Chapter 1

Armadi – Outskirts of the former Kingdom of Acorn
8:32 PM

As night fell across the horizon, the dimly lit path before Kyros the echidna slowly began to fade away. With every step the beams of light streaming through the branches overhead grew fainter, prompting a muffled sigh as he trudged ahead.

He felt anger involuntarily forming on his face as he thought about how much he hated watch duty. For nearly seven years now he had served his share of time, waiting around and watching for anything that might pose a threat. Right now he imagined his friends would be winding down and getting ready to call it a night. Under his breath he cursed Robotnik for making him endure his current life. He and his surrogate family of friends had been in a pitched battle for survival against the crazed tyrant, all having escaped into hiding long ago.

A flood of memories raced through his mind for a moment. He faintly recalled escaping the destruction of his home town as Robotnik's armies rolled through. At the age of fifteen he had been forced to fend for himself for weeks in the wilderness, always moving in order to stay ahead of Robotnik. He remembered stumbling across the remains of a town named Armadi, ruined and destroyed by the fighting. Mentally and physically exhausted, he welcomed the hospitality of the few remaining people there. With nowhere left to go, he remained with them, eventually establishing a small settlement and working together to stay alive.

With every passing memory his hatred for Robotnik grew, and he could feel rage beginning to well up within himself. He paused for a moment to calm down, relaxing his clenched jaw and taking a deep breath. Robotnik would pay someday, he reassured himself. After taking the moment to recollect himself, he pressed on. Thankfully, the wooded area was beginning to become familiar and he would soon have an opportunity to sit down and collect his thoughts.

After a few more minutes of forcing himself along, he found himself entering a small clearing, the path once again dimly illuminated by the moonlight filtering through the sparse branches above. He slowly stepped into the open area and began glancing at the trees surrounding him. Almost instinctively he casually made his way towards a patch of trees obscured behind a massive tangle of vines. He silently began sifting through the mess, stopping as he caught a glimpse of a camouflaged rope dangling among the branches. With a solid tug, a disguised hatch several meters above in the tree canopy flopped open, dislodging a few leaves and sending particles of dust and dirt drifting down towards him.

Kyros observed the darkness above him, and let out an agitated sigh. He snatched a large rock from the ground and hurled it towards the opening. A loud thump ensued as the rock impacted a solid surface. As the rock landed a few feet away, a worn rope ladder tumbled down in front of the echidna. He reached for the ladder, pausing as the laser rifle slung about his shoulder slid down his arm. Silently he cursed Robotnik again for the need to carry the weapon. The weapon hung around his wrist for a few moments before he forcefully tossed it back into a more secure position.

With the rifle secured, he slowly climbed the ladder into the pitch black room above. As he hoisted himself inside, he tossed his gun into the corner and activated the lights with rehearsed precision. He squinted into the dim lights filtering through the grating above for a moment before pulling the ladder back up and depositing it in a sloppy pile. After firmly closing the hatch below, he stepped over to a bank of computers lining the far half of the room. His hand danced across a series of power switches, and after hearing the telltale sound of the computers booting he plopped himself in a wooden chair against the wall.

He took a deep breath, removed his heavy coat and draped it across the back of the chair. As the computers in front of him began their usual procedure of flashing images and making annoying noises, he kicked back, leaning the chair against the wall and placing his feet on the console nearest him. A loud, hollow clang filled the station as his foot dislodged an empty can resting beside the chair. Instantly, the aroma of coffee filled the room.

Many of his friends drank coffee to help stay awake during watch duty, and there was always a supply of it to be found in the watch station. He had never been able to acquire a taste for it though, as the only source they had was Robotropolis itself, and Robotnik never threw out anything of decent quality. Instead, he had picked up a slightly less savory habit to keep himself sane during the long hours. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thin, papery tube. From his other pocket, he pulled an old lighter.

He placed the cigarette in his mouth and struck the lighter. A few deep breaths later, he placed the lighter back into his pocket and prepared himself to perform the same ritual that he had flawlessly enacted for so many years. He quickly checked the computer screens once more, and after confirming that nothing was awry, he cracked open the window beside him. No one else cared too much for his habit, and he preferred to keep it a secret that he still smoked. He had tried to quit a few times before, but he found the temptation too hard to resist out here by himself.

Soon though the strengthening winds outside began to become too cool for him to stand. The pollution spewing from Robotropolis on a constant basis had long ago begun to take its toll on the weather. Predicting it was now almost impossible, with temperatures swinging from searing heat during the day to near freezing at night. Rain could come at any time, and there was no guarantee that it was clean. Kyros frowned slightly and tossed the cigarette out of the window, promptly shutting it. Even he couldn't stand the buildup of the smoke for too long.

With the company of his cigarette gone too, he crossed his arms and blankly stared at the computers. Already he could feel the gentle, soothing call of sleep. He would fight it for as long as he could, but the result was always the same. Maya would have his neck if she knew he was sleeping on the job, but there was little that he could do. He glanced over to the far corner of the room, eying the laser rifle lying atop a pile of various pieces of trash and junk. In all of the years that he had performed watch duty, there had never been any need to use it. Robotnik had never come looking for them, and the few times that the alarms had been tripped were nothing.

Kyros felt his eyelids growing heavy. He shifted himself into a more comfortable position and awaited the inevitable. Exhausted from the day's work, Kyros groggily blinked a few times. He wouldn't be able to fight it much longer, but it wasn't like it mattered. Nothing ever happened.


"Well then, has Seltic heard anything interesting over the antenna?" Maya asked her companion, brushing a long silvered hair from her face.

Sissera sighed and prepared herself for a rehearsed reply, "No ma'am, but he hasn't been checking it as much lately. He said Robotnik's been pretty quiet for the last week or so."

"That usually means he's up to something," Maya replied. She glanced over the top of her glasses and flashed an innocent smile, "And you can bet that he's not preparing to announce his surrender."

"Seltic said pretty much the same thing. He's always got the computers on, waiting for something to happen. I wish he'd get out some more, he's going to grow to that chair. All of those computers keep the place hot too."

"Now don't be that way. That's just how he is, and I sleep better at night knowing that he's taking this seriously."

"I guess so, but he should get some sunlight every once in a while. He's going to go crazy just sitting around in his workshop all day. He keeps trying to find a way to reverse the roboticization process, or something."

Maya chuckled. "Oh, he'll be alright, and it would be well worth the time and effort if he did find a way to reverse it." She glanced off in the general direction of Robotropolis and sighed. "I do wonder what the good doctor is planning though."

"Nothing too serious I hope. Maybe just some overdue house keeping."

"I don't imagine he does too much of that," Maya replied before laughing quietly until a sharp, cool breeze rolled through the valley. She took a deep breath and pulled the blankets draped across the back of her chair down to cover her more fully. "I'm getting too old to be out in this kind of weather," she said, looking over to Sissera. "I think I'm in the mood for some tea. Why don't you come inside and join me for a cup."

Sissera pondered the opportunity for a moment, and replied, "Sure, sounds good. I've got some sensor reports for Seltic, but I'm sure he's busy enough sorting through the junk Kyros brought back from his last raid." She eagerly stood and helped Maya up.

Maya slowly walked up the steps next to the chair and pulled a key card from her pocket. She paused for a moment as she inserted the card into the lock. She turned her head slightly and took a few light sniffs.

"Something wrong?" Sissera questioned, ascending the steps.

"I'm not sure, I thought I smelled something burning for a second. It's gone now," she replied as she pulled the card out of the now flashing receptacle.

"I didn't smell anything, but I guess it could have been Seltic. There's no telling what he could have fried or burnt up in his lab."

Maya placed the card back into her pocket as the door slid open. "You're probably right," she said as she stepped into the building. As she stepped inside, she pressed a button to activate the lights. The panels within the ceiling flickered to life, filling the room with blinding light before fading to a tolerable level. Maya blinked a few times as her eyes adjusted to the lighting, and closed the door as Sissera walked in.

"I could probably get Seltic to look at those lights, they look like they need a little adjusting," Sissera said as she headed for the table situated in the center of the kitchen.

"That won't be necessary, they're usually fine. And Seltic's probably too busy to look into it," Maya replied as she opened a cupboard door.

"I may could do it, but it depends on exactly what's wrong with them," Sissera called to her, coaxing a small space heater to life.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she replied, placing a pot of water on the stove and turning to face Sissera.

Sissera set her pack on the floor and pulled a chair out from under the table. "I haven't seen Kyros or Stanley around in a while, did you put them on watch duty together?"

"Heavens no! I may be old but I'm not crazy, those boys just can't stand being around each other for too long."

"I don't understand it either, Kyros is just picky...," Sissera started before something caught her attention. She looked about the room for a second, sniffing the air.

"Everything alright?"

"Yes ma'am, I just thought I smelled something on fire a second ago."

"It's probably that heater. That thing's been giving me fits lately."

As the the water heated, Maya left the stove and joined her company at the table. She opened a small can of candy and offered one to Sissera. "Want one?" she asked, taking one for herself.

"Thank you," she replied, accepting a piece. "So, is Stanley out in the woods tonight then?"

"I don't know for sure, but I haven't seen him all night, so I would imagine...," Maya said before a familiar acrid odor caught her attention. She looked around the room before fixing her eyes on the heater. "Do you still smell that heater? I think we may should turn it off before we burn down the whole town."

"I think I do smell it now, but it doesn't smell like the heater. Maybe I should take a look outside," Sissera replied in a worried tone. As she stood, she halted at the sound of thunderous footfalls outside of the building. The door suddenly flew open, leaving the silhouette of a porcupine standing in its place.

Maya nearly jumped from her seat, covering her chest. "Stanley! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What's the matter?"

"There's not much time to explain, but we've got big problems," he answered, his face consumed in a worried expression.


Seltic groaned as he carelessly tossed another random piece of machinery into the growing pile of debris on his workshop floor. For hours now he had been sifting through the scrap that had been recovered from Robotropolis during the last raid, but as usual there was little of interest. Of the sacks of robot parts, scrapped construction materials, and chemicals, Seltic had only managed to find a few parts that could be put to any use.

Kyros and the others meant well, but they didn't know what to take while they were in the city. When his sister went, the haul was usually better, but even Sissera didn't know exactly what to get. Seltic tried to avoid tagging along during the raids if he could avoid it, as the potential combat was anything but his specialty. As he thought, he realized that even he didn't really know what was left to salvage from the landfills and scrap heaps that littered Robotropolis anymore. Robotnik didn't throw out much that Seltic hadn't studied yet.

He snapped out of his trance of thought as he uncovered a familiar series of circuit boards and cables. Instantly he recognized it as the control system for many of the electric motors that were scrapped all across Robotropolis. While it certainly wasn't an amazing find, he could always put it to use. Seltic smiled slightly at the find. At least the night wouldn't be completely wasted.

With renewed energy, he dove into the pile once more. Amazingly, the remaining mound of junk seemed to be filled with many useful components. Robotnik must have gone through a series of upgrades in one of his factories, he guessed. As he pulled aside a piece of armored plating, Seltic nearly dropped his flashlight. Beneath a few chunks of a ceramic heat shielding, a peculiar small plastic box sat in the center of his view. Seltic brushed the other important parts aside and eagerly grabbed the promising find.

As he analyzed the connectors lining the sides of the small box, his enthusiasm grew. He couldn't tell at this point what it originally belonged to, but it was clear that as he had hoped, it was a memory module. Regardless of their source, he could learn a great deal, and with any luck it may have come from one of the robots that filled Robotropolis. He always found something of interest in the modules when they could be found, but getting data out of them was a time consuming process.
He glanced up to the clock mounted on the far wall as he moved the memory module to a safer location near his computer. As usual, time had escaped him, and it was nearing midnight. Seltic would often work well into the morning with such promising potential, but even he knew that it would be best to wait until morning before trying to extract the information from the delicate component.

Satisfied with himself, Seltic closed the tool set on the floor and placed it on a table littered with other tools and trash. He kicked the worthless parts still left on the floor into a slightly more manageable pile, and walked over to the computer to check it before leaving. As he passed by the only window in the cluttered workshop, the image of someone approaching caught his eye. Judging by its size and determined pace, it could only be Vladimir. Seltic swallowed and took a deep breath. Vladimir never stopped by to just say hello.

The badger barged through the door with surprising force, causing Seltic to jump back a step. Vladimir glanced over the shop briefly before fixing his gaze on the hedgehog. He stepped forward into the room and said, "Seltic, Maya needs to see you, there's a problem."

"Wh-what's the matter? Is she alright?" he asked, startled.

"She is fine, but Stanley has returned from the woods, and he claims that there's a forest fire. He and Maya believe that we may be in trouble," he dryly replied before marching back out of the door and down the path.

"A fire?" he replied at last, long after the badger had disappeared.


"What's all of this about!?" Tantalus growled, " I was in bed and Vladimir barges in and drags me outside, grumbling something about Stanley and to meet here." He found an empty space in the now crowded room, leaned against the wall and folded his arms in disgust.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, but we've got a big problem," he heard Stanley's distinct voice call from outside. The porcupine slowly walked inside, turning his attention away from the woods lining the entrance of the valley that their settlement resided in.

"Yeah, I gathered that much. Care to explain what the problem is exactly?"

Stanley frowned, trying to ignore his tone. "While I was out in the woods a few minutes ago, and I noticed a large fire starting up in the woods. It looks like it started outside of the valley, and we can probably contain it is we move quickly, but it's already engulfed the watch station and cut us off from outside."

Tantalus grew wide-eyed and silent for a moment. He glanced around the members present in the room, and came to a realization. He meekly asked, "Wait, who was on watch duty?"

"Kyros, and that's the worst part. He hasn't reported back yet."

"What do you mean!? Didn't you try to get to him?" the squirrel shouted, his accusing gaze fixated on Stanley.

"Of course, but there was no way. As I said, the flames had already cut us off from the station. I figured that it would be best to get back here as soon as possible and hope that he had already returned."

"But he hasn't, so we need to get going as soon as possible," Maya called from an adjacent room before appearing moments later. She surveyed the crowd and demanded, "Where is Seltic? We don't have time for this."

"On his way," Vladimir announced as he stepped inside.

She sighed and looked back to the group, "Is Marcus here?"

"Back here," the young raccoon answered as he stepped from behind Sissera.

"Ok, do you know where Seltic stored all of the fire fighting equipment we found a couple of years ago?"

"Yes ma'am, I think so. It's all in the storage garage, in the basement."

"Alright, Tantalus do you still have Kyros' spare key?" she asked quickly. As the squirrel nodded and uttered a quiet confirmation, she went on, "Then you two head over and grab all that you can. I'll send Seltic too as soon as I find him."
Tantalus nodded and eagerly bolted out the door, Marcus trailing behind.

"Stanley, take Sissera and Vladimir and head into the woods. See if you can find Kyros, and do anything else you can."

"Understood," Vladimir confirmed before marching out the door without waiting for his partners.

Maya waited for everyone to leave before taking a deep breath and running her hand through her hair. It was going to be a long night, and she tried to mentally prepare for the worst.


As Tantalus slid to a halt outside of the immense storage garage he thrust his hand into his trench coat's pocket, nervously fumbling around for a few moments before producing a small plastic card. He sliced it through the reader impatiently, and groaned loudly as the system buzzed in protest. With slightly more control he tried again, wasting no time darting inside as the vehicle-sized door ground open.

Marcus peered inside the cavernous building, squinting as he tried to focus in the complete lack of light. "Uh, you might want to turn the lights on," he shouted into the darkness. After hearing Tantalus loudly stumble over an anonymous assortment of discarded debris he followed him inside, feeling around for the lighting controls.

The lights coughed to life, emitting a loud hum and shedding a weak yellow tone onto the dirt and dust choked room. Just a few steps inside, Tantalus had come across one of the countless heaps of looted equipment and discarded food containers.
Tantalus sneered and pulled himself from the collapsed mountain. "How does Kyros live in all of this? It's worse than Seltic's shop," he moaned as he jumped to his feet. "Where did you say they stored everything?" he asked Marcus as he bolted for the stairs lining the far wall.

"Wait, wait! It's all down here I think," Marcus yelled after the squirrel, who had already reached the scaffolding at the peak of the stairs.

"What!?"

"Down here," he continued, pointing at a partially obscured hatch integrated into the floor.

Tantalus scowled and sprinted down the stairs, halting as he reached his companion. He haphazardly brushed the debris pinning the hatch aside, and grasped the handle. Despite several heroic attempts to dislodge the worn hatch, he only managed to shake a few flakes of paint from the grip. The squirrel muttered something under his breath and glanced up in search of a tool to help pry the door open.

"Hold on," Marcus said quietly as he tried to read a weathered label beside the hatch. "I think you're supposed to turn the handle first," he continued, squinting in the dim light.

Tantalus wasted no time in following his suggestion, and with another mighty tug the hatch finally gave way. Lights in the basement below instantly illuminated as the door was pulled open, revealing a short drop onto a flat concrete floor. He immediately squeezed through the opening, and instantly hurried off towards the first container that came into view. Marcus followed in a slightly more cautious manner.

"Man, there's a ton of stuff down here. Where is the equipment at?" Tantalus asked as he yanked open a locker door.
"Right here, I think," Marcus replied, pointing towards an array of footlockers against the wall.

"Alright, what do we have?" the squirrel asked himself after snatching one of the lockers open.

"I don't know, I wish Seltic was here."

"I'm here," the two heard Seltic shout from the main floor before he dropped into the basement. He removed a pack from his back and opened the cover. He mumbled to himself, "I hope we have enough to deal with this."

"Great, so what do we do?" Tantalus questioned as he opened another locker.

"Just a sec," he answered, turning to Marcus. "Marcus, there's a bunch of cloaks in that closet over there," he told him, pointing towards a pair of doors behind the trio, "take as many as you can hold back to Maya."

"Yes sir," the raccoon confirmed.

"I guess that leaves the oxygen tanks to us," he said to Tantalus. He motioned for him to help and continued, "I hope we won't need these, but you never know." Tantalus grasped one of the large cylinders and pulled it from the locker, staggering under its weight. Seltic helped him set it gently on the ground, and noticed the distressed expression on his face.

"Don't worry about Kyros, I'm sure he'll be fine," Seltic tried to console him.

Tantalus helped him remove another cylinder, offering only a meager, "Yeah."


In the clearing just ahead, Maya saw the anxious image of Tantalus, fidgeting and looking about. As she drew close, he caught sight of her and turned to face her.

"What do I do?" he asked as he glanced into the forest in the general direction of the blaze.

She sighed and looked down, "I'm not sure yet. Where's Seltic?"

"On the way, he was picking up one last bag of stuff when I left."

"I think it's best that we stick together then," she said moments before noticing Seltic jogging towards them from the garage.
"Alright, I'm ready," he announced as he reached the two. He took a deep breath and situated a pack on his back.

"Before we go, you two might want to take these," she said to them. She removed a pair of rifles from her shoulder and offered them to the two.

Tantalus puzzled over the comment, accepting the weapon. "What do we need these for?"

"Robotnik?" Seltic grimly asked her.

"Exactly, we don't know how this fire started. I wouldn't want to be caught unaware, if he really is the cause."

"Not a bad idea," he acknowledged, accepting the other laser rifle. "I think we should get going though. Where's Marcus?"

"I sent him up ahead with Sissera. They both took the respirators, temperature cloaks, and air tanks to the others," Maya answered before setting off down the path.

The others immediately followed, and Tantalus quickly overtook the other two and disappeared into the forest ahead. Maya would normally have scolded him for running off by himself, but she realized the urgency and increased her own pace. The normal series of scents that filled the forest were now thoroughly replaced by the acrid odor of burning foliage. The path before them was now almost impossible to see, the glow of the fires ahead flooding their views and eclipsing the glint of light from the moon overhead.

She began to hear shouts from Vladimir ahead, and soon she and Seltic came across the badger and his enlisted subordinates working hard at constructing firebreaks and digging trenches. Tantalus was already beside Stanley, helping him prepare a large gap to stem the flow of fire. Vladimir was slightly deeper into the woods, tossing mounds of dirt into the air with his shovel as he tried to extinguish a handful of smaller flames.

Sissera and Marcus stood a few meters away, looking on as the others worked. As she caught a glimpse of Maya and Seltic approaching, she quickly made her way to them with Marcus in tow.

"I think we may be in a bit of luck," Sissera directed to Maya. "They've mostly got the fire under control right here, and as Stanley suspected most of the fire was outside of the valley."

"That's wonderful to hear, have you found Kyros?"

Sissera looked away, "No ma'am, not yet. There's no sign of him, but the worst part is that the path up ahead is cut off by the fire. We don't have any way to reach the station."

"I think I may have a solution for that," Seltic chimed in. He grabbed his sack and pulled a small metallic sphere from inside. "These are fire suppression charges. I didn't think we would ever have to use them, but I think they should be enough to break past the fire. With any luck, it's already burnt down near the station."

"Good. Let's see what we can do," Maya said to him.

Seltic nodded and led the group up the path. He stopped a short distance away from the flame-engulfed road, raised the charge and pressed the arming plate. With a hand signal for the others to step back, he looked into the fires. He squinted as he tried to aim into the blinding glow, and hurled the charge with all of his might. As it disappeared into the abyss, he turned and covered his ears, prompting the others to follow his example.

Moments later an explosion echoed through the forest, rocking the group as an arctic wind blew past them. Where fires once claimed the woods, the path laid bare, grayed and charred. Seltic righted himself and brushed the new layer of icy dust from his coat.

He briefly surveyed the cleared path, and said to the others, "A bit more powerful than I expected. I've got a dozen of them, so we should have enough to reach the station." As he took a step forward, a multitude of small branches came tumbling from the canopy above. "Everything was probably damaged by the fire, so be careful."

The four slowly stepped forward into the recently sterilized area, and after all seemed safe they broke into a hurried pace. With the flames ahead growing nearer, Seltic pulled another fire suppression charge from his pack and readied it.


With a mighty toss, Seltic launched another charge into the last of the blaze separating them from the already fire-cleared forest, and ultimately the lookout station. The group braced themselves for the final blast, and following the inevitable showering of frost they sprinted down the bare path. Just a few meters ahead, the badly damaged husk of the station hung precariously from the trees, thin trails of smoke still drifting from the windows and cracked surfaces. Everyone grew silent as they approached the devastated building.

"I've still got two charges left, so I'm heading back to help the others," Seltic said, the first to break the silence.

"Take Marcus with you," Maya added, motioning for the raccoon to follow.

Seltic nodded, and the two disappeared down the path, leaving Sissera and Maya standing in the shadow of the station. They looked at each other, an almost tangible feeling of uneasiness washing over them.

"Kyros! Are you there!?" Sissera shouted towards the underside of the structure.

"If he's still in there, then I fear the worst," Maya said after no one responded.

Sissera grew silent for a moment, and replied, "I'd still better take a look." She removed her plasma gun from its resting place across her back and thumbed a switch on its side. A broad cone of light poured from a lamp fixed above the barrel, fighting to penetrate the thick clouds of dust and ash still hanging in the air. She passed the beam of light over the walls of the station, and walked underneath. Above, the incinerated remains of the ladder hung limply from the access hatch.

With the normal means of accessing the station gone, she began to study the grisly remains of the nearby trees for an alternative route. Her first instinct was to inspect the tree the station resided in, hoping to find the original footholds created during its construction. Unfortunately, as she suspected, they were burnt beyond recognition and use. She took a deep breath and turned to face an adjacent tree, noticing a low hanging branch after a moment of study.

"Be careful now, don't hurt yourself," Maya called to her.

"I'll be alright," She replied as she pulled herself onto the branch. A mild creak sounded as the branch bent under her weight. She flashed the light across the tree, highlighting another suitable branch to climb onto. Several twigs snapped from the branch as her boot scraped across its surface, warranting a flinch from Maya below. Sissera recollected her composure before hopping onto the branch and traversing it a short distance.

She caught sight of a similar branch protruding from the tree housing the station, and slowly inched her way towards it. With a careful, long step she managed to transfer herself to the tree. Two meters above, the station loomed. She continued to ascend the tree, taking great care to avoid a potential disaster. As she finally reached the necessary height to enter the station, she found herself with a difficult problem.

The only branch between her and her destination was over her head, and jumping onto the station was far too risky, and even if she made the jump it could collapse under her weight. After some thought, she deactivated the light on her gun and extended the strap as far as she could. She grabbed an adjacent protrusion for support, and began to throw the gun's sling upwards at the branch above. After a few unsuccessful tries, she managed to hook the branch.

Sissera squeezed the weapon tightly as she mentally prepared for the swing to the station. She glanced down to the ground far below, and swallowed. Maya watched up intently and closed her eyes as Sissera jumped from the branch. She glided through the air and gently on the roof of the station. Sissera froze as the joints fastening the station to the tree groaned, spraying fragments of bark as the bolts threatened to tear themselves free. With as much caution as she could muster, she slipped over to the edge and recovered her plasma rifle.

Maya sighed loudly and shouted up to her, "You shouldn't be taking risks like that, the whole thing could fall apart!"

"It's fine!" She shouted back, creeping towards a hatch on the roof. The hatch resisted her first attempts to pull it open, with the building creaking quietly with each tug. Eventually it gave in, loudly falling into the room below. Sissera cringed as it banged into the metal floor, vibrating the whole station. She reactivated and flashed her light into the darkness below before slowly lowering herself into the internals of the room.

The light illuminated a series of harmless objects, most nearly burnt beyond recognition. Books, clothing, and assorted remains littered the floor, impeding her search. The fire-proof walls had lived up to their name, sporting only a profuse coating of ash and dust, but the lights above were all destroyed, increasing her suspicions that the fire had originated in the station from an electrical problem. In the darkness, the shattered screens of the computers glinted as the light beam passed them. Her heart skipped a beat as a jacket caught in a tangle of fallen debris was revealed by her gun's light.

"Kyros?" she weakly asked. She nervously prodded the jacket with her gun as she drew close, taking a relaxing breath as she found it to be empty. Relieved to find the station empty of Kyros, she turned to the computers. As she feared, they were too badly damaged in the fire to still function. She shone the light across the computers and the nearby walls, trying to note the burn patterns. Determining the cause of the fire would be an involved process, but she hoped to get at least some indication. Her thoughts were cut short as a series of sharp cracks echoed through the room. Surprised by the sudden noise, she jumped back. As she landed, another deafening crack sounded through the room.

She immediately whirled around to face the source of the cracks. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the trees outside slowly moving by as the station tore itself away from its own support. She panicked for a moment, bolting for the roof hatch an instant later. As the station began to fall and disintegrate, she froze in place and braced as best she could for the impact.
The station crashed into the ground with an orchestra of crunches and crisp cracks, followed by an eerie silence. Through the crushed metal walls and junk strewn about her, Sissera heard Maya let out a shout followed by a muffled cry. She rolled herself over and forced a fallen box from on top of her. After a moment of trying to reorient herself, she staggered to her feet. She passively noted smeared blood on the back of her hand where it had been pressed against her cheek, and tried to ignore the pain coursing through every part of her body.

Remembering Maya, she grabbed her gun and kicked out a window to free herself from the shattered hull. As she pulled herself free she found Maya standing rigidly a few meters away, with an obscured figure standing behind her. She raised her gun and aimed at the silhouette. The gun let out an audible chirp as she flicked the safety to arm the weapon.

"I've got you... you SWATbot... I'll bet you didn't think I'd find you here," the figure weakly said to Maya, fumbling with a weapon placed against her temple.

"Kyros?" Sissera shouted at him. "What are you doing!?"

"What? Oh... Seltic. I found this SWATbot wandering around here... I'll bet Robotnik's nearby too," Kyros continued.

"That's not a SWATbot," she shouted back, running towards the two. "It's Maya, put down the gun!"

Kyros lowered the rifle slightly and walked into the light. He observed Maya and muttered, "Oh, sorry. I can't see too well. Where's everyone else?" Maya immediately relaxed and let out her breath.

Sissera lowered her gun and disarmed it, prompting Kyros to do the same. She looked over the echidna, surprised to find his ash-choked fur and quills dripping with water. "They're back near Armadi, working on keeping the fire away. Kyros, what happened, and where were you?"

He took a deep breath. "I don't know. All I remember is that the fire was everywhere by the time I noticed it... I tried to run back, but there was no way. The only thing I could do... was to swim across the lake to the power plant and run back from there. When I saw that the fire was out here, I swam back since I wasn't even halfway there."

Sissera paused in thought. "Ok, I'll head back and tell the others. Hopefully they've got it under control by now." She turned and raced off down the path as she slung her gun back across her shoulder.

"Kyros, are you alright? Can you make it back to town?" Maya questioned Kyros as she tried to help support him.

"I'm fine," he replied, taking an uneven step. As he stepped, a small white tube fell from his pocket, rolling in front of Maya.
She stooped down and scooped it up. She examined it closely and asked, "Kyros, is this... a cigarette?"