The Legendary Junkmaster

Sentinel hummed as he scanned the road ahead. Murk Point was only an hour away for him now, but Friday kept reporting unusual sensory data. It made Sentinel concerned by what may be waiting for him upon his arrival. Friday seemed to be struggling to get anything that he could actually use to formulate a plan. 

From his sensors in the surrounding areas that were working normally, he could conclude that the infiltration team had not escaped from Murk Point. Which made him wonder if they planned to use the civilians as hostages to bargain with him. 'This could get messy...' Sentinel frowned as his own cybernetic eye failed to pick up anything unusual so far. 

He raced along, eager to catch up before they decided to make a run for it. Once they did that, he doubted he could stop them from escaping with whatever gains and information they had collected. However, that was when his own cybernetic components began to pick up an unusual smell in the air. Even for being close to Murk Point. Warnings flashed in his mind!

An orb flew off of his belt and unfolded into a mask with tactical red eyes to protect him from any airborne contamination. So far, it did not seem that it could affect him through his skin or any other methods. 'Friday! What the hell is this?' It had been a long time since anything was able to affect him because of the modifications he had made to his own body. The fact that whatever this was could do so was a major concern.

"It appears to be a type of virus that targets the infected's psychological state, Sir. My sensors indicate it causes increased aggression and hallucinations." Friday sounded solemn from the confines of Sentinel's mind.

"Damn! Is it some sort of biological weapon the infiltration team brought along? Perhaps, they were planning on releasing it in one of the bigger cities or something..." Sentinel cursed the underhanded nature of that attack. 

It was almost a given that Murk Point had to be a ghost town with this in the air. 'Friday, keep tracking the data in the surrounding area. If this spreads or there's any sign of those guys making a run for it, let me know right away. They won't get away with this!'

He paused for a moment as he considered something. 'And send a message to Rust! tell her to get over here with the Fortress! I need my equipment... who knows what else they have in mind!'

Friday replied in the affirmative before processing Sentinel's demands. A hologram of himself appeared within Rust's fortress to her surprise before relaying the message. She was pretty pissed to be ordered about like that, but when she heard the details, she asked Friday to contact the other Pillars just in case.

Sentinel nodded when he received word that Rust was on her way and would be there within a few hours. His expression turned grim as data entered his mind involving the virus. It seemed it became more potent the closer he came to Murk Point. The huge, black, bubbling lake began to fill his vision. He could not help but frown as he looked at it.

'Doesn't it seem like there are far more bubbles than before? Has something changed in the lake?' Sentinel quietly asked himself as he began to slow down. There were no sounds coming from Murk Point, which was usually quite lively. Not only that, but he could not detect any signs of movement.

As he cleared the main gate he could only shake his head sadly. Bodies lay everywhere with bloodied weapons all around. By the looks of things, everyone in Murk Point was already dead.

"It appears that they killed each other, Sir. The virus in the air is most likely the culprit. I would assume that it has driven them to insanity." Friday stated matter-of-factly.

"Thanks, Friday. I can see that..." Sentinel grunted in displeasure as he took a look around. 

True enough to what he suspected, there was not a single living soul in that graveyard. 'Where did the infiltrators go then? Their bodies aren't here, but Friday hasn't detected them outside of this area yet.'

"Sir, it seems like a Murk Walker recently passed through here in a hurry. Heading for the lake." Friday suddenly chimed in as he highlighted the prints on the ground from where it had passed. 

"They're trying to escape over the lake?" Sentinel cursed as his head swivelled to glance at it. However, he could see no sign of one of the strange vehicles that the people here used. "Friday, how far does the interference spread? Do we have sensors on the other side?"

"The interference covers the entirety of the lake, Sir. We have sensors in place on the other side. Even if they don't pass directly through their areas of influence, the tremors from the Murk Walker would set them off. I'm 85% certain that they have not made it to the other side yet." 

Sentinel rubbed his chin as he wondered if there was anything that he could do. He had a few gadgets on him that could theoretically allow him to cross that bubbling surface. But that depended on how they would react to that strange substance. He was aware that the liquid was capable of melting organic material on contact. 

'If it splashes on my legs, I can't be sure that their mechanical parts won't be affected. I never bothered to fully test this stuff last time I was here. But, if I don't go after them now, they might get away.' Sentinel cursed his bad luck, but he knew what he had to do. 'I can't be too careless...'

He rushed down to the shore where it met the lake and controlled one of his gadgets to fly into that liquid. It was the one with the closest resemblance to his own cybernetic parts, so if it survived, then he should not have to worry too much. He left it submerged for a good five minutes before sending a signal for it to surface.

The cube dripped black liquid back into the lake as it floated in front of him. 'Hm. It seems to have taken very minor damage. My own parts are of stronger materials, so I should be able to deal with it for a prolonged time before my situation becomes critical. If I'm really lucky, it won't have any effect.'

Sentinel nodded happily as he sent signals to a few of his devices. They detached from their holding areas and began to join together to form a type of metallic surfboard. He made it move around the surface of that foul lake for a bit as he studied how much of it sprayed up in its passing. A few moments passed, and another two devices flew to converge on the surfboard, forming a sort of barrier that Sentinel could crouch behind to give him the most protection.

That was the most he could do in that situation. These devices did not have enough power in their engines to give him the means to fly over the lake. Although he had equipment that could do so, he preferred not to use it unless absolutely necessary. This was because of the cost of the materials needed to fuel them.

Sentinel grunted as he jumped onto the board as it slowly swung by his position on the shore. It dipped slightly into the liquid with the sudden increase in weight, but it soon stabilised itself. 'They should have gone in a straight line. It's the fastest path to the other side. They'd be idiots if they tried going in any other direction if they want to return home as quickly as possible.

He crouched down behind the barrier as the board slowly picked up speed. He increased it gradually until it reached a point where any more would cause the foul spray to reach over the top of the shield he had created at the front. His cybernetic eye zoomed in and out on the horizon. The other shore was nowhere in sight, by neither was the Murk Walker. 

"Friday! You're sure they haven't cleared it yet?" Sentinel growled as he grew frustrated. He knew those things could not move as fast as his board, so he had assumed that he should have caught some sight of it by now.

"I'm positive, Sir... But... There's something else..." Friday's tone became concerned, which was unusual.

"Well? What is it? Do they have reinforcements on the way or something?"

"No, Sir. But it seems like something may be moving beneath you..."

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