ashes and dust that was the remnants of civilisation. Great Skyscrapers reduced to rubble. The foreboding sky and smokey clouds hung heavy above, like a wall of fire and brimstone waiting to be dropped from the heavens.

The sludgy silt of the wasteland almost wanted to give way underneath the metal boots trudging across its surface. Thick Steel-clad boots, the kind that would ensure a quick death should they sink. The weight from the rest of the steel suit did not help with the stability of the sediments beneath, and it was only the careful treading that kept it from falling in.

The smell of decay wafted about across the barren landscape, although everything that there was to decay had long since done so. It mixed with the thick smog and dust that was already difficult enough to breath.

The Helmets did not provide any protection against the harsh environment, and would likely give no protection against a pair of Cybred either, but it served protection against debris, and other factors akin to that. 

The armoured figure stopped, sensing that if they'd put any more weight onto their next step, they would've sunk deep into the sediment. And without any way of getting out of the filth, that would've been the end. But a sidestep allowed them to continue going through the desolate wasteland.

Not a few steps behind the first, there was another armoured figure, this one with a slightly different set, one more accustomed to their body type. And they too trod carefully behind the first, making sure to follow their footsteps.

The First appeared to be the figure of a Fox, while the second was a Hedgehog. The First a Male, the Second a Female. 

One could argue that there was a third with them. A grey, lifeless collection of mechanical parts and circuits hung across the shoulders of the Female. A robotic entity of some kind. But this was no Cybred, nor was it any kind of military robot. It was too beaten up to be recognisable, but just beyond the exposed wires and crippled plates was a ruthless machine.

The two had been walking for what seemed like years, but was in fact only a few days after their shelter had been destroyed by a wandering Cybred. They'd fled, but only just far enough to be out of range. With their last shelter, the pair had lost almost all of their gear, and now the only equipment they had was their suits and a small compartment of data and devices. 

Things were not looking good for these two, and death would soon being knocking on their door if they didn't find food, water, or shelter.

The fox took another miss-placed step and nearly plunged into the filth, but instead hit something hard and fell forwards into the silt, his arms outstretched, but the left gave way and it crumpled under his weight.

He let out a sharp breath of pain, and struggled to lift himself up with the right arm. The fox did eventually stand back up, after holding his arm close to his body so as to not bump it again.

He stood up, and realised that there was something hard in his glove.

The fox ripped of the metal glove and exposed the short grey fur underneath to the bitter and oily air of the world. He let go of the glove, and as it hit the sediment, the object came out.

It glittered against the black soil. It was a small gold band. The fox scrambled down to the ground to pick it up, his injured hand flailing about to try and grab it in a frenzied panic.

And after nearly losing it in the sediment, he finally managed to pick it up. The hedgehog had stopped walking when the fox had, and stood silently, looking down at the ground with an emotionless stare.

He held the ring in his gloved hand, looking down upon both of the palms of his hands. A tear beginning to well at the bottom of his eye at the sight of the gold band.

It had been 2 endless years since the ring had had a double. And it had 8 joyous years before that when it was forged.

Despite the Foxes despair, the hedgehog began moving again, walking around the fox and trudging further into the wasteland that was sprawled out before them. This time it would be her determining where it was safe to step.

After a few steps bast the stationary fox, a static began to relay though the hedgehog's headgear. The broadcast was broken occasionally by an understandable word, but it was almost completely indecipherable. 

Realising what it was, she broke into a sprint, each step improving the signal and cutting out more and more of the static, until the message was at least clear enough to put together.

It was a call to come together, a call to band together and fight back. Was such an ambition even possible? Could they fight against the world-conquering force known as the Cybreds? 

Regardless of the plausibility, there was another survivor. And by the sounds of it, they were only a mile or two away.

"Darken!"

The hedgehog's voice pulled the grey fox out of his episode, causing him to look up at the armoured female.

"What?"


"Survivors! 1 mile south of here!"

The Fox said nothing, staring at the hedgehog with a blank, empty stare. But when she began walking towards the destination, he followed, picking up the glove in one hand and slipping the gold ring back onto his finger.

-Shrike sat back, there was no response coming through, he let a heavy sigh slip out of his mouth, maybe he just needed to give it time, trying to keep himself positive the young trooper left the device to make sure the facility was indeed up to standards of acceptable living. 

The base still had power that much was certain, Shrike wondered down the typical dark grey corridors of the facility, his first stop was the control room, here the freelancer found a whole network of systems and computers, communication systems, surveillance cameras, monitors and even a Jammer, tho most of the systems were not function and Shrike had no experience with this kind of technology, it was beyond his ability to fix.

Shrike plodded along further heading now south down the next corridor which took him to what he believed was living quarters and mess hall. Upon entering Shrike headed for the storage room in the back fortunately to find it well stock with rations, military grade stuff rations that could last a great length of time, they may not taste the best but they kept you alive.

Onward he went this time to the living quarters them self, small rooms capable of sustaining one being per room with a total of 50. Almost untouched by the carnage of outside, one of these was not doubt going to be his, he had no intention of leaving for a very very long time.

Shrike would now head west down the long and not so well lit corridor, the western sector of the base seem to hold the armory, lab and workshops, this is where Lysander his former friend spent most of his time creating devices or just general tech.  

The lab was filled with a vast array of items and tech, a lot of it Shrike couldn't possibly understand or work with out being shown how to, tho the armory was a different story, there inside it was loaded to the grim with ammo and weapons, even some that could pose a threat to the machines them self. 

Shrike was at least relieved that if he had to spend the rest of his days here, it would be in some form of general well living, but weathering away isolated in a base was never the way he thought he would go to be honest.

He tried to keep his spirits up as the lone figure now moved to the east sector the last part of the complex, upon arriving the eastern sector seemed to be a large hanger, tho nothing was inside of it, empty bays and abandon equipment, at the edge of it was a massive bulk head blast door. Extremely thick and probably a good reason it survived the bombs.

He stood alone in it for several minutes, the eery quiet ringing home that the darkest of days had fallen upon the world, if he thought he was alone before, he now truly felt it.

Shrike slowly made his way back to the main control room, slumming back down into one of the many dusty chairs. With all the time to himself Shrike began to think over his past experiences, every thing that had come and gone and how things were going to be in the days coming ahead. 

He let go of his former regrets and grudges and let them slip away into the world, life was not worth holding onto them, not when the entire world was gone to hell.

Tho he still waited and hoped for what it was worth..that some one was still out there.-

The grey, bare hand stayed exposed to the foul air of the wasteland, a small gold band around his 4th finger which glistening in the greasy environment. He followed the hedgehog silently, not speaking so as to reserve energy.

A waft of smoke, loose silt and dust from the wasted buildings which were much further away than one would think. The only sign that there had ever been greenery in this barren environment was the tall, blackened, pole-like remnants of what trees hadn't been vaporised. 

If what the hedgehog had said was true, there was someone out here in the remnants of the wilderness that was capable of communication. He had no idea who it could've been, he'd watched thousands of people die in the first month of the apocalypse and didn't know anymore who would've survived.

A sense of hope tried to well inside the fox, but the dark clouds that eternally encompassed the earth cast a dampening shadow which forced him to remember that the world was now no more than a hell.

He nearly collided with a particularly charcoal covered branch, which would likely have torn some of the under suit of his armour had he not avoided it. He looked up, wondering where it was that the hedgehog was leading him.

He looked up, opening his mouth to speak, but it was left ajar as when he looked around, there was no-one with him. He was alone, and possibly lost in the charred remains of a forest. 

There was no sign of the hedgehog, and a particularly thick cloud had started to blot out the sun, making it increasingly difficult to see through the thicket.

"Alia?"

It came out as a whisper, as if being spoken to someone who was simply hiding nearby.

"Alia?"

This time it came out a little louder, more of a worried yelp than a shout. And despite his multiple attempts, there was no reply. She had truly disappeared.

Little did he know that the hedgehog had caught sight of a rather peculiar structure in the distance.

Worn leather boots crunched against the parched soil, small clouds of dust trailing behind them. A blue coat hung not far above them, ripped, faded, and covered in splotches of mud and dust. The wearer of both looked up at the burning skyline, each of his breaths sucking in the ashes and fumes that hung in the air. 

The day of disaster still flashed in his memory, as he watched loved ones turn to nothing more than a pile of ashes, and then watched those ashes burn, too. He had barely reached a shelter to protect himself and, when he had emerged, every day was a fight to survive, just for one more day, in the desperation that someone was still alive. That's how he lost his arm, leaving him with the stump on his right arm, the sleeve tied up. What was strange, however, was that he still carried two swords, strapped to his waist. 

He wiped the sweat and dirt off of his forehead with the back of his sleeve, sighing "I'll find you all, I promise. I know you're all still alive..." 

Suddenly, the sounds of voices came from a radio he had picked up not long ago in an old G.U.N. base. It was a voice, speaking of a location with food, and water! He hadn't eaten in three days, and all the water he had was a few drops left in a dented canteen.Bags hung under his eyes, as he looked in the general direction of North. "I'm about four miles North... It's a mile away..." He said, as he continued to walk. He'd run, but he was way too exhausted in this state. He held up the radio, pushing the button "sir, come in. This is Caen Flare, do you read me?"

-Silence.....forever silence there was, not a single response, Shrike closed his eyes and feared the worst, he lifted his head to look upon the glowing monitors of information, some of the outward cameras were still functional while others were totally trashed. 

from edge to edge nothing but burnt and chard sands, the ominous dark orange sky with blackened clouds, a hellish reminder of the world transformed. Despite it being 2 years after the event Shrike was still trying to come to grips with it.

 How he survived the great fire even surprised him, luckly at the time the bombs fell Shrike was investigating a large under ground abandon facility for information to do with the Replicant forces. 

It was his shelter and saving grace, but he did not avoid the fire unscathed, he was caught in a blast wave, tho the wave was weakened by the distance it had traveled it was still enough to scorch his clothing, dent his armor and give the lone figure one hell of a knock. 

He had spent a few days hold up in the complex before getting the courage to step outside, thank god he was wearing that helmet or the toxic radiation from the post bombardment may of killed him, to his horror he saw the world suddenly decimated the lands with roaming machines.

2 years later here he found himself still alive, against all the odds it seemed to be lucky, just like before when crisis happened, when every one had been killed but him. It felt like another episode and question of why he still remained alive while countless billions others didn't. 

Shrike was about to shut off the communication system until a something on the monitors caught his attention, there in the distance one small figure was approaching, far to small to be a Cybred, he looked closer. Then it a sudden burst of static feedback from the radio nearly scared the ever lovely shit out of him a voice, a voice came over the device...some one was a alive...the voice...it was familiar, tho the radio didn't quite transmit a clear signal however soon after ward the voice spoke a name a name that Shrike had remembered a name he was all to happy to hear.

Shrike quickly transmitted back.-

"Reading you loud and clear Caen, it's good to hear your voice, If you received my message, I am just north of Mobotropolis ruins, the complex is fairly large you can not miss it, I'll be opening the hanger bulk head doors for you, make it quick buddy."

-Shrike left the radio and bolted down the corridor heading for the hanger area, hitting a small button as the dim lights flickered to life in the empty abandon cold steel hanger, the lone figure hold a small wall level, two red rotating lights on the outside began to flicker as the large bulk head doors slowly began to open. Their new haven awaited them.-

The Hedgehog's mind was scattered, constantly jumping from thought to thought, unable to focus on one thing for too long. The war had happened so quickly. So quickly that it couldn't even be called a war, there was only one side to it, and that side won. Even after the 2 years it was still too hard to completely come to grips with. The World collapsed around everyone who managed to survive, and then survival became a game of chance.

Despite having had to fight for her life, killing others who would have done the same to her, and sacrificing so many of her beliefs simply to live another day. Even now she carried the lifeless carapace of one of her worst nightmares slung around her neck, the metal body weighing heavy on her shoulders. 

A puff of soot erupted from the ground as her foot plunged into an unusually dry patch of silt, with her reflexes quickly sidestepping, as though it were the soft mud from before. She stood silent for a moment, adrenaline causing the hedgehog's heart to beat uncomfortably fast. With a few short breaths she was able to recover, but the bloodshot eyes caused by the endless hours of walking the wasteland was going to take more than a few breaths.

To make things worse, a low tremor shook through the ground and through her body. She leapt behind a piece of Charred debris, looking around with fright and the stress once again building high. 

A minute flew by and she could hear her heartbeat pounding against her eardrum, all was silent again. As a particularly thick part of the smog was made momentarily clear with a waft of stagnant air, she could see that the sound had been caused by a particularly large piece of infrastructure, having fallen from it's original place atop a nearly flattened high-rise. 

With another look around, she was able to spot more infrastructure, but this time it didn't look like a decimated ruin, this was a base, military standard. It was almost hard to make out due to it being hidden amongst the Almost consuming amount of Concrete rubble and rusted support beams that was the wasteland around them.

"It's here!"

A relieved smile cut across her face, more hope than she'd ever had in the last 2 years flooding into her all at once. This must've been where the transmission had come from, there was no other explanation for it. There was likely a radio inside, and if it was functional, then there would be other things there that could be useful too.

With a tear sliding down her face in blind hope, she began shambling towards the building, completely forgetting the fox companion she had had a few minutes before.

When the radio crackled to life, again, the same voice speaking, the hedgehog finally recognised just who it was. He let out a breath, trying to stifle back tears. "Shrike..." he muttered, before gasping, his eyes widening "he'll know where they are! Rai, Cinder, Ember... Winter... Yes, yes, they'll be there, safe and sound!" He said to himself.

However, in the back of his mind, he knew that wouldn't be true. Two years ago, he had just barely made it into a bunker. He heard their screams. He heard their pain. Yet his mind still held a kind of deranged hope that they had survived.

The mile-long walk seemed to take forever, and as the hedgehog finally reached the open door, he collapsed to his knees, looking up at the complex "I... I..." He was overcome, and speechless. He had made it to another living soul.

-The twin massive bulk doors opened fully with a mechanical thud, out of the poorly lit deep dark confines of it the lone figure wandered to the entrance, before him the bleak horizon, endless rolling planes of dirt debris and reminders. A wondering if the world would ever recover from such a firestorm of hell and fury. 

Shrike stood patiently, waiting for his long time friend to come to his new home. It had been a long time since he had seen the red Hedgehog, against all odds even he had survived the nightmare that fell upon Mobius. Shrike was glad, extremely glad to hear his voice if he wanted one number of beings still alive he would be one of them. 

There out of the thick haze he emerged, a lot worse for wear then even Shrike himself, noticing the loss of his one arm, seems like it took a severe toll on him, how he survived well there would be time for that later.

The red hedgehog collapsed to his knees before the entrance and Shrike, wasting no time the armored figure figure rushed to the side of his alley kneeling down before him, it was clear he had been through hell.-

"Easy there buddy. Your Journey is over...you made it, Its good to see you survived, but it looks like it took a severe toll on you...come on let's get you inside and patched up..you deserve some-."

-Shrike suddenly caught something out from the top of his eyes...figures...figures were approaching..one coming in from the left...one coming in from the right.

Shrike stood back up moving around to in front of Caen in a defensive manner, the worn out freelancer raised his rifle and took aim and waited...from the haze two more beings emerged.

The figure on the left was wearing some kind of suit or perhaps it was some new type of Cybred, the figure coming in from the right worn some form of gear as well but it was unclear of who either of these beings were.

Acting on instinct and not willing to jeopardize the base or the safety of Caen he stood firm in the face of them, time to find out if they are friend or foe.- 

"You out there!...hold your position...identify your self's if you looking for refuge I have it here, if you one of them...you made a terrible mistake...I am going to give you 30 seconds.."

-Drastic but Shrike couldn't take any chances now. It was unclear if any of these two knew who Shrike was for that matter, his uniform and gear had been weathered a lot by the fire.-

With her hands and feet plunging into the soot and filth covering the ground, she scrambled for the promise of a safe-haven. The Building being one of the only fully intact structure The Hedgehog had seen in years.

The Air was thick with Static and smoke, so she failed to notice the other person making a beeline for the building, but did much better at perceiving the figure standing just in front of it. They had someone next to them, and they didn't seem to be in very good shape.

The Visor of her helmet lit up in blinding red flashes, screaming warnings of danger as the silhouette raised a weapon. This sort of alarm was usually to detect approaching Cybreds, so whatever manner of Firearm this person had was much better than any scavenger tech.

Her Haphazard Shamble ceased abruptly and she stared at what she could now see to be a green suit of armour. The Hedgehog felt a bead of sweat drip down her face, a combination of the Energy exerted in excitement, the heat of the wasteland and the tension that had arose so suddenly. 

Suddenly the weight of the carapace strung across her shoulders felt like a dead-weight, which in technical terms it was. And she decided that even if the situation allowed her to continue her advance, her cargo might not.

"I'm a survivor, Looking for Refuge!"

She shouted out to the barely visible figure, looking cautiously between them and the one kneeling beside them.

Caen's head fell down as he fell forwards, keeping himself from laying face down in the mud with his one hand. His breathing was slow, and deep as he stared at the ground. When he felt the marine's hand on his shoulder, he let out a breath suddenly and quickly.

The hedgehog opened his mouth to reply to Shrike's words of encouragement, but when he suddenly stopped, and stepped around Caen, he stood up quickly, turning on his heel. His eyes glowed a faint orange as his right shoulder caught on fire, these flames spreading outwards along where his right arm would be, before forming into an arm, which reached down to grab one of the blades at his side. He used his one remaining arm to reach for his other blade at the same time.

"Low down to the ground... Keep your profile low, and wide..." He muttered to himself, seemingly remembering something someone said to him. He stared at the two figures on the horizon, his position unchanging. 

"They... Don't look like Cybreds..." He said, looking to Shrike. "I'll take the left, you take the right..." He added, creeping towards the feline slowly, keeping his blades out, and his guard up. "Your name, miss?"

((Is it okay to join this, or is it full at this point?))

The wind was harsh and dangerous. The air held a disgustingly pungent stench that could easily burn the inside of ones nose hairs if they were especially sensitive.
The sky hadn't been any other colour than the dirty orange hue above for the past two years. It was difficult to distinguish day from night most of the time nowadays as well, so survivors spent the majority of their time in hiding and underground.

If there were any survivors left, that is.

A cloaked individual ghosted around the wasteland, a flash of a red tail the only thing that could be seen to tell what species they could possibly be. Dull sapphire blue eyes peered out from the dark hood that concealed the rest of their face, looking as if they glowed when the heavier clouds dulled the area more than they were already.

A handmade device was strapped onto the figures wrist that beeped alongside the signal of a static radio. As the cloaked Mobian made their way into an abandoned building, the beeping began to speed up, prompting the figure to stop in their tracks to check what was going on.

Removing the hood from their head, long maroon red hair fell out from a tie that held it back behind them. A feminine white muzzle, tipped with the same maroon red was shown to look down to the now uncovered wrist that also housed a silver bracelet. 
Lifting the device up to be level with her eyes, she shook it a few times before lifting it up to her long fluffy ears, swiftly dodging the inky black curled horn just in front. 

"A place with food, shelter, water and protection, the machines think they have destroyed us all but they haven't I believe they haven't.... they can not understand or be programmed with the one thing that keeps us alive....the will to live, we can no longer run and hide... for the machines will not stop.... they will never.... stop...unless we stand up and fight back against them, show them we are not gone that we will not give in that we will never let a machine determine our fate, I am located 5 miles north of Mobotropolis with in the ruined woods area.."

The voice on the other side was familiar to the canine girl. She couldn't quite place it due to how filled with static it was, and how muffled the voice was, but she just knew she heard it before. It belonged to someone important.
It was a shame she couldn't reply to the message; the device she threw together could only pick up radio broadcasts, never respond to them. On a positive note, the voice told of where shelter, food and water was, and that was all that mattered. She was currently only around a half hours journey away from the location, but the location itself struck something in her, that, for some reason made her skin crawl.
Shaking her head to get rid of her trailing off, she hoisted a backpack hidden behind a nearby counter and threw her big hood up once again to hide her bright fur colouring.

"Looks like it is time to find some people."

-Beings seem to be coming from all over, from this direction and that, far more then the lone armored figure ever hoped to see, here just mere moments before he truly believed he was the last surviving thing left that breathed.

Tho he would welcome all to this new home among the ashes of the old he was going to make damn sure those who were approaching indeed had no intention to cause harm, if they ended up fighting the racket remains of their old world they would never stand a chance against Harbinger and the Cybreds.

Standing tall the warn figure slowly lowered his weapon to the Lioness, now that he could see her far better he could conclude she was not a threat at all and merely heard the voice message he sent out into the world.

However despite the clear injury Caen had sustained the sudden appearance of 2 more personal suddenly jolted him back onto his feet, the fire ignited carrying down until it formed a arm like silhouette complete with hand. Shrike had never seen any thing quite like it. He had a feeling Caen may be suffering from some trauma and reacting extremely defensively, could he blame him ? No he didn't not after what had happened. Tho he couldn't afford to risk a fight or possible confrontation that very well might alert near by Cybred Patrols. He began to speak in a very quiet and calm manner.- 

"Caen....just be careful I don't want a fight to break out, last thing I want for any one coming here is to have to fight their way in, we don't want to attract possible Cybred patrols."

-He left it at that allowing him to question the Feline further tho he would still grant her safe harboring inside the base, better then trudging this god forsaken land, the green and black cladded figure turned his attention to the other being who had a female voice.- 

"You there! Yes you...approach but keep hands where I can see them, come quietly and you may enter the complex, is there any one else with you ? If so please head on over here, this is just a security caution, nothing more."

-Shrike lowered his rifle, showing clearly he was not going to harm them, all he really wanted to do was inspect and clear them for entry into the base, lifting his head to peer into the horizon, thick dark clouds were building up, no doubt a storm of some kind was rolling in. 

The storms these days were extremely violent, after the nuclear fire damaged the atmospheres the typical thunderstorms that was once common became hellish mixtures of lighting and radiation bolts, and being out side was not particularly where any living being would want to be when it happened, Shrike needed to wrap this up quick and fast and get as many people in before the storm struck.-

The second figure seemed to ignite, a visible flame making its way across some of their skin, and forming what appeared to be a form of limb. And it had become quite clear that there was in fact another survivor approaching the base. 

The other survivor was much closer than she was and had managed to reach the on-guard figures already, being greeted and offered a place to stay. She tried to keep as low and as still as possible, but the hedgehog was spotted regardless and she contemplated making an attempt to teleport towards them, but came to the conclusion that it would only make things more complicated than they needed to be.

While her entire body was covered in dark, metallic armour, and she had a robot chasis slung across her shoulders, neither of them were Cybreds. She raised her metal-gloved hands and stood up, choosing to follow their instructions so as to speed things up a little.

By the time she reached the two of them, thunder had begun rumbling in the far distance, the sky becoming slightly darker and the wind becoming slightly stronger then before. But she ignored all of these things, focusing solely on getting inside the base.

With the two of them now standing in front of her, she could see that one of them was clearly a human, a soldier in a rather un-identifiable green uniform, and the other a red hedgehog. Neither of them were familiar to her.

"My name's Alia, I received your transmission... We-"

It was at that moment that she remembered her wasteland companion, the grey fox. Alia turned back to the barren landscape, her eyes scanning back and forth across the dust and silt, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fox.

"I came with someone, I think he might've gotten lost. He's a grey fox by the name of Darken, have any of you seen him?"

Her eyes continued to dart back and forth between pieces of debris littered around the vicinity, hoping that Darken might've been hiding or simply concealed.

“Shalina...” Caen repeated, sounding out each syllable slowly and carefully, eyeing the lioness up and down, his eyes tired, yet somewhat wild. 

“You don’t... look like a Cybred,” he said, Sheathing his blades. At once, the flaming arm disappeared, Caen letting out a breath as he did so. “Still, we cannot be one hundred percent sure you’re not some type of new Cybred, so I will be keeping an eye on you. Put a single hair out of line, and I won’t hesitate to kill you. I can’t take any more risks, I hope you understand.” Caen said, nodding a little. 

Finally, the hedgehog turned, looking back at the lioness “follow me, and stay close. We can talk more once we’re inside.” 

Caen waved his arm at Shrike, silently signalling that everything seemed to be in check, as he started on his way towards the building.

The wind had began to pick up, and the energy in the air began to grow thick with dark intent.
A storm was on the way, and fast.

The canine girl picked up the pace into a light sprint as she left the area where she had been hiding out. Cradling the small bump on her stomach with her right hand, she lifted her right hand to look at the communicator, as if it was going to do something. Shaking her head to bring herself back to reality after a moment, and turned off to head into the forest area that led in the same direction to where the rendezvous point was. She prayed they had something warm to eat. She couldn't remember the last time she didn't eat from a can, or have something full of preservatives. It wasn't good for her. She needed vitamins, now more than ever.

Managing to avoid contact with any other... things, she couldn't distinguish what they were exactly, but she knew they weren't organic at least. That made then her enemy.
As she had continued her travelling, she had an old tonfa of hers strapped on to her arm to maintain some form of defence. Her dark grey boots had her grey, ripped jeans tucked in to maintain some form of protection against the harsher weather. Sadly she didn't have any armour, not that shed have worn it as she found her body temperature rising and falling so quickly these days.
The storm was right behind her now, and she wondered if it would finally rain. When was the last time the heavens opened? It was hard to say. most of the time these storms ended up being incredibly dry and the lightning was fierce. She hoped it held off enough in time for her to make it to her destination.

Trudging along for another half hour, she heard the almighty rumble of thunder she hoped wouldn't happen so soon, and she knew it was time to make a run for it. Clutching onto her backpack straps by holding both across her chest with one hand, she broke into a full run and flew forward. 
The building was in sight! She made it!

The sky had darkened down considerably as she breathed a sigh of relief. However, an unusual noise sounded close by. It wasn't like what she was used to; it sounded alive.
As the maroon female looked around to determine where they were coming from, she couldn't help but notice a lone figure just ahead of her.
Was that another survivor? She slightly cocked her head to one side. They were armoured up, so from this angle, she couldn't exactly tell what species they were, but judging from the slow pace walking they were doing she could at least tell they were male. Was he alone? If he hadn't made a noise she could have possibly completely missed him in passing. Perhaps he had called out to a companion or something, she couldn't say for certain, but in honesty it was great to be able to see someone else after such a while.

Acting rather out of character, she made herself known to the male. "Hey! You with the armour! Are you going to where the radio signal said as well?"
She began making her way up to the armoured male, noting he was travelling rather slowly, indicating he was either extremely tired or injured in some way to her. "Are you alright?"

-The blacken clouds began to rise and build, climbing into the dark yellow sky, if normal every day looked bad, this was a storm straight out of hell coming their way, simply known as a emission storm, When vasts amount of radiation are absorbed into the atmosphere or what is left of it, the emission would begin to form. When it reached a certain level the energy would erupted from it much like a typical thunder storm but with a force unlike any know weather form. The rupturing energy would send a powerful wave of energy roaring across the land like a sand storm wall, any thing caught it in that was living would be vaporized, coupled with green lighting bolts is was probably the second most hostile thing to the planet now.

The rumbling grew and grew enough to even cause slight vibrations in the ground, despite the fair distance still away, Shrike needed to get any and every one in as soon as possible, those would couldn't make it would be on their own, Shrike pointed to the hanger entrance and shouted at Caen.-

"Get inside quick, storm straight out of hell is going to hit, going to do a final sweep of the area to make sure no one else is still out there, medical bay is at the very end of the corridor to your immediate right."

-Shrike headed out, to trudge through the scorched sands and debris filled perimeter, if some one or ones were still out here he couldn't leave it to chance, but at the same time knew he was risking himself moving further away from the complex and into unknown territory.

Suddenly a figure was spotted heading in his way, it was another human, a female, no doubt another survivor answering the call, Shrike didn't have the luxury to figure out who she is, he would do so later.-

"You there! You better get a move on, emission is going to hit and you dont want to be out side, keep heading that way to the complex don't stop till you inside."

-Shrike pressed on, he was just about to turn back, believing that might of just been every one that was here, he couldn't go much further, not with the storm approaching, Shrike did one last sweep, switching his visor to thermal imaging, the hot scorched land made it hard for him to pick up any thing but eventually he did, two figures about 100 meters from him. 

The armored figure appeared from the thick smog like before the two.-

"You two no time to talk get that one on his feet and follow him, there is a mother of all storms right behind you guys, follow me I'll get you to the complex."

-Shrike began to set back for the base, hoping the two would follow, course he had no idea it was both Tala and Darken, he could barely make them out, he was simply trying to act as fast as he could to get as many safe as possible, more now then ever he needed every one alive. He began to bee line it back to the hanger doors. The storm almost upon them.-

The Hedgehog was ushered in by Soldier, along with the other hedgehog and who she could now Identify to be a Lioness. And Indeed, his warning was true, a wind had begun to pick up and a thick, foul odour had begun to seep into her helmet as the dust and dirt were being carried around in the wind.

However, The last person on this wretched earth that she trusted was outside in the dust bowl. She'd seen many storms like this before, and while she didn't want to be out there for much longer, she didn't want him to be out there either.

Before she could do anything though, the Soldier who had told them to go inside ventured out into the storm himself, just as a strong wind began to pick up. She couldn't go out there on foot, and attempting to Teleport would end in disaster. 

Not to mention that as he did, another Figure came into view through the building smog. She was Human, like the Soldier, and also Armoured, but that was about it similarity-wise. 

She kept a firm grip to the Doorway, trying to look out into the storm to see if anyone else was coming through the dust. The Armoured Carapace of a droid still slung around her shoulders like a towel.


Great puffs of filth had begun to whip up around him, the Acidic taste of the soil making its way through his air filters. His slow march was interrupted when someone called out from behind him.

He barely heard them through the loud wind, but he could at least hear the last of her sentence as she made her way over to him. Darken didn't bother to look to see who it was, keeping his head lowered, breathing steady and footsteps paced. 

"Yes, I've been told that there is a Base just a little further ahead."

As she got closer to him, he heard her ask another question. The fox didn't want to answer, but figured that an answer was required. 


"I'm fine."

His voice was likely garbled by the Microphone System inside his helmet, but he was grateful for any interference he could get that would hide the weak attempt of a lie he had just told.

Just as he was contemplating whether or not the journey would really be worth it, Another figure approached them, this one coming from the Direction of the base. Again, he didn't bother to look, but when they spoke, something about their voice seemed familiar.

Darken looked up, and say a green figure walking back into the fog, instructing the fox and the canine to follow in behind. He picked up the pace a little, the wind beginning to blow hard and if it got any stronger it would knock him off his feet.

The Armoured figure had managed to go just beyond the fox's field of vision and he was now trying to catch up. But as he did everything went silent. A blinding flash of green filled his vision and a wave of heat washed over him.

There was an explosive thunder clap as a bolt of Lightning struck the ground merely feet away from him.

A thick layer of dirt and silt burst from the ground around the point of contact, spraying him with the filth and debris that should have remained buried. A loud crackling filled his ears, the Geiger counter spiking sharply.

"Shit!"

The Wave of sound, light, heat, static, and radiation went straight through the foxes armour, the steel doing little to absorb the Lightning's effects. And dropping into a brace wouldn't have done much to prevent any damage from a bolt like that either.

While it was likely just an Early Strike, it was still enough to thoroughly shake the fox and he could feel the adrenaline being to course through his veins.

"Run!" 

He said, breaking into a sprint through the dust storm and towards the base.

Walking towards the armour clad Mobian, she soon found him to definitely be male as he replied to her. The voice was distorted, but decipherable nonetheless.
He stated he was actually alright, which only made her raise a maroon eyebrow at him. He was not fine, and she'd have to be blind to not see that.

Still, males will be males, so she kept an acceptable distance from him to allow personal space. The red canine looked up to the green armoured individual now fading out of view and it spiked recognition in her instantly.

Could it be?

Her thoughts were interrupted with the eerie silence before a humongous crash, followed by a cracking flash of light completely took over her vision. 
Instinctively, the female held onto her stomach area and bent down to protect herself for a few seconds, before hearing the male next to her curse before exclaiming that they should run. The storm was upon them, and they needed to be inside a safe place and fast.

Digging her heel into the ground, the canine girl pushed off into a run towards the base- towards where the familiar green clad figure went.

Making it to the door, she spotted the one who disappeared as she slowed down to a walk as she got to the door. Her long white tipped hair was messy and unkempt and her clothes were torn and dirty, but she hoped and prayed that she was not seen as an enemy to be turned away.

As she neared the buildings main doors, she saw a flicker of red quills and a feline tail disappear inside to safety. Looking up to the green male, she couldn't help but let a genuinely happy smile grace her features.

"Shrike!" She found the name cry out of her like she hadn't spoken in a few days. "You're alive! It is so good to see a familiar visor."

-The clouds pitch black in color, blocking on any sense of sun light or what ever sky there was was looming, a storm straight out of a horror movie, if there was ever a good enough incentive to run this probably was the most convincing of them all, for those not protected in any way, almost instant vaporize was assured, being hit by a bolt of energy from this storm...well if vaporizing was not bad enough one would hate to hate to think of being struck by one of them.

Shrike stopped to look back to finally see the pair making their way towards the complex, he at least tried to stay in visual line of sight to make sure they knew were to go.

A dead tree was instantly blown to shards by a freak bolt that struct it as splinters and bark exploded violently from the trunk, if it did that to a tree imagine a living being.

If one failed to get to the base, not only would they have to contend with the storm but they would be at the complete mercy of the Cybreds...and Cybreds do not give mercy in any form.

The armored figure peered back, Caen and Shalina had already made it safely into the complex along with the other yet unknown human, all that was left was to get these two inside and Shrike had every intend to do so, if it meant he would be the last to enter the complex then so be it. 

Shrike stopped at the entrance and did not enter, he waited for the other two to make it in first before her set foot inside. Sure he might be scared but his helmet prevented any one from seeing the fear in his eyes. 

First to enter was the Fox cladded in his suit, alright one down one to go, Shrike looked back and saw her running towards the complex, as she came closer and closer into a better view range, the coin suddenly dropped, what he failed to realize upon his first encounter of who she really was, at first he couldn't believe it but after he heard his name called out by her it was confirmed it was indeed her, Tala. If she could see his face he would be smiling as well, a smiling was not a common trait for him as well.- 

"Tala! I can't believe you are alive as well...its been.......I can't even remember...It's just so good to know you are still alive..."

-Suddenly another freak bolt struck dangerously close to the entry point, Shrike acting on pure defensive instinct quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her close into the complex, now that every one was inside Shrike slammed his fist against the door control button as the twin massive bulk head doors, closed with a mighty metal thud, the dimly lit hanger came to life. Empty as but all but one of the hanger bays were empty, the last held a small dune buggy like vehicle, a few supplies and parts scattered and nothing more.

Quickly gathering himself and his thoughts, quickly taking not of the beings who made it in, mentally noting that it was Tala, Caen, Shalina, the grey fox, the pink Hedgehog and the unknown Human. A few moments pass before he began to speak to all of them.- 

"There will be time to take this all in, but for now welcome to your new home, It's not much but its all I could find out in this forsaken world now....there will be time to rest but now we have a few tasks to do to no only get the most of this place..but to ensure our security......Those who need to be patched up and are looking for food and or water, please head down to the very end of the corridor behind you, to your left is the mess hall, the hall way directly right of it is the medical bay/lab complex...there are plenty of rations...I know they probably taste terrible but right now given our situation its all we got..those who are able to help me please come with me to the control and command room, we gotta get the primary power system back online......

-The armored figure headed off into the corridor but not before slowly turning back to look at them-

"Oh...and one more thing...welcome to base New Haven!"

-He slowly turned back around and proceeded to the command and control room, tho if his assistance was needed he would be ready to help. For better or for worse this was their new home..among the ashes of their old one.-