I actually got the idea for this story a year ago while in an Environmental Science class. My teacher made a passing comment on the possibility of a global storm powerful enough to wipe out all traces of humanity and I jumped on the idea, thinking of ways to adapt it to the Love Live world. The result was this plot, but I wasn't satisfied with the way I wrote it back then and so the idea was put on the shelf.

Now it has resurfaced, and this is the story of how nine girls (and several others) survive and interact with other survivors during the aftermath of such a global storm. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Love Live. Or Love Live Sunshine. (Because Aqours will play a role in this story too. Just not very soon.)

Warning: There are lots of transitions between character to character, so please keep this in mind. I tried to keep it from being to confusing, but I'm not sure how well I did.

"Hurry, Maki-chan! Come here!" The four year old girl stumbled down the steps, one hand on the handrail and the other clutching the paw of a dearly loved teddy bear. Half-asleep and scared, the child made her way to her frantic mother.

"Mama, up!" She begged, and her mother scooped her up immediately. Now that Maki was awake and secure in her grasp, her mother started to move through the mansion the Nishikinos called home. "Where's Papa?" When her mother didn't give her an answer, Maki peered around the mansion as they passed room after room. She caught a glimpse of their lounge TV, which showed a newscaster in front of a live video feed of the ocean raging beneath a large storm cloud. She stuck her thumb in her mouth, not understanding why her mother was in such a panic.

"Papa's at the hospital!" She understood that 'hospital' meant where both her mother and father worked. There was no problem then, at least to her. She hugged her teddy bear and stared around curiously as her mother carried her out of the mansion and into the streets of Tokyo.

"Warning! Severe storm incoming! All children must be brought to their respective bunkers at once! Repeat, severe storm incoming! All children must be brought to their respective bunkers at once!"

The same message was playing from their TV over and over again, Honoka realized. She was tired of seeing the ocean behind an old man she didn't know and wished she could take the remote from her father. Her younger sister wasn't as bored of the message yet, as she sucked on a small cup. But Honoka was, and neither of her parents were in the same room as them anymore. She climbed onto the couch where her father had previously been sitting. "Ah! He took the control with him!" She cried with dismay.

"What's that?" Her sister asked. Only three years old, Yukiho was not as well-versed in the world as she was.

"The thing that changes the TV shows! It's not here! But daddy always said to leave it in here no matter what!" Honoka grumbled, upset that her father had broke the very rule he had dictated.

"Honoka! Yukiho! We're going on a trip!" Her mood shifted quickly. Trips were always fun, except when they ended up at the doctor's office for a shot. Even then, though, her mother always bought them little treats to take their minds off the pain.

"Yukiho, it's a trip!" Honoka said cheerfully to her sister, hopping off the couch. The problem with the TV was pushed out of her mind as she ran hand-in-hand with Yukiho to where their parents were waiting. "Where we going, mom?!"

"A fun place with lots of girls your age." Her mother said, smiling. Honoka briefly wondered why her mother's smile didn't look the same as it normally did, but she didn't let it worry her.

"Like Umi-chan and Kotori-chan? Are they going to be there too?" She asked, getting more excited for their trip.

"Yes, they should be. Come on, girls, let's go." To her surprise, Honoka was picked up by her father. Her mother carried Yukiho and the two adults hurried out into the street, passing other parents who were either carrying their children or holding their hands.

"-dren must be brought to their respective bunkers at once!" Kotori's mother burst into the room where the two children were playing, startling both of them. Umi had come over to Kotori's for a play date, and her own home wasn't appropriate for two five year olds to play in, considering it was a dojo. "Umi-chan, your mom is here to pick you up."

"Huh? O-Okay...I have to go, Kotori-chan." Umi stood up, walking over to the door where Kotori's mother was waiting.

"But I was supposed to play with Umi-chan until five! It's only two!" Kotori complained, also getting up and going to her mother. Pouting, she grabbed her mother's skirt. "I wanna play with Umi-chan more!"

"You can play with Umi-chan more later. Here, Kotori, we have to go somewhere too." Still upset, Kotori allowed her mother to pick her up. Umi held onto Kotori's mother's hand until she reached the front entranceway and ran into her own mother's arms. "You got the message too?"

"And ran here as soon as I could. Good thing we live so close together. Now, Umi-chan, Kotori-chan, don't be upset." Umi's mother smiled. "The both of us are just taking you to a place where you can play without worry."

"A new place?!" Kotori asked, her eyes lighting up. "Where?!"

"Um...will Honoka-chan also be there?" Umi asked. "She couldn't come today…"

"It's a secret." Kotori's mother said, answering her daughter's question. "And yes, I think Honoka-chan will be there. All three of you can play together."

"Yes!" Kotori cheered, once again happy. It wasn't in her nature to be upset for long anyway. "Let's go, mama!"

"Severe storm incoming! All children must be-" The TV was turned off, much to the disappointment of Rin, who was particularly intrigued by the raging ocean. Hanayo, on the other hand, was relieved that the swirling waves were no longer in view. "Rin-chan, Hanayo, I think it's time we took a little trip outside the house." Hanayo's mother said, taking both four year olds by their hands. "Stay close to me, both of you."

"Does my mama know we're going?" Rin asked, following obediently.

"Yes, I'm sure she'll meet us at the place we're going." Outside the house, the wind threatened to blow away both girls' jackets. The tops of the trees swayed, casting shadows over the mother and the two children as they hurried down the sidewalk.

"Mama, I'm scared…" Hanayo whimpered, huddling as close to her mother as she could without tripping her up.

"I didn't think it would be so soon…" Her mother muttered. In the intervals when they walked, Rin made funny faces at Hanayo, trying to cheer her childhood friend up.

"Papa, where are we going?" Nico asked, sprinting to keep up with her father's long strides. "Why isn't mama coming with us?" She was beginning to regret refusing her father's offer to carry her. But she was already six years old, not a little child that needed coddling.

"You'll see when you get there." That was his answer to her question every single time she asked where they were going, whether it be on a car trip or on a walk like they were on now. Her second question was ignored. She was worried about her mother, who had grown very big in the last couple months. She had been told she would be getting a little sister, and even had the chance to contribute a name. Her sister was going to be called 'Kokoro', a fitting name, if she thought so herself. Her father was going down the stairs to what she assumed to be the subway. She had never been down there herself, but she knew that subways ran below cities.

"Does Tokyo even have subways?" She asked aloud, but her question left her mind as soon as it had come. She had to hurry to catch up to her father.

"Why? Why did it have to come while we were visiting Japan?!" Eri looked up at her mother in shock, not knowing what had brought on the outburst. She was holding onto the bottom of her mother's jacket; both of her mother's arms were occupied by Arisa, her little sister.

"Mother?" The seven year old asked, confused and scared. The city was unfamiliar to her, as was the white hallway they were hurrying down. "Why are we running? What from?" Looking ahead, she spotted a closed door, with something that looked like a computer next to the doorframe.

"If only we were in Russia...we would have some more time…" Her mother muttered. "Eri, let go for a bit." Eri reluctantly loosened her hold on her mother's jacket. As she watched, her mother lifted Arisa to the computer monitor. "Arisa, be a good girl and keep your eyes open right now."

Iris accepted. Ayase Arisa, three years old. Birthdate not registered. The machine printed out a small plastic card, which their mother took. "Eri, hold onto this." Eri accepted the card wordlessly. Arisa was placed on the floor and Eri was lifted into the air in front of the computer. "Look into the camera." She found it and kept her eyes wide open, not needing instructions after watching Arisa do it. Iris accepted. Ayase Eri, six years old. Birthday: October 21. The card was printed out and Eri was handed her card as well.

The white doors slid apart, revealing a large round room with white walls. The girls already inside looked up hopefully at the door, as if they were expecting someone. Eri grabbed her mother's hands, not wanting to go in if this was their destination. "Mother, let's go home." She begged.

"We can't. You can't." Her mother said, kneeling down to the height of her daughters. "You must take your sister and stay in here."

"You'll come too?" To her distress, her mother shook her head. "Why not?! Don't you love us?!"

"You're too young to understand right now, Eri. I love you both, but I cannot come with you into there. If I'm lucky, we'll see each other again."

"And if you're not?" Eri asked, barely holding herself back from crying. She had to be strong, because if she cried, Arisa would cry too. "If you're not lucky, what happens?"

"...you'll know. If I'm not lucky, you'll know when the time comes." Nothing her mother was saying made her want to go into the room. "Eri, I trust you to do the right thing. Keep your card and Arisa's card until she is old enough to hold it herself. Go." Her mother gave her a light push into the room. The door had slid shut by the time she turned around to take a last look at her mother. Her good-bye died on her lips.

Nozomi hummed as she followed her mother tirelessly through the city. She wasn't scared, convinced it was another game to distract her while her father prepared for their next trip to a new home. They had always done this, believing she wouldn't recognize when they were about to move without warning. But a game had never gone on for so long, nor had the game ever led to places she wouldn't recognize. A long hallway that was reached only through going down several flights of stairs classified as a place she did not recognize.

And at the end of the hallway was an open door, with a mother trying without success to calm her crying child. Nozomi's mother quickened her pace, and Nozomi did as well, feeling the first bit of fear enter her heart.

"May I?" Her mother asked the other parent. Nodding, the other mother took her child aside to make room for Nozomi and her mother. "Nozomi, come here." She took being carried with no complaint, even though it had been a long time since she was lifted into the air by her parents. Still not understanding, even when the card had printed out and it was given to her, Nozomi found that she didn't want to go into a room filled with strangers alone.

"I don't want to." She whispered, backing up from the doorway, empathizing with the crying child near her. "I don't want to go there!" She cried, hugging her mother's legs. "Don't make me go in there!" With difficulty, her mother peeled her arms away.

"You have to." Her mother said sternly.

"Having trouble too?" The other parent asked sympathetically. "I've been here twenty minutes and my little Maki-chan doesn't want to go. I don't have the heart to force her in, even if it is for her own good."

"If only it hadn't come so quickly, my husband and I were going to move soon. We would have been able to have more time with Nozomi then." Her mother's eyes lit up, as if she had just gotten an idea. "Hey, why don't we send both of them in together?"

"That's a good idea. Maki-chan, look. This is Nozomi onee-chan." The red haired child whimpered but she turned to look.

"Nozomi...onee-chan?" Maki repeated, her eyes still filled with tears.

"Nozomi, I know we just met, but could you take care of my daughter for me?" Nozomi wanted to shake her head and say no but her heart wouldn't let her just abandon another girl. She understood what it felt like to be alone. She nodded, though she still hated the idea of going into the room without her mother. "Thank you. Now, Maki-chan, go with your onee-chan."

The little girl looked at her mother, then tottered over to Nozomi and slipped her small and sticky hand into Nozomi's own. Nozomi looked at her mother, who smiled encouragingly. So now she was a big sister, even if the decision was sudden. And though she had no explanation for why she and Maki must enter the room, they had to. She gripped her newly adopted sister and walked through the door.

"There's so many people!" Honoka cried cheerfully. She and her sister had been among the first few girls to arrive at the bunker, which was what her mother had called the room, and now it was nearly full. She had Yukiho's card as well as her own, which they needed to keep with them at all times. "Look, Umi-chan, Kotori-chan!" Her mother hadn't lied to her. Both of her friends were there with her.

"Y-Yeah…" Umi wasn't looking. She was more content just hiding behind Kotori's back.

"We'll make plenty of friends here until our mothers come to pick us up." Kotori commented, looking around. "Hey, that girl has a sister around Yukiho-chan's age! Let's go talk to her!"

"Where?!" Honoka followed Kotori's finger to a blonde girl who looked older than them. "Okay, Kotori-chan!"

"Wait for me!" Umi ran after her more energetic friends-even Yukiho was more at ease than she was-to where the blonde was standing.

"Hi!" Eri jumped, startled by the cheerful voice that seemed so out of place in the quiet sadness that pervaded the large room. "I'm Kousaka Honoka, what's your name?!"

"Ayase-"

"And can my sister play with your little sister?!" The two younger girls were already greeting each other in their own way, so it wasn't like Eri had much choice in the matter. "Great! Thanks!...what was your name again?"

"You didn't let her say anything, Honoka-chan." Honoka laughed sheepishly. The girl who chided her turned to Eri. "I'm Minami Kotori, and the girl behind me is Sonoda Umi-chan." Umi waved shyly but refused to say anything.

"Sorry about that! I get excited and then I just forget to let the other person speak!" Honoka said, a bright and happy smile on her face even as she was apologizing.

"No, it's fine." Eri said, giggling a bit. "I'm Ayase Eri. My little sister is Arisa."

"Eri-chan, huh? It's a pretty name! Let's go play together!" Maybe it would be more fun if she wasn't only thinking about how they were stuck in the room.

"Okay!"

"Ah, Kayo-chin, I wanna play with them!" Rin cried, tugging at her friend's arm. She had spotted four other girls playing tag, even if they were a small number compared to the number of girls actually in the room. "Come on, nya!"

"I don't want to! I'll sit here until my mama comes back!" Hanayo was indeed sitting next to the doorway she and Rin had come in through. "Rin-chan can go play!"

"But it's not fun without Kayo-chin nya! Rin will sit here too then!" The girl proceeded to sit down, though she still watched the girls playing with interest. Hanayo knew that her friend wanted to go and join them, but she still didn't want to.

"Rin-chan, you can go play." Hanayo said, resting her head on her knees.

"If Kayo-chin doesn't go, then Rin won't go. I'll wait until Kayo-chin wants to play too!" Rin was too nice to her. She stood up shakily.

"Let's go play, Rin-chan." She said, even though she still wanted to sit until their mothers came back for them. She couldn't always be a burden to her friend.

"Really?! Yay!" Rin looped her arm through Hanayo's and ran towards where the girls were playing tag. "Can we join you?!"

"Yeah! The more playing, the more fun it is!" An older girl grinned. "I'm Honoka! Let's play together from now on!" And Hanayo had to admit that playing was a better way of passing the time than just sitting by the door, even if the playing field was around other girls just sitting around.

Kotori spotted a girl standing by herself. When their eyes met, the other girl looked away, as if she hadn't been looking at them. Since she was it anyway, Kotori trotted over to the other girl. "Tag, you're it!" She called cheerfully.

"Hang on, I'm not even playing!" The other girl complained, but Kotori was already skipping away.

"Look out! She's it!" Honoka warned the other players and any who were remotely close to the new girl immediately changed directions.

"Jeez…" The girl muttered, but her eyes gleamed with a determination to win the game. "Fine, I will catch you all!"

"You only need to tag one of us to change who's it!" Kotori shouted. She had retreated almost to the other side of the room. "Also, what's your name?!"

"Yazawa Nico! And by the end of this game, you'll all know not to cross me!" Nico declared, running after the closest player, who happened to be Eri. The black haired girl chased the other six year old around for a few seconds before switching targets. "Tag, you're it!" She said in triumph, having tagged an unsuspecting Umi. She trotted away, keeping her gaze locked on the new 'it'.

"Maki-chan, do you want to play with them?" The four year old had been staring with rapt attention at the seven girls playing tag for the past couple minutes. Nozomi would not have suggested joining them if she hadn't noticed that two of the players were around the same age as her adopted sister.

"Yup!" Maki voiced her agreement. "Can we, Nozomi onee-chan?" She couldn't exactly come up with an excuse why they shouldn't, so she nodded. Leading Maki by her hand, Nozomi approached one of the girls who wasn't being chased or 'it' at the moment.

"Can we join you?" She asked, gesturing to herself and Maki.

"Yeah!" The ginger responded enthusiastically. "I'm Honoka! What are your names?!"

"I'm Toujou Nozomi and she is…"

"Nishikino Maki!" Maki piped up, clearly eager to join the game.

"Wow! Maki-chan and Nozomi-chan are joining us!" Honoka shouted to the rest of the group, getting a few grunts of acknowledgement. "Maki-chan is smart too! I couldn't pronounce such a long name!" Maki looked proud of herself, but the prideful expression faded after a few seconds.

"Look out, Honoka-nee!" Honoka ducked instinctively in response to the warning and Eri made a 'tsk' as she missed her target.

"I'll leave you alone right now because you just joined, but I won't go easy next time!" The blonde ran off to chase after Nico.

"Hey, no tag-backs Eri!"

"No one else said that!"

"Well it's a rule now!" Eri grumbled as she was forced to change targets again. Nozomi let go of Maki and the child ran off, though in the opposite direction of where Eri was.

And that was how the nine girls found each other, deep below the city of Tokyo, while a storm of massive proportions unlike any recorded in history devastated the earth. Unbeknownst to them who are locked in their bunker, the world above was being decimated. It would be eleven years before any of them set foot on the surface again. All over the world, children like the nine were placed into bunkers, locked away in the earth to ensure humanity's survival once the storm had ceased.

Would you prefer have the next chapter describe their living arrangements inside the bunker? Or should I jump straight to the time eleven years later when they get to leave the bunker?

Leave your choice in a review! :D