Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Epilogue

EPILOGUE

    Omega Trion enjoyed waiting.

    To him, it meant something. It meant he had something to look forward to. It also gave him time to plan accordingly, to figure out how he would be able to incorporate it into his ever-developing scheme.

    He strove for perfection. And without time and patience, he would never be able to achieve that perfection. As such, he was more than willing to wait.

    He glanced at the chronometer on the wall. As soon as it struck the twelfth hour, the door was blown open and the hulking form of his bouncer flew in, landing at his desk. Standing in the doorway was Spacewarp, with five Decepticons behind her and a gun in her hand.

    He recognized the gun. And he could not believe it.

    Maintaining his composure, Omega Trion said, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I do not believe that is the relic I sent you after."

    "No, it isn't," Spacewarp said coolly. "Don't worry, I've got the cog as well."

    "Then what is the meaning of this?"

    Spacewarp pointed the gun at his head. "I would like to renegotiate my paycheck."

    Omega's eyes darted from her to his secret control panel, the one which would bring his entire security force down onto the intruders in a matter of seconds. However, before he could even raise his hand, a gunshot hit the panel, destroying it.

    "Misfire..." one of the Decepticons muttered.

    "What? That's how I negotiate." The one called Misfire smiled weakly. "Of course, I suppose it would have worked better if I'd actually hit him."

    Sighing softly, Omega Trion intertwined his fingers and rested his hands on his desk. "Very well," he said. "Let us talk."

--Junkion--

    It was a quiet day at the scrapyards of Junkion. The Star Seekers were long gone, having lost their quarry and since repaired their ship. The Circle of Light had stayed behind, at a loss on where to go from their predicament.

    Out of respect, the sparkless form of Metroplex had been left abandoned. As such, there was no one to witness the sudden appearance of a frail cloaked mech. He roamed through the deserted hallways, stopping only to add a name to his datapad.

    Outrigger of Proximax.

    He moved from one room to the next, counting each and every casualty.

    Nightwing of Eukaris. Rapier of Nuon City.

    After tallying up over a dozen of the fallen, he finally reached the spark chamber, the end of his journey.

    Axer of Kalis. Beta Maxx of Gygax Minor.

    He then looked up at the space where a spark had once been. Smiling sadly, he added one last name.

    Metroplex of Crystal City.

    Then, as quickly as he had arrived, the Necrobot vanished without a trace.

TO BE CONTINUED

Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Chapter Eleven

Epilogue will be published later today or tomorrow. 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

--Metroplex--

    If Spacewarp had been told to put what she was seeing to words, she would've failed miserably.

    Just moments ago, she and Devcon had come to Metroplex's spark chamber to find the Hunter standing before the Titan's spark, a dead mech at his feet and a Mini-Con in his hands. Before anything could happen, that was when everything went spinning.

    Once Spacewarp had gotten back to her feet, she saw the Hunter on his back and Metroplex's spark gone... and in its place, a glowing portal.

    A space bridge.

    The Hunter was getting back to his feet, his optics wide with surprise and... panic? Spacewarp had difficulty in getting a read of his expression, but quickly decided it was irrelevant. As she reattached Foldspace to her arm, the Hunter started murmuring incessantly to himself.

    "Where is it? Where is it?! The spark, I need the spark, where is the spark?"

    "I've got your spark right here," Spacewarp said as she fired at the Hunter. He quickly turned around and absorbed the blast, now staring hungrily at the Decepticon.

    "Your spark, yes, I will take your spark." He made a horrible sound with his mouth. "I shall enjoy taking your spark."

    Ugh, and I thought the creeps on Lovetopia were bad. Spacewarp took aim again and fired at the Hunter. He failed to deflect it in time and it struck him in the head, knocking him to the ground.

    At that point, Devcon came back to her side. "I just called Dai Atlas. He and the others should be here soon."

    "Did you tell him about the...?" Spacewarp asked, gesturing at the portal.

    "No. I figured it was something they needed to see for themselves."

    Nodding slightly, Spacewarp looked back at the Hunter. The monstrous mech seemed to be taking the blow to the head well, groaning as he held his cranium in pain.

    Looking at Devcon, she said, "Can I trust you with him?"

    Devcon blinked. "Wait, you're leaving?"

    "I've got an artifact to collect, and I didn't go through all of this not to retrieve it. This is your problem now, not mine."

    Devcon scowled. "You know you're still our prisoner."

    Spacewarp took a step forward and leaned into him, bearing into his optics with a mix of slyness and menace. "Fine, go ahead and chase me. But when he gets back up, who's going to be held responsible?"

    Devcon opened his mouth but could not muster a response. Instead, he simply gave her a grudging nod of farewell. Satisfied, Spacewarp turned and transformed to her alt mode, taking off into the corridor outside.

--Outside--

    "Did I... do good?"

    Crankcase gave Misfire an incredibly rude hand gesture.

    "Oh, hush!" the other Scavenger said, getting up from the ground. "At least I hit something!"

    "Were you aiming for the Titan?" Krok asked, standing with his arms crossed.

    "Well.... no. But I would have gotten those other guys if they hadn't run away like a bunch of pansies!"

    "Um, guys?" Fulcrum pointed down below. All of the Star Seekers and the Circle of Light were migrating towards the Titan, for the hole the Requiem Blaster had made in it. "Should we... go after them?"

    "Are you kidding?" Crankcase asked. "This is our chance to get as far away from them as possible."

    "But we lost the W.A.P. in the crash. We may be stranded on this junk planet forever."

    "Hey," Spinister said, directing everyone's attention to the sky, where a gray and violet spaceship was approaching them. "Who the slag is that?"

    Krok saw the ship and his optics narrowed. "This day just keeps getting better."

    The vessel started to transform, taking the shape of a blocky femme baring the Decepticon insignia. She landed in front of the Scavengers and looked upon them with a smug expression.

    "I see you have assembled quite the motley crew, Krok," she said. "I imagine you've gotten far with them."

    "What do you want, Spacewarp?" Krok asked bitterly.

    "You have something I want. The transformation cog of Amalgamous Prime."

    "Oh, so that's what that thing was?" Misfire asked. "I think I lost it near the Harbinger. You can have it if you want -- I've already got a cooler toy."

    As he said this, he held up the Requiem Blaster. Spacewarp's eyes went wide at the sight of it.

    "Where... did you get that?"

    Misfire held his chin up smugly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

    Spacewarp strode forward and grabbed Misfire by the neck, lifting him up. "Where -- did -- you -- get it?" 

    "We found it on the Harbinger," Krok said. "Why do you want to know?"

    Spacewarp looked at him incredulously. "Do you know nothing about these relics? Do you have any idea of what they're worth?"

    "If I were to wager, I'd say a lot," Crankcase said. "But why should we give them to you? What do we get in return?"

    Spacewarp said nothing at first, looking from one Scavenger to the next. Then, she released Misfire and squared her shoulders.

    "How does anything you could ever ask for sound to you?"

--Metroplex--

    "You'd better make this quick, Devcon," Dai Atlas said, rushing into the spark chamber with Ginrai, Flareup, and Axe. "The Star Seekers are on our tail, and Star Saber and the others can't hold them for--"

    He trailed off when he saw the space bridge. His mouth fell agape as he and the others stared in awe.

    "By Primus," Ginrai murmured. "I've never see something so... extraordinary."

    "But where's his spark?" Flareup asked. "Is Metroplex... gone?"

    "Your guess is as good as mine," Devcon said grimly. "But if he is, he won't be the only one in a few minutes."

    He then held up his arms to show the severely injured form of Beta Maxx, his optics glowing dimly.

    Flareup gasped while Axe and Ginrai bowed their hands. Dai Atlas frowned in concern. "Is there anything we can do for him?"

    Devcon shook his head. "I'm afraid not. That... beast over there messed him up bad."

    "Beast?" Dai Atlas looked around the room. "Where?"

    Devcon glanced over his shoulder and got a puzzled look on his face. "Strange. He was just--"

    Suddenly, emerging from the shadows of the rafters, the Hunter descended upon the group, tacking Devcon and Beta Maxx to the floor. Dai Atlas and the others moved to attack him but he held them back with a blast from his arm cannon.

    Wresting Beta Maxx free from Devcon's grasp, the Hunter held the Mini-Con over his head. "If I can't have what I want," he snared, "then no one can."

    Then, with both hands, he pulled on Beta Maxx's body. Flareup cried out before charging towards the Hunter, but she was immediately lifted up in the air as he started to pull at her spark. Before he could remove it, Ginrai ran into the Hunter as well, colliding into him and tumbling with him to the ground, taking Flareup and Devcon with them.

    What happened next went all too quickly for Dai Atlas and Axe to react. As the four got closer to the space bridge, the portal suddenly glowed brighter than a star as it seemed to consume them. Then, it immediately evaporated, leaving behind nothing but thin air.

    A dead silence fell over the chamber. Dai Atlas and Axe stood alone over the bodies of Beta Maxx and a Star Seeker who had already been dead when they had arrived. Outside the room, the sounds of battle were growing closer.

    Axe turned to his leader. "What now?" he asked quietly.

    Dai Atlas said nothing, allowing the silence to hold its grip.

--Outside--

    Wreck-Gar was getting a headache. Or at least he thought he was at first. Then he remembered robots couldn't get headaches. So he was left frustrated instead.

    Today was not going well. Two parties he could have profited from were now fighting over a silly gun. He'd seen Mecannibals have tamer spats over who got the last part of a meal. He had half the mind to put these rude fellows in a time-out.

    "Chief, chief!"

    "Not now, Arclight," Wreck-Gar said bitterly. "I'm brooding."

    "But chief!" the younger Junkion said. "Someone's leaving!"

    At this, Wreck-Gar looked up to see a space shuttle taking off into the sky, with a capsule of some sorts being towed behind.

    Normally Wreck-Gar would have been mad at the fact they had left without paying. Then he decided he felt better knowing he had one less thing to worry about.

Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

--Metroplex--

    "Axe, this is Devcon. Do you read me?"

    Axe groaned as he came to, his head still aching from the blast Spacewarp had shot him with. Turning on his comm, he said groggily, "I'm 'ere."

    "Axe, I need you to do something incredibly crazy," Devcon said over the comm.

    "I'm listening," Axe said, immediately getting to his feet.

    "I want you to get Metroplex to transform."

    Axe's mouth gaped open. That was incredibly crazy. "And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" he asked.

    "I don't know -- go to his brain module and talk to him or something. I've seen Dai Atlas go into his brain chamber before."

    "Didn't Atlas also say that Metroplex would likely die if he transformed?" Axe asked pointedly.

    "I hate to say this but that's the idea," Devcon said gravely. "Trust me when I say this, Axe, but death is probably the best option he has."

    Axe was about to protest but the call was ended on Devcon's end; whether intentionally or not, he wasn't sure. He let out a sigh before setting off to carry out his objective. He hoped Devcon knew what he was asking of him, and that whatever situation had arisen truly called for it.

    He also wondered if he would go down in history as the first bot to convince a Titan to commit suicide.

--Outside--

    "You know, no offense," Misfire said as he and the Scavengers explored the Harbinger's interiors, "but this is not the most exciting crashed ship we've explored."

    Fulcrum had to agree. Other than a few dead bodies in some of the corridors, there wasn't much of note in the ship.

    "That was kind of the point, I think," Crankcase said, turning over the body of one of his former crewmates. "Megatron probably didn't want anyone finding the Requiem Blaster, so he picked the ship that was the least likely to be sought after."

    "Kinda funny, when you think about it," Misfire quipped. "Given, you know, the Star Seekers were looking for it and those other guys were looking for it and--"

    "We get it, Misfire," Krok said. "You don't need to explain the joke." After attempting -- and failing -- to get useful data from the Harbinger's computer, he turned over to Crankcase. "We're wasting our time here. Where's the cargo hold?"

    With a grunt, Crankcase led them to the ship's aft, where the cargo hold was. There they found dozens of crates, all containing drained energon rations and other useless items. While the others rummaged through the boxes, Fulcrum sat against the wall, resenting his lot in life. He rested his head against the wall in self-pity and was immediately sent flying up in the air by an abruptly opening hatch.

    The others heard his wail and rushed over to him, only to promptly ignore him upon seeing what the hatch revealed.

    "...Big boom-boom stick?" Spinister asked.

    "Yes, Spinister," Krok murmured, just as stunned as everyone else. "That's our boom-boom stick."

    Misfire walked over to the Requiem Blaster, admiring its black and red design. He then gently picked it up, treating it like a sleeping driller worm, before turning to the other Scavengers with a huge grin.

    "Face it, fellas. We just hit the jackpot."

--Metroplex--

    "Nickel, iron, cobalt, chrome; he'll eat your soul."

    Axer tried to keep calm as he followed the singing voice. He still wasn't sure he could do this, but he knew he had to try.

    "Turn your spark to stone."

    He was getting closer now, he could tell. He had only seconds left to change his mind.

    "Nickel, iron, cobalt, chrome; run, little robot."

    The spark chamber. He was in Metroplex's spark chamber.

    "Run away home."

    Axer came roaring into the room, where he found the Hunter standing before the Titan's spark. The ex-Decepticon transformed to robot mode and deployed his signature weapon.

    "Stop, Hunter!" he called out. "I command you!"

    The Hunter turned to face him, his monstrous visage bearing no expression. "Command me?" he said. "No one commands me. I am slave to no one but myself."

    "Hunter, please. I don't know what it is you plan on doing, but it has to stop. Lives are at stake."

    "Lives? Of whom? You? Those pirates? Those who claim to follow Primus?" The Hunter scoffed. "They are worthless to me. You are worthless to me."

    Axer's mind raced. It was clear that reasoning would be futile. "What are you doing then?" he asked instead. "Why... why is this spark important to you? Why did you take Beta Maxx?"

    "Life gives me strength," the Hunter hissed. "The stronger the spark, the stronger I become. And as for the Mini-Con...."

    The Hunter raised his clenched fist, in which he held the mangled, barely alive form of Beta Maxx.

    "Every power source needs a conduit."

    Axer was at a loss for words. Although he may have had little care for others, he still could not stand to see a life be so carelessly used.

    "You're insane," he finally managed to say. "You see life as nothing more than a... resource?"

    "Every sparks exists to fuel me," the Hunter said as he slowly raised his other hand. "Including yours."

    Axer suddenly felt an extremely sharp pain in his spark, causing him to keel over. He opened his mouth to scream...

    And all that came out was a ball of light.

--Outside--

    Cannonball lunged at Dai Atlas, letting out a raged yell. His arm blades clashed against the other's Great Sword, their weapons locking. As the pirate pushed his weight into the attack, he sneered at Dai Atlas.

    "You do realize you are outnumbered, don't you?" he snarled. "A hundred of us against a dozen of you."

    "Numbers mean little," Dai Atlas retorted, using all of his might to push back. "With Primus on our side, we shall prevail."

   Cannonball laughed harshly. "You think God will let you win? You think Primus always picks the 'good guys?'"

    He broke off from the sword-lock, before delivering a kick to Atlas' abdomen. As the latter staggered back, Cannonball moved in for the kill but Dai Atlas deflected his next attack.

    "Maybe not always," Dai Atlas said. "But given his options, I'd say he could do far worst."

    Cannonball scowled and raised his blades for another blow, until a distant holler caught his attention.

    Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked to see the Scavenger Misfire standing on a tall heap of junk, carrying a massive gun.

    The Requiem Blaster, Cannonball realized in surprise.

    "Hello, beautiful femmes and handsome mechs!" the magenta Decepticon called from his perch, waving excitedly. "I hate to interrupt your little playtime, but I have an important statement to make."

    He rested the Requiem Blaster on his shoulder and aimed it at the two fighting parties, grinning widely.

    "Misfire rules."

    He pulled the trigger and the gun released a huge wave of energy, the recoil sending him flying back. Pirates and knights alike dove for cover, but the blast barely even reached them. 

    Instead, it went straight for Metroplex.

--Metroplex--

    By the time Axe reached Metroplex's mind chamber, the world went spinning.

    Once everything had stopped and he could tell the floor apart from the ceiling, he got back up to see that the whole place had been torn apart and all power was pretty much out.

    Turning on his comm, he said, "Devcon? This is Axe. Everything all right?"

   "If by everything you're asking if I'm okay, then yeah, I'm swell. But otherwise, no, everything's not all right."

    Axe cursed to himself before looking back at Metroplex's brain module. While it looked externally unscathed, he doubt that the same could be said for the inside.

    "Metroplex?" he asked tentative, unsure if this was the proper way to speak to Titans. "Are... you okay?"

    No response. Then again, he wasn't sure he would've gotten one regardless of the circumstances.

    Devcon's voice was back on the other end. "You know what, Axe, forget about that plan I had."

    "Why? What's going on?"

    "Bad stuff, Axe. Really, really bad stuff."

Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Chapter Nine

CHAPTER NINE

--Metroplex--

     Spacewarp could hear screams coming up ahead. The Decepticon came to a dead spot and stared at the entrance to the vessel's control center. Although closed, she could vividly visualize what was going on behind those doors as she listened to the cold cries of death and sickening sounds of carnage.

    "Still think it's worth it?" Foldspace asked.

    Before Spacewarp could answer, a body was sent crashing through the door, landing at her feet. The blue and red mech, whom Spacewarp recalled having seen with Ginrai, got back to his feet and looked up at the Decepticon, clearly surprised by her presence.

    "Hey, how did you--?" He shook his head, wisely deciding to save the subject for another time. "Forget it. Just get out of here; save yourself while you can."

    "Nothing can save you from the inevitable," a strange voice spoke out. Its source, a brown and azure mech, emerged from the broken door, its green optics blazing furiously. "Certain doom can never be delayed."

    "On that we can agree on, buster," Spacewarp quipped, raising her arm blaster and firing it at the Hunter. The monstrous mech merely absorbed the blast into his body.

    "Come now," he cackled. "We mustn't keep the Necrobot waiting."

    The blue mech got to his feet and pushed Spacewarp aside. "Go!" he urged her. "I'll handle him. You get out of here."

    "Forget it," Spacewarp retorted. "I'm not letting a fraggin Autobot die for me. If I'm going to escape, you're going with me."

    He gave her an incredulous look. "Seriously? Are you sure you're a Decepticon?"

    "No more questions, let's just go!" Grabbing the mech's arm, Spacewarp fled from the Hunter with him, no turning to see if the monster was following them.

--Outside--

    "Ow ow ow!" Fulcrum yelped as his head repeatedly hit Spinister's back as he and the other Scavengers ran from the fight between the Star Seekers and the Circle of Light. "If you're going to carry me, Spinister, at least put me on your back instead of -- ow! -- over your shoulder!"

    The larger Decepticon ignored him and the five Scavengers did not stop running until they were miles away from the others. After finding a scrap pile to rest by, Spinister unceremoniously dropped Fulcrum, who landed hard on his back, while the others sat down.

    "So," Krok said, once they had all been settled. "The Requiem Blaster, huh?"

    "I'm as surprised as you are," Crankcase said. "Like I said, I had no idea what we were carrying on the Harbinger. For all I knew, it could have been a pack of turbofoxes that Megatron wanted to experiment on. I never once thought it would be... this."

    "Since we're on the subject," Misfire said, moving awkwardly. "How did you end up with us if the Harbinger crashed here?"

    Crankcase let out a huff. "I'm the one who crashed it."

    "Deliberately or by accident?" Krok asked.

    "The former," Crankcase said. "I was getting sick of serving under Payload, who had been our captain. Since transfer was out of the question, my only option was to jettison via escape pod. I knew I would be blown to bits if I did that, so I took out the engines and abandoned ship right before it crashed. I spent Primus knows how long floating out in space before someone finally came along and picked me up."

    "Wow," Misfire said, still moving strangely. "Remind me to never frizz you off again."

    "What the slag's wrong with you?" Crankcase asked, staring at him strangely. "You look like you're about to release an energy cloud."

    Misfire made an exasperated sound as he opened up his hip compartment and fished out a spherical object. "It's this doo-hickey I found on Neutronia. It's been vibrating ever since we got here."

    "Is that... a transformation cog?" Krok asked, gazing at the object.

    "A t-cog that transforms stuff, yeah." As Misfire said this, the cog started shaking more vigorously in his hands, seeming to pull him in a specific direction. "Is it just me, or is it... trying to lead me somewhere?"

    "Don't be ridiculous," Crankcase scoffed. "What, you think it's some sort of cyber-dog?"

    Misfire did not answer him. Instead, he sprung to his feet and started moving in the direction the cog was taking him. The other Scavengers reluctantly followed him, with Spinister once again dragging Fulcrum along.

    The cog did not take them far. After crossing two scrap-filled yards, the five Decepticons reached a massive junkpile which looked rather oddly shaped. It didn't take long for them to deduce what it was.

    "It's the Harbinger," Crankcase murmured. "But... how would a t-cog be able to find it?"

    "Who cares?" Spinister asked. "Let's get big boom-boom stick and slag everyone alive."

    "And have everyone come after us? No thanks," Fulcrum said.

    "Ah, but just think, Fulcrum," Misfire said. "If we got our servos on this Requiem Blaster, we could go back to Cybertron and make Prime and Starscream kiss our feet. No one would be able to boss us around again!"

    "Um..." Spinister scratched his head. "Aren't we already our own bosses?"

    Misfire ignored him and hurried over to the crashed ship, dropping the t-cog so he could open the hatch. Once he had done so, he waved the others over.

    "What are you pinheads waiting for? Let's get dangerous!"

--Metroplex--

    "Here's your stop. Good luck."

    While Backslash flew off, after heaving dropped Axer off at the smashed opening the Hunter had made in Metroplex, the ex-Decepticon stood in frozen horror at the macabre sight that greeted him. Lifeless bodies were scattered across the room, all with their mouths gaping open. It wasn't difficult to deduce that the Hunter had just been here. If he absorbed all of these mechs' sparks... he had to be near invulnerable by now.

    One of the bodies stirred, starling Axer and prompting him to deploy his axe. Seeing that the mech still had glowing optics -- albeit very dim -- Axer figure that he was not a zombie and had merely been spared by the Hunter, although for why he could not fathom.

    "B-b-b..." the mech was trying to say. Against his better judgment, Axer moved over to him and knelt at his side.

    "What is it?" he asked. "What are you trying to say?"

    "B-b-be-Beta..." the mech finally managed with some difficulty. "B-beta Maxx... he's got him. That... that beast."

    "Who's Beta Maxx?"

    "A... Mini-Con. He's... he's the key to... all of this. Dai Atlas... has foretold it. If he dies... the mission is lost."

    Axer grimaced. He had no idea what this bot was trying to tell him or why this Beta Maxx was important. But if the Hunter had taken him, then this Mini-Con must have had some importance.

    "I'll get him back," Axer said to the mech, although he wasn't sure if he was actually promising or not. Regardless, he added, "I promise."

    "Please," the mech croaked. "For... all our...."

    His speech trailed off as his body slumped lifelessly against the wall. Axer rose to his feet, trying to calm his racing spark.

    You can do this. You can do this. You can do this.

    He transformed to his car mode and revved his engine.

    You can do this. You can do this. You can do this.

    With a roar, he peeled out of the room.

    You're gonna die. You're gonna die. You're gonna die.

Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Chapter Eight

CHAPTER EIGHT

--Junkion--

    "Star Seekers," Ginrai muttered, shaking his head at the crashed ship the Junkions were currently investigating. "It just had to be Star Seekers."

    "What are they doing here of all places?" asked Flareup, standing with her commander along with Dai Atlas, Star Saber, and Devcon. "Do you think they're after the Requiem Blaster as well?"

    "Unlikely," Dai Atlas said, his arms folded over his chest. "Pirates would have little use for relics that many don't even believe to exist. They likely wouldn't find it worth their time to try to profit from one of them."

    "It's still awfully convenient that they'd crash here," Devcon said. "There's something fishy about this, and last I checked, we weren't on Aquatron."

    Star Saber gave Dai Atlas a concerned glance. "Should we look into it ourselves?"

    "No, this is their turf and thus their concern. It's not our place to intervene."

    "So if these pirates come out guns blazing, we should just stand by and watch?" Star Saber asked pointedly.

    Dai Atlas sighed. It was never unlike Star Saber to challenge any order he gave.

    "Fine," he muttered. "If it comes to that, then we'll provide our assistance."

    As soon as he said that, the faint sound of shattering glass was heard and they all saw a black and gold mech falling from the broken viewport of the crashed ship's bridge. Before it had even hit the ground, a second form -- a brown and blue spaceship -- followed it, flying out and towards Dai Atlas and the others.

    "Star Saber?" Ginrai said.

    "Yes, Ginrai?"

    "If we die, I'm going to kill you for this."

    "I'm glad we've gotten along so well."

--The Tidal Wave--

    "Scrap," was the first thing Fulcrum heard Axer say once they had gotten to the bridge. Since he was draped over Spinister's shoulder staring at the floor, he had no idea what had prompted the curse.

    "What do you mean scrap?" he asked. "Why do you say scrap?"

    "We're too late," Axer said. "The Hunter's already gotten Cannonball and he's now loose--"

    "You!"

    Fulcrum craned his head to see another Star Seeker -- a burly burgundy mech with hints of an animal alt mode -- storming up to Axer with the worst of all scowls on his face.

    "You were supposed to be the Hunter's caretaker! How the slag did you let him get loose?!"

    "It can wait, Stronghorn," Axer snapped. "Where's Cannonball? Did the Hunter get him?"

    "He threw him out the viewport," said the one Fulcrum knew to be Ferak. "Unless he landed on something really sharp or a landmine, he should still be alive."

    "In that case, I'll go get him--"

    "No you don't." Stronghorn grabbed Axer roughly by the shoulder. "You had one job and you screwed it up. If you want to stay a valued member of our crew, then you're going to clean up your own mess."

    Axer stared at Stronghorn, looking as if he was about to protest. Instead, he made a disgruntled sound. 

    "Fair enough." He turned to the Scavengers. "Come along."

    "Oh, I don't think so," Stronghorn said, now grinning viciously. "Like I said, this is your mess, Axer. If you were able to single-handedly screw it up, you should be able to fix it on your own."

    "What? No!" Axer exclaimed. "You don't understand! I didn't -- they were --"

    "Hey, relax," said another Star Seeker, laying a taloned hand on Axer's shoulder. "I know you can't fly, so I'll give you a lift. But after that, you're on your own."

    Over Axer's incoherent protests, the other pirate dragged him over to the shattered viewport and lifted off on a pair of turbines. Once they had left, Stronghorn stepped up to address the others.

    "Right then, back to business. Ferak, you and Tornado get to work on repairing the ship. Get the drones if you need to. As for everyone else, you're with me. Once we retrieve Cannonball -- dead or alive, doesn't matter -- we're get what we came here for. And if it means razing this scrap pile, then so be it."

    The Star Seekers cheered heartily in response. None of the Scavengers joined in.

    "Why do I get the feeling we're gonna get the short end of the energon stick out of this mess?" Misfire murmured.

    "I'd argue our very existence is on the short end of the stick," Fulcrum commented.

    Crankcase grunted. "Join the club."

--Metroplex--

    "Sweet Primus, is this ship huge," Spacewarp grumbled to herself as she turned a corner into the nth hallway she had entered so far. "Are you sure you can't map out any escape paths?"

    "My tiny old processor can't even begin to make out a diagram of this thing," Foldspace replied. "It feels less like a ship and more like a... city."

    City. That word brought Spacewarp to a halt as she pondered over this. She then looked at Foldspace and said, "Didn't you say this ship had a spark?"

    "Did I?"

    "Yeah. Right before we got captured you said it was alive."

    "I say a lot of strange things without knowing it. One time you said I had called Primon my spark-brother."

    "Right, but in this case, you actually sounded lucid." Spacewarp rubbed her chin in thought. "If what you had said is true, and this ship is 'alive', so to speak, do you think this might be a Titan?"

    "And since when did you suddenly start believing in myths?" Foldspace asked wryly.

    "I think you're missing the point. If this is indeed a Titan -- or something like one, at least -- then this would be a greater find than any lousy old trinket. We could tell Omega Trion to stick it up his exhaust with this beauty."

    "And how, may I ask, do you expect to bring this thing to Omega Trion?"

    Spacewarp chuckled. "That, old friend, is where you come in."

--Outside--

    "It's heading for Metroplex!" Ginrai exclaimed as the mysterious ship shot straight overhead and flew towards the Titan.

    "I'll handle them," Devcon said, converting to his jet mode. "Don't wait up."

    As the others watched him fly off, Flareup nudged Dai Atlas with her elbow. "Trouble incoming," she muttered.

    Dai Atlas turned around to see a large crowd of Star Seekers approaching them, carrying the black and gold mech that had fallen from the ship by the arms. Also with them were the Junkions; Wreck-Gar was hurriedly walking up to Dai Atlas and his group.

    "Er, sorry to bother you," the Junkion leader said. "But, ah, these fellows, they, uh--"

    "You are wasting my time, junk-hoarder!" the black and gold mech bellowed. "Where is the Harbinger?"

    Wreck-Gar held up his hand. "Hang on a sec, mate--"

    "Don't you 'mate' me!" the pirate snarled, wrenching himself free from the other's hold. "I have spent orbital cycles searching for my quarry and now I've just lost my ship for it! You'd better give me what I want now before I take it for myself and destroy everyone else in the process!"

    "Easy now," Wreck-Gar said. "One customer at a time. You'll both get what you want." He flashed a grin. "Conveniently enough, they're both in the same package."

    "What do you mean?" Dai Atlas asked.

    "That Requiem Blaster you and your fellas are looking for? We found it years ago on this ship that had crashed here. I had no idea what it was, but old Pinion always knows his stuff and identified it. And wouldn't you know? Shearbolt got the name 'Harbinger' out of its databanks. Funny story, I tell you."

    "Wait," Cannonball said, deadly quiet. "Did you just say they're looking for the Requiem Blaster?"

    Wreck-Gar glanced at him. "I reckon I just did."

    Cannonball started to smile, slowly and menacingly. "Funny. So are we."

    "You wot, mate? I thought you said you wanted the Harbing--" It finally dawned on Wreck-Gar and his face filled with dread at the realization. "Oh. I see."

    As one, both sides drew their weapons. Seeing it unwise to interfere, the Junkions stepped away from the scene.

    "I suppose there's only one way to settle this," Cannonball declared. "The old-fashioned way."

Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Chapter Seven

CHAPTER SEVEN

--The Tidal Wave--

    "We've reached Junkion, cap'n."

    "Jolly good!" Cannonball exclaimed, sitting up straight in his seat. "Let us hope that Crankshaft's tale was true and that our prizes lies ahead!"

    "Crankcase, captain," Stronghorn muttered.

    "Seal your port," Cannonball snapped. "Backslash, prepare to--"

    Ferak turned in his seat. "Er, captain?"

    As soon as he had spoken, the ship started to violently rumble and Cannonball, as well as others, were sent flying out of their seats. After grabbing onto something, Cannonball roared, "What is it?!"

    "We've lost our engines," Ferak murmured, barely holding onto his station.

    "Evidently!" Hoisting himself up, Cannonball took a look out the viewport and saw that they were on a fast collision course with the planet of junk.

    "Brimstone," he growled. "Have Cruellock take a party to the engine rooms. I want to at least have these culprits die before I do."

--Junkion--

    "Welcome to Junkion!" Wreck-Gar greeted the four or so bots disembarking from the massive vessel. "Where a can of wheat is always asked! How may we be of service?"

    The mech in the lead, a white and blue fellow, surveyed the garbage-filled landscape before looking at Wreck-Gar. "We are in search of an ancient relic."

    Wreck-Gar whistled. "Ancient relic? Think I would know if I had one. What's it look like?"

    "I can't really give an exact description," the mech said. "It's known as the Requiem Blaster, so I would presume--"

    "Requiem Blaster?" Wreck-Gar repeated. "Honestly, the names you give these things. Requiem Blaster, Reverence Shield, Ultimatum Blade. I've heard it all, pal, I tell ya."

    The mech let out a slightly impatient sigh. "Do you have any weapons that may fit the moniker?"

    Wreck-Gar chuckled before patting the bot on the shoulder. "Fear not, star-traveler. I know what it is you seek. Ask, and ye may receive."

    "So... you have the Requiem Blaster?"

    "Of course! Follow me and--"

    "Chief! Chief!"

    Wreck-Gar turned to see Arclight running up to him once again, looking even more panicked than usual.

    "Code thirteen! Code thirteen!"

    Code thirteen? Wreck-Gar thought. What's code thirteen again? Something about large falling objects?

    He looked up and immediately saw that he was correct. A large ship -- not as massive as the first one, but close enough -- was plummeting from the sky. 

    This was definitely going to be a strange day.

--The Tidal Wave--

    This was definitely going to be a bad day.

    Fulcrum could feel his spark pulsing like crazy, and it wasn't because they were going to crash. From his cage, the Hunter was roaring furiously and rattling the bars with enough vigor that Fulcrum thought the beast would be able to free himself.

    Alarms were blaring throughout the ship. Axer was shouting something but Fulcrum couldn't make him out. Other shouts were coming from the hall outside, likely other Star Seekers sent to investigate. Then, everything came to a halt and Fulcrum was sent flying into the wall.

    Once his systems had recovered from the trauma received to them, Fulcrum awoke to find himself lying on the deck -- or the wall, rather; apparently the gravity engines had given out upon impact. He tried to move, only to realize that he couldn't feel his legs. His servo motors had finally given out.

    He craned his head up to see if any of the other Scavengers or Axer were still on their feet. Instead, he found someone else standing over him.

    The Hunter.

    Now freed from his cage, the monstrous Cybertronian stood taller than Fulcrum had initially thought. His mass at least matched that of Tarn's, but Fulcrum considered the Hunter just a bit more intimidating.

    The Hunter was staring at Fulcrum, and for a moment the Scavenger thought he saw more than little bit of intelligence in his primeval green optics. Was this monster truly a mindless beast like Axer had inferred, or something much more?

    A loud bang sounded from the door -- now on the floor -- and Fulcrum could hear Cruellock's voice coming from outside.

    "Is anyone in here? Open up now before we blast our way in!"

    The Hunter moved his attention to the door, bending over to pry it open. He then grabbed Cruellock, who had been scaling up the repositioned floor, and hoisted him up, squeezing his neck. The Star Seeker opened his mouth, but instead of screaming or speaking, his spark emerged from it and fell out. The Hunter caught it with his other hand and absorbed it into his body. He then released Cruellock's lifeless form, letting it fall through the door. After taking one last glance at Fulcrum -- who almost took it for a warning look -- the Hunter jumped through the door as well.

    "What are you waiting for?" Axer cried, getting to his feet along with the other Scavengers. "After him!"

    "Did you not see what he just did?!" Crankcase shouted. "That beast will slaughter us!"

    "Don't worry, I know how to deal with him," Axer said, although he sounded doubtful to Fulcrum. "Just... just follow my lead."

    "Um, just to let you guys know, I can't move my legs," Fulcrum said. "So, uh, if you guys want to leave without me, I'm totally okay with that. I don't want to be a burden to anyone. If you want to come back and get me once the craziness is over, then that's completely fine with me."

    "Spinister, would you mind carrying him?" Krok said. "We Scavengers have to stick together, after all."

    Against Fulcrum's protests, Spinister lifted the other Decepticon up and put him over his shoulder. The Scavengers then joined Axer and went through the door, following the sounds of the Hunter's rampage.

--Metroplex--

    "Spacewarp?"

    "Not now, Foldspace," Spacewarp hissed at the Mini-Con, peeking around a corner for more guards. "I'm trying to escape."

    "I know, but this is important," Foldspace replied, still powerlinked to her arm. "I think I might have found Krok and his band."

    Spacewarp paused. "Really? Here?"

    "Their signal is faint, but they're definitely nearby."

    Spacewarp had to take a moment to register this. She would never admit to being a believer, but this had to either be a work of Primus or an extremely lucky coincidence that she had to take advantage of.

    "Well, I'll be darned," she murmured before proceeding with her escape with even more determination.

    This was definitely going to be a lucky day.

--The Tidal Wave--

    "Would someone give me a blasted status report?"

    Ferak scrambled to his feet and got back to his station, now on its side and with a cracked monitor thanks to the crash. He knew just from looking at it that he would not be able to get it back on.

    "All systems are down," he muttered.

    "I can see that!" Cannonball snapped. "What I want is a report from Cruellock! Has he gotten the heads of the scrappers behind this?"

    Before anyone could respond, something hit the door to the bridge -- now on the ceiling. As everyone on the bridge looked up, the door was torn away by a pair of clawed hands and a massive shape descended from it.

    His optical visor brightening with shock, Cannonball took a step back as he deployed a pair of blades from his hands. "Hunter," he murmured, staring in disbelief at the monstrous mech. "How did you get free?"

    The Hunter made a noise which almost sounded like a laugh, a laugh that sounded alien and almost ethereal. When he opened his mouth to speak, his voice came out sounding like multiple voices speaking at once.

    "I am slave to no one, least of all a lowly pirate such as you."

    Cannonball scowled. "You dare insult me, you worthless animal?"

    "Animal? Worthless?" The Hunter chuckled. "No. I am more than that -- more than either one of you. And if you do not believe me...."

    He rolled his hand into a fist and a cannon unfurled from his arm, its barrel glowing green.

    "Then allow me to show you."

Transformers Regenerated: Scavengers, Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

--Junkion--

    "Honey, I'm home!"

    Wreck-Gar jumped down from the ramp of his ship, leaving his crewmates to handle the cargo. Moving at a quick pace, he made his way towards the one he considered to be his life, his everything.

    "Annie, are you okay? Are you okay, Annie?"

    'Annie' wasn't actually her name, of course. As far as he knew, she didn't have a name, at least not one she was willing to share. As such, it was up to him to identify her, using assorted female names gathered from foreign broadcasts. She had yet to object to this practice, even smiling whenever he called her 'Nancy', which was what he called her most of the time. The only name that had so far brought out a negative response was 'Xeellmanophuia', so he made sure to never use it again.

    She was certainly a mystery to him, which was precisely why he loved her. Every moment spent with her was like finding a puzzle piece and fitting it into the bigger picture. One day he would figure her out, and until the day she decided to leave him, he would cherish each moment like it was their last.

    Nancy was sitting atop a pile of scrap, gazing at nothing. When Wreck-Gar reached her, she looked up at him with a bright smile on her face.

    "Bosk loh," she said. Wreck-Gar wasn't sure what it meant, but it sounded like a greeting.

    "Hello, it's me," he said in return, making a mental note to one day teach Nancy how to speak Junkion. "Look what I found!"

   In his hands he held up a shimmering crystal, which Scrapheap had found during their salvage trip. The other Junkion hadn't wanted it for himself (and even if he had, Wreck-Gar would have taken it anyway) and so Wreck-Gar decided it would make a perfect gift for his sweetheart. 

    The look in her eyes did not disappoint him. "Ooh!" she swooned as she took the jewel. "Bhosh tosk yoshaa-laa! Foo yoo-aah!"

   Wreck-Gar gave her his widest grin. "Don't mention it, darling. It's because I care."

    Nancy got to her feet and moved over to hug him. However, before they could get romantic with each other, Wreck-Gar heard the pattering of feet and turned to see Arclight rushing up to him.

   "Chief! Arrivals at twelve o'clock! She's a big one!"

    It didn't take long for Wreck-Gar to see what he meant. Appearing in the sky was a massive white and black vessel. Going by its appearance -- a long, flat front section extending from a blocky rear -- he almost thought it could have been one of the fabled Titans. It matched the description Pinion would give them. But he knew that wasn't the case; the Titans were nowhere close to being real.

    "Well, all righty then!" he said. "Let's get down to business!"

--The Tidal Wave--

    "So... Axer, huh? Were all the better names taken?"

    Axer did not break his stride, standing in front of the five Scavengers as he led them to the engine rooms. "Better than Misfire," he grunted.

    "Oh, I don't know, I quite like my name," Misfire said. "It tells you a lot about me; not that any of it's good, mind you, but it gets the job done. But 'Axer?' I mean, where's your axe?"

   Axer came to an abrupt stop and turned around. He curled his right hand into a fist before retracting it and replacing it with an axe. He waved it in front of Misfire's face, who was sufficiently intimidated.

    "Here it is," the Star Seeker growled. "Pray that you never find it in your neck."

    Misfire nodded vigorously. "Right. Got it. Axer. Great name. Wonderful name. Right up there with Sinnertwin and Slayride. Great name."

    "Good. Now shut up." After putting away the axe, Axer continued down the hall, with the Scavengers close behind.

    They eventually reached the engine rooms, which appeared to be deserted. However, a low growl could be heard coming from the shadows.

    "Oh no, I see what this is," Misfire said. "This was a trap, I knew it. You're gonna feed us to some rabid Mecannibal you've been keeping."

    "Please, I'm sure they are far less tedious ways of getting rid of you," Axer said. "However, I can't guarantee that he won't try to kill you. Or me. Or everyone else on this ship."

    "What do you mean?" Krok asked. "Who is 'he?'"

    Axer flipped on a switch and a dim light was cast over a cage placed in the center of the room. Inside the cage was a monstrous, hulking mech colored in dark brown and blue. Green eyes glowed from a face filled with silver vertically-rowed mandibles.

    "What... in Mortilus' name... is that thing?" Crankcase asked.

    "We call him the Hunter," Axer said. "I don't know where Cannonball found him, but he left me in charge of taking care of him. I must admit, I've had worse jobs...."

    "Why is he called the Hunter?" Fulcrum asked.

    "He has a keen sense for innermost energon and blood. When Cannonball wants a particular rival dead -- be they mechanical or organic -- he sends the Hunter after them."

    "Don't tell me," Krok said. "You want to turn the Hunter on Cannonball, right?"

    "If only it were that simple... and I so ambitious." Axer shook his head. "No, I'm not out to kill anyone -- at least not intentionally. My plan is that, once we reach Junkion, the five of you disable the engines so that we crash before landing. Then, when a party comes down to investigate, you let Hunter out of his cage and have him head for the bridge. Then you do exactly as I tell you to help me put him down before he kills Cannonball."

    "And... this accomplishes what, exactly?" Crankcase asked.

    "I get it," Krok said. "We save Cannonball's life, leaving him obligated to hold his end of the deal... but knowing him as well as I do, I doubt he's that honorable."

    "Oh, he has his moments," Axer said. "And with me there, I'm sure I can persuade him to increase the reward."

    Krok rubbed his chin, considering the plan. Fulcrum, on the other hand, had already made up his mind.

    "Forget it," he said. "This is crazy and suicidal, not to mention just plain stupid. You said so yourself, that you can't be sure he'll try to kill us as well. What makes you think this'll work?"

    Axer shrugged. "Hey, you don't want to do it, then fine. I'll just look for someone else to help me. But consider your options: do this and get rewarded or don't and get gypped. Seems like an obvious choice to me."

    "I say count me in," Misfire said. "I mean, it can't be much worse than the D.J.D., right?"

    Crankcase sighed apathetically. "Feh. Whatever."

    Spinister looked confused. "Wait, I thought we were talking about mecannibals."

    Krok nodded firmly. "Fine. We'll do it."

    Fulcrum opened his mouth to object but thought better of it, knowing what he had to say would make no difference. "Yeah, sure, go ahead and count me in," he muttered.

    "Glad to hear it," Axer said. "Now, let's get to work."

--Metroplex--

    "I think we've landed."

    Sitting in the cell Ginrai had thrown her in, Spacewarp did not glance at Foldspace at first and instead looked towards the guard standing at the end of the hall. Either the mech had not heard the Mini-Con or was doing a very good job of hiding the fact that he had.

    Deciding to take her chances, Spacewarp looked at Foldspace and said quietly, "What do you propose we do?"

    The old Mini-Con smirked. "What, so now you want to trust my old processor?"

    "My options are a bit limited here. I'll take whatever I can get."

    Foldspace rubbed his chin in thought. "Well, we could do what we did the last time we were someone's prisoners."

    "You mean the Shi-Lai?" Spacewarp shook her head. "That won't work here. Those meatbags were more gullible than a protoform."

    Foldspace spared a quick glance at the solitary guard outside. In a lower voice, he said, "You could also... you know."

    "Too risky," Spacewarp responded firmly.

    "How? There's only one of him, and he doesn't look anything special."

    "I'm sure they've got more waiting, and who knows how many security cameras they've got."

     Foldspace scoffed. "It's not like you're maximum priority or anything, no offense. Just blast yourself out and--"

    "What's going on here?"

    Spacewarp and her partner both looked to see the guard now standing right outside the cell, idly holding his axe.

    "Anything you care to share with me?" he asked.

    Spacewarp exchanged glances with Foldspace before smiling beneath her mouthplate. "Just a word of advice."

    Before the guard had time to react, Foldspace leaped up and morphed into his alt mode. He then instantly fused with Spacewarp's arm, which unleashed a blast of energy that blew the cell open and sent the guard flying into a wall. Once the smoke had cleared, Spacewarp stepped out triumphantly.

    "Never underestimate a girl and her Mini-Con."