Chapter 63: The Touch Part 23
[47 Days After Megatron's Appearance]
Somewhere unknown in the depths of Cybertron...
A group of Cybertronians were in a large, dimly lit cave; there were only four of them, two of them obviously armed, while the other two didn't even seem concerned by their presence.
"This place gives me the creeps, it looks haunted." Said a mercenary named 45-O, who wore dark red armor and carried only an Energon rifle.
E-345, the second mercenary in the small group, agreed with a weary snort. "We've been in this damn cave for hours. I should have charged more for this job."
"Hey Doctor, what are we really looking for?" 45-O asked, looking around to make sure no one or creature was following him.
"We are here to find the legendary Predacon burial ground, following clues through the geographic map and ancient records I have collected after decades of study." Said 22-TT, the leader of the expedition, the oldest of the four. He carried a holographic map of the entire route so no one would get lost. "If we find this legendary cemetery, we will make history and make our names known for generations to come."
22-TT's younger companion, known as 467-D, agreed and shared his excitement. "I'm dying to find a Predacon, even if it's just a corpse. Their legends are fantastic, everything about them is incredible, Even if it's only in words, just the thought that creatures like them existed sends a huge chill through my spark."
E-345 found 467-D's strange and obsessive way of expressing himself odd, as if he were a crazy fanatic and not a real researcher. [At least I'm getting paid for this damn job.] He thought, raising the gun to a dark hole in one of the walls where he saw claw marks. [Maybe this research isn't useless after all. If we're lucky, I can kill some beast and sell its parts for a bonus.]
45-O took note of the direction in which his colleague was looking and noticed the visible claw marks, which made him more alert in case they were attacked, because whatever had made those marks was something big.
The group continued on for a few more miles, fortunately some Energon fragments were visible in the metal rocks, allowing natural light to be generated in this environment, allowing the four to continue.
"My joints are killing me..." 22-TT whispered to himself, feeling his legs screaming for a break. "Let's rest and refuel."
467-D looked at his mentor and couldn't help but frown in irritation. "We can't stop now, we're only moments away from finding the Predacon graveyard!"
"Hey kid, shut up!" 45-O ordered, pointing his finger at 467-D, his irritation evident. "We're in uncharted territory, we know we can find anything down here, a hive of Insecticons or a beast thirsty for our Energon! Stop acting like an amateur, you idiot."
22-TT understood his student's excitement and anxiety, but since they were so far from the exit, they should make the trip more comfortable and safe for everyone. "We are more than 3,000 kilometers from the surface, finding the Predacon cemetery is a difficult task, we cannot play with luck."
"I don't want to sound like the idiot of the group, but how do you know the graveyard could be here? We're so far below the surface that I can imagine we're the first to get here." E-345 asked, resting the rifle on his shoulder.
"I've been studying the tectonic plates of our planet, all indications are that the graveyard was slowly moved underground until it disappeared from the records." 22-TT explained, sitting on the ground with difficulty because of his old knees.
"So it's just a search based on a theory of a possible location..." 45-O said with a sigh, hoping it would all be worth it.
"Hmmmm... I'm curious, how did those guys die?" E-345 asked, placing his weapon behind his back thanks to a magnetic device, then he crossed his arms and listened to the expert's explanation on the subject. "Weren't they considered to be the strongest Cybertronian race?"
"Well, they were wiped out by an event called..." 22-TT was abruptly interrupted.
"The Great Cataclysm." Said a mysterious, robotic voice, causing the two mercenaries to instinctively raise their weapons to protect their clients.
"Who's there?! Come out or we'll open fire!" 45-O threatened, pointing his gun at the unfamiliar voice. His experienced eyes became more focused as he noticed a shadowy figure slowly approaching.
22-TT, though tense from the unexpected situation, was more curious than afraid. "You must be a scholar to know about the Great Cataclysm."
"As a scientist, it's natural for me to know simple things like this." The mysterious Bot said, his dark figure becoming even more obvious and his heavy footsteps becoming even more audible thanks to his robust body. "And since I'm a scientist, I'm interested in exploring the possibilities, not just limiting my field of vision to a mere futile adventure like you amateurs."
E-345 felt a heavy aura around this mysterious bot, his fingers were on the trigger of his gun, waiting for the right moment to shoot, as he still needed to be sure that this mysterious bot was alone.
467-D was irritated at how he and his mentor were being disrespected by this mysterious bot, even more offended that this mysterious man felt entitled to underestimate them. "What is a scientist doing here?! Who are you to hide in the shadows, are you a coward?" He taunted, trying to restore his wounded pride.
The figure slowly revealed itself, all the more imposing because of its robust body and bizarre because of its face, which consisted of a large red optic without any sign of a visible mouth. "Calling me a coward is a very illogical opinion coming from a Guinea pig like you." The robot came close enough to reveal its purple armor.
"You called me a guinea pig? What are you insinuating?!" 467-D shouted, growing more irritated, but his angry look turned to one of terror as he finally realized who was standing before him, especially his teacher.
22-TT took a step back and fell to the ground after tripping over a random rock. "Shockwave!! Impossible!!"
The two mercenaries opened their eyes in horror as they realized the misfortune of encountering a criminal wanted for inhumane and unspeakable crimes of illegal experimentation.
"Fuck! E-345 shoot!!!" 45-O shouted, pulling the trigger on his weapon and firing bursts of Energon alongside E-345 at Shockwave.
Shockwave didn't even seem to care about being hit, his armor was perfectly resistant to shots that could easily kill anyone, but the secret behind this came from self-induced experiments on himself to achieve such resistance, and other secrets he built into himself.
"Your resistance is illogical, but I will use your existence for some purpose, as it is an opportunity to test the lethality of my pet." Shockwave raised his arm, ignoring the shots fired at him, and snapped his fingers, causing the entire cave to begin to shake. "Driller, destroy them."
The moment Shockwave said that, an earthquake shook everyone's feet, causing everyone but Shockwave himself to fall to the ground. Several cracks began to emerge from the ground, and a violent force hit everyone's sound receiver.
***
"Fsssssssss.... fsssssssss...." 467-D seemed to be struggling to breathe, his gaze seemingly lost, as if the world around him was colder.
His eyes dropped to his waist as he saw that half of his body was gone, leaving only a pool of Energon and the rest of his organism.
"38 seconds." Shockwave said, approaching slowly as if he were still in his labs, watching and studying his subjects.
"Fsssssss.... 38..... seconds...." 467-D murmured with barely audible difficulty, his eyes almost losing their light.
"It's now 23 seconds." Shockwave said coldly as he watched the Driller devour the corpse of one of the mercenaries, crushing the body with its rotating teeth while its other tentacles snaked towards the destroyed zone in seconds.
"Fsssssssssss... What are you..... saying....? Fssssssssss..." 467-D asked, noticing that he had lost the ability to feel the rest of his own body and that his vision was blurred.
"It's the seconds left until you die." Shockwave revealed, as he had deliberately allowed this kind of slow death in 467-D, as if he took some pleasure in watching his victims spend the next few seconds before their sparks died.
"Fssssssssss... that means ..." 467-D's eyes went blank, revealing that his death had just occurred, where his body would be destroyed to hide what had just happened to him and his companions. "Allspark..." He whispered his last words, so inaudible that not even Shockwave himself could hear them.
"Now I can continue my project without any unnecessary interruptions." Shockwave said, walking to the back of the cave where there were more tunnels that Driller had made earlier. "Driller, devour the rest of the bodies."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone