When the team of Villains, led by
Barah, returned to The Castle to report on their supposed killing of 3 Hunters…
The
Captain of the City Guard and Searchers, who is known as The Captian, listened to the Searcher team’s report.
Barah
was concluding her oral report. “And this, Captain, is all that is left of that
sorry band of Hunters.” She motioned for one of her team members to show the
Captain the scorched blue armor plating they found in the wreckage of the
missile blast zone. He did so.
The
Captain reached out and took it in his hands, and inspected it.
“Hmmm.
Are you certain this is all that was left? That there weren’t any others who
saw the whole thing and got away?” The Captain asked of Barah.
“Have
I ever failed a mission before, Captain?” She responded.
“That
doesn’t answer my question.” He shot back.
“I
had my team search out the area thoroughly. In fact, some even went back to the
scene at a later time and looked around, just in case anyone was planning to
come back to see what was left of their incinerated Hunter friends. We came up
with nothing.”
“Alright.
Good. But, I do have something to say. And, I want to make myself clear. The
Leaders did not call for a war against all Hunters. They wanted to find only
the ones who killed my troopers, and terminate those ones in particular. Not
all Hunters are necessarily enemies. Some might never cause a problem with us,
and I don’t want to deal with unnecessary conflict. From now on, we need not
engage Hunters in every circumstance. Only in cases where they are hostile
towards us. If that happens, you have my personal permission to engage. But, if
you see a gang walking down the street during a patrol, and they carry on or
run away, let them go for now, unless otherwise instructed. Do I make myself
clear?”
“Yes,
Captain.” Barah said.
“Good.”
The Captain then stepped toward Barah, and said in a hushed tone so that only
she could hear was about to be said, “Now, if I were speaking to any other
Searcher, I’d be direr with my consequence. You’re a well-respected Villain,
and you’re too good to let go.” He leaned in closer, squinting his eyes
slightly. “But, don’t let that get to your head.” He stepped back and looked at
Barah’s squad.
“Understood.”
She said, also whispering.
“Alright.
I think I’ve said quite enough. Be on your way now.” He saluted Barah, she and her squad did the
same, and were dismissed.
--
Inside
their cells, the Team Alpha Heroes looked at the screens that had come down
from the ceilings. All that remained of Team Alpha were Stormer, Furno, Breeze,
Rocka, Stringer, Surge, and Nex, who was now inside the Chamber. Evo died at
the hands of Ahaz and Bulk fought valiantly against the mighty Anak during the
Villain’s takeover of the Hero Factory, but lost. The last thing these Heroes
want to see was another one of their team mates leave them.
--
Nex
walked around, still wondering what was going on. He knew something wasn’t
right. Something was wrong about this. Very wrong.
For
a split second, he felt a presence off to his right, just out of the line of
sight. He turned to see nothing. He did an about face, trying to see if there
was someone or something behind him. Nothing. He knew there had to be something
there, though.
A
bit of fear creeped into his mind. He quickly pushed it away. I can’t be frightened that easily, He
thought to himself, walking towards a smashed house. Maybe he could stay here.
It probably wouldn’t make him as vulnerable compared to being in the open.
He
was nearing the door of the house when… It
came again. That presence. It felt like it was from... behind!
He
spun around. Nothing at all. All he saw was a wrecked city. A building that
looked like it could collapse any day now.
--
The
machine kept its eyes locked on Nex from the shadows, moving to and fro. There
was no sign that its target, Nex, was aware of its presence. As soon as the
target entered the house it was heading into, Decim8r walked into a big
building that looked very unstable. He then looked up at the ceiling and saw
what it was looking for.
--
Nex
saw a chair under a bunch of clutter, and decided to clear it off and rest for
a little while. Finally, something better than a cement floor and metal beds! He
sat down and relaxed a bit. He tried his hardest, but couldn’t keep from
closing his eyes. He felt a sudden sense of tiredness. Wow. He thought. I never
thought a chair like this would be so comfy.
RUMBLE!
Nex’s
eyes shot open, frightened at the sound he just heard. He tore towards a window
to see the cause of the noise.
“Oh
No!” He exclaimed.
--
The
Heroes in their cells saw everything Nex saw. They were all scared for Nex too.
--
The
Alliance was gathered together once again, also having the rest of their crew
who were in The Hatch listen and watch their meeting on a video call. It was
the only video call system they had set up, but it was thanks to Oran’s handy
work.
Jerin
stood before everyone and the camera feeding to the Hatch.
“Alright. I hope everyone is rested up. Now that we
have the new Square system set up, and radar surrounding our posts, we can
begin the next major phase of The Plan: setting up underground tunnels to save
and release families for the Villain’s cities. We’ll start by targeting smaller
cities, without as large of security teams. Having scouted many areas over
time, thanks to our wonderful and brave scouting teams, our first place will be
a city east of here. We have to do it slowly, that way these Villains won’t
notice.
Now,
these tunnels cannot start in our hideouts. They must be a distance from here,
just in case a Villain discovers our tunnels. For security reasons. We’ll have
to make a way to seal them off from both sides, that way the tunnels are not so
easily accessible. Now that everyone is here, you all are free to pitch ideas
about how this will work.”
The
Alliance carried on for quite a while. Having many present at this meeting
provided quite a few viewpoints and perspectives. Bouncing the ideas off of a
lot of bots helped in making a more concrete plan of action, having covered
ways to deal with different scenarios. It went quite smoothly. They would soon
begin the next phase.
--
Days after the meeting between Drack
and Cain with the Fire Lord and Witch Doctor…
Cain
was driving the patrol vehicle today.
“Hmmm.
Still no sign of any dangerous Hunters.” Cain said.
“Nope.
I haven’t heard anything from The Captain.” Drack said.
Drack’s
mind suddenly went to a thought of Sheer. He hadn’t thought about her in a
while now. Hmm… He wondered. It must
have been because he was thinking about bots who were against the Leaders. He
was slightly surprised he hadn’t seen her anywhere. Ever. But, because he
always had Cain with him on patrols, he never had the chance to look for her.
“Hey!
I think I see something!” Cain said. He slowed the cruiser down. “Is that what
I think it is?”
“Whaaa…”
Drack shook his head, clearing it. “What is it?”
As
soon as he asked the question, it was answered for him.
“A
Stray!” Cain said.
“Alright.
Pull ahead a little further. Once we park, we’ll try to intercept the bot.”
Cain
did just that.
Drack
picked up the Searcher communicator, pressed the talk button and then said,
“There has been a potential Stray sighting. My partner and I are attempting to
engage. Here are my coordinates.” He named them off. “Get here as soon as you
can. Over and out.”
The
receiver beeped and a voice came from it saying, “Copy that. Back up is on the
way.” Another voice said, “We hear you. We’re heading your direction as well.
Over.”
The
two Searchers took off toward where they saw the Stray last, inside a house.
They exited the patrol vehicle, and brandished their rifles. They were nearing
the house they saw the Stray in.
“Okay.
Listen carefully. The Stray may know we were coming back for him. So, I’ll go
around this side of the house while you go around the other. I will enter
through the front. You stay outside, just in case he tries to make a run for
it. Maybe we can catch him in his attempt to escape.”
“Good
plan.” Cain said. “Let’s do it.”
So,
Cain circled around the back of the house as Drack circled the front. He looked
around and stayed as quiet as possible. He ducked under a window to avoid being
seen.
The
front door was only a couple of steps away now.
He
entered the house.
“Okay.
I know you’re in here. Come on out. You can make this easy for the both of us
and just come towards my voice and turn yourself in. I promise not to hurt you,
if you do that for me.”
Silence.
“Don’t
make me use force.”
He
stepped further in.
“Come
on out!” He called as he entered a hallway with three doors.
He
opened one of the doors, and turned on his flashlight. Nothing in that one.
He
stepped in front of the second door and waited. He then called, “If you have
some sort of weapon, I’ll have no choice but to use force against you!” He cocked his gun slowly, intentionally. Click… click.
He
connected the light to his rifle and pushed the door open. Still nothing.
He
entered the hallway again.
“I’ll
give you one last chance! Come on out, unarmed, and I won’t hurt you. You have
my word!”
He
waited a moment. The house was quiet.
He
walked in front of the third door, adrenaline starting to rush.
He
kicked the door open. Smash!
There
was the Stray, sitting in a corner of the dark room. The only room in the house
without a window.
“Come
on out, and keep your hands where I can see them.”
The
Stray sat there, scared.
“Did
you hear me? Get up, I said!”
He
got up and stepped toward Drack.
“Hands
in the air.” The Stray put his hands up. “Alright. Stand right there. Your
hands are to remain up!” He pulled up the small com link from his belt.
“Alright Cain, I have the Stray right here. Come on in. I have him in a room.
I’m cuffing him right now.
The
Stray followed all of Drack’s orders as he cuffed him.
Drack
noticed Cain had not responded.
“Hey,
Cain, I now have him cuffed. He didn’t put up a fight. I’m taking him to our
cruiser now.”
No
response still.
“Say,”
Drack said to the Stray, “How have you been able to survive for so long?”
“I
just found enough to get by,” he responded.
The
Searcher and Stray stepped outside.
“I’m
impressed. Thank you for not putting up a fight. That would have been a very
bad choice. By the way, what might your name be?”
“My
name is Brey.”
To
Be Continued in Part 6
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