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."
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