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Disclaimer - I do not own Storm Hawks. They are property of Nerd Corps and CEO Asaph Fipke.
Stork's Log:
Good News: We know Delilah is on the ship (and hungry).
Bad News: Piper's been attacked, and it seems Junko is the newest victim...
Junko opened the door to the engine core where the blue crystal array was displayed. After inspecting the area, he deemed it to be clear. He then stepped outside to the engine room where angled pipes surrounded him at every corner, silently humming. The Condor wasn't travelling in the air as far as Junko was concerned. Stork had deployed the grappling hooks just so they could find Delilah, but the pilot didn't specify the terra they had arrived at.
The wallop sighed. "Gee, I wonder how the others are doing. I haven't found Delilah yet…" His stomach rumbled, begging him for a morsel of last night's leftovers. "I'm sorry, but I've gotta keep watch."
There was a creak behind him. Junko turned and saw one of the pipes split into half, steam wafting out of it. Quickly, he pushed the two tubes together and made sure they were secure.
"The ship's not in any danger, is it?" He wondered why it had broken all of a sudden. His answer would come in a minute, as a threatening hiss came from another set of pipes. Junko froze, fear etched on his face. He saw the spider's shadow plastered on the metal walls, almost invisible due to the fact that the lights were on.
He clutched tightly on a critter bomb as his knees wobbled. The spider now scampered among the many conduits, waiting for an opening. Junko followed the sound of its legs as his hand trembled. He had it cornered. As long as the light was on, Delilah wouldn't attack him.
That turned out to be a bad notion. The spider snarled, leaping towards him with its scarlet mouth. Junko instinctively threw the critter net bomb at it, but it was too late. The arachnoid clung onto his face and Junko felt its cuspid piercing his tough skin. He managed to pluck it off, throwing it onto the floor.
He noticed a split pipe to his right and, with a quick gesture, bent it towards the spider as steam blew outwards. The steam swept it off its legs and into the wall. "Got ya!" he exclaimed in relief. But his victory was short-lived as the arachnoid was back in action.
Junko squeaked in fright as he headed for the sliding doors. As he saw the spider pursuing after him, he ran outside to the lower deck corridors where he bumped into the circuit boards, electrocuting him to a crisp.
Charred but unhurt, Junko noticed the lights wavering as they crackled off. He looked behind him to see a damaged circuit board, telling him that every single room in the Condor was down. "Oh, no! The Condor is in a blackout and it's all my fault!"
The wallop's stomach rumbled again. "Be quiet!" he shushed.
But it already gave him away. Delilah had found him and, realizing that the lights were no more, hissed in satisfaction. Junko whimpered, trapped onto the wall with no escape.
There was crashing above him. Junko looked up, alarmed by the noise. Is it the others…?
He didn't have time for an answer. Instead, he yowled as Delilah caught him in her web.
...
"Hang on, Junko!" Aerrow swerved to his left, his energy blades brimming with blue light. His face both showed fear and determination, as he gritted his teeth. He already lost Piper to the spider. He wasn't going to lose Junko now.
He found the open hatch on the floor which led to the lower decks of the ship. Not bothering to use the hatchway ladder, Aerrow hopped in, hurriedly dashing to the engine room. The corridors of the lower decks were more menacing than the upper levels, mainly because the lights installed here were very faint and dim in comparison.
He arrived at the right hallway, but froze on the spot. He sheathe his blades to his back, his pupils dilated with shock.
Right at the end of the corridor was a petrified Junko, encased in the same purple web. He had held his meaty hands in defense, his face truly frightened. Aerrow ran to him in worry as he observed his flight engineer. Junko had his mouth open, which Aerrow guessed was the wallop's second attempt to scream. Even so, Aerrow didn't understand. Not only did the Sky Knight's eyes widen with shock, but with confusion. Piper had been attacked by Delilah just minutes after Stork found her, and now Junko was supposedly attacked by the same spider in a matter of seconds? Just how fast was this spider?!
Aerrow shook his head. Before he found Stork with Piper, he was in the corridor near the hatch. If Delilah was making her way to the engine room, why hadn't Aerrow encountered her? Did she find another way? The Sky Knight bit his lip in thought when he shifted his gaze to the circuit board behind Junko. It looked as though it had been hit with a strong force, a force Aerrow wouldn't imagine to be Delilah's. That could only mean that it was Junko who crippled the light system.
That didn't clear up Aerrow's original question. Instead, it only lingered in his mind, unanswered.
He sighed. It would have to wait. Right now, his first priority was to get Junko away from any more danger. As Aerrow turned towards him, he realized that there was no way he could haul the cumbersome wallop, especially up the ladder and out of the hatch. That left the option of keeping him safe in one other place, one place that was situated at the lower decks, one where he knew his sharpshooter could protect him.
"Don't worry, Junko. I'll come back for you." Aerrow was headed for a new destination. "I've just got to make a quick trip to the hangar bay!"
But he stopped as he heard a snarl coming from the other end of the corridor. Aerrow flinched, drawing his two energy blades and clutching onto them tightly. Something was there.
...
Stork grinned at the photos he took. He quite liked the 'beautiful aesthetic sensibilities' that Piper and Radarr both contained, seemingly ignoring the fact that his deadly pet was the one that caused it. After one last glance at the glossy photos he hid them in his drawer, knowing they'd be furious if they found out about them. Besides, the pictures would be great for blackmailing purposes.
Stork adjusted his ducky floater. While he'd only been there for a minute, there was still no sign of a petrified Junko arriving at his door. He wondered if Aerrow had been attacked too, but that was unlikely.
"Alright, I can do this. I can go out and face the terrifying demise awaiting me." He hesitantly stepped outside of his quarters. While the doors had to be manually opened from the outside, from the inside they could automatically open. He awkwardly chuckled. "No biggie."
As the doors behind him closed shut, he heard a faint noise to his left. Stork briefly squealed, backing to the wall. He was sure it was his dear spider.
"Wait." he paused for a moment. "If Delilah is there, then that means that Junko really is... or, wait, maybe he just got away. Yeah, he got away. GAH, stop talking to yourself!"
The sound was now louder, as though numerous items dropped to the floor. Stork recognized the sounds they made. Clinking. Which meant crystals. Stork knew it meant that Delilah was in Piper's darkroom for crystal nurturing. He also knew that it was out of bounds for the rest of the squadron, as stated by the crystal expert herself.
"Well, I guess she won't notice."
After warily checking his surroundings the pilot tiptoed through the corridor. The noise had gone quiet, and he was sure that the spider had gotten herself caught with a slimer crystal, or whatever. He finally arrived there, but only after noticing a trail of beetroot-red powder lined on the floor. He slid his finger across it as he inspected it further. "This is the powder I use to repel yellow-legged-soot-flies..."
He slowly entered the darkroom, nudging his night-vision goggles. "So far so good." The room was filled with various crystals sorted into different containers, may which have been toppled over the shelves. Having never seen the inside before, Stork took a moment to admire the different crystals.
That was until a crate creak slowly to his right, causing the Merb to take defensive action. After grabbing another critter net bomb from his pocket he observed around. Despite the faint light of the crystals, they did very little in terms of illumination. Stork had to squint further. "Delilah?"
There was a sudden growl behind him. Stork ran forward in a frenzy, bumping into the table where Piper did her crystal experiments. He knew arachnids were silent, but they weren't that much of a ninja. The pilot stared straight at it, a manic smile twitching on his face. He saw Delilah, the hairy-legged spider with the mesmerizing eyes of indigo, the scarlet maw of her mouth, her well-sharpened cuspids and molars, as well as her hideous body... It was like seeing a goddess.
Stork snapped out of it. He shook his head. "No, no time for admiration... it's time for capture!"
He threw the critter bomb directly at her, grinning evilly. But his smirk soon disappeared when he saw the spider dodged in a split second, landing on a pile of blue floater crystals. In an instant the spider was shot upwards with incredible speed, courtesy of the floater crystals. Stork watched with awe, and with an idea. If I can utilize the crystals to my advantage...
"But how?" The pilot knew he was no expert when it came to the field, but there was no other option. Delilah was too fast. He had to slow her down, just so he could catch her...
"Wait, I remember a crystal that Piper had... what was it? Something to do with the Levia-thing... Paralyser crystals!" He chuckled, surveying the darkroom. "They're red- no, blue!" While Delilah was temporarily stationary in the air, Stork was ransacking the place for light-blue crystals.
He finally found them slouching in a burlap sack. Remembering Piper's UPCHUC rule (surprise, surprise), Stork snatched a a pair of tongs from Piper's desk, daintily picking up a crystal. He turned around for a quick check. Delilah had jostled out of the floater range and instead landed on Piper's crystal microscope, growling at her master. Stork smirked in a dark, pseudo-evil fashion.
"I've got ya, you little beaut."
Side-note: Did I go a bit too OC on Stork? Anyway, I had to use a lot of references about crystals and the Condor's rooms t.T But I'm still happy about this chapter. If you've got some ideas or some worries, feel free to review. I got 30 views so far so thanks people =D
And yes, it's starting to get a bit strange. Delilah seems to be at many places at one time, huh?
Reviews would be good, they're like the raisins on raisin toast. Each and every one contributes to the toast, even if they are optional!