AN: I don't own Transformers; it belongs to whoever created it. The title is reference to one of Steeljaw's quotes; "Savour the daylight, things are about to get rather dark." Features the large majority of the 'cons from Season 1 and 2 that can speak. Once again, similar to Mafia/Werewolf (or my other fics Death by Deception/Russian Roulette). Some Cybertronian time units you may need: cycle: 1.25 hours (IDW definition), solar cycle: 1 day.
"We need to get off this ship somehow." A prisoner told the other three beside them.
"The others really don't seem to care that we're trapped here, do they?" A second prisoner answered them.
"We'll just have to kill all who oppose us."
"Including that mini-con." The other two prisoners agreed. The fifth one gathered with them just grinned. All four who had spoken pulled guns from subspace, first setting them to stun. They'd only be set to kill once they downed their target.
"I will tell you who to go after." The first prisoner to speak told the others, who all agreed. It was their idea after all. The fifth bot knew what their job was; if they were asked to do it by the prisoner in charge. The five of them made their way back to their rooms. Unbeknownst to them, there was another prisoner not in recharge. They were checking that they had concealed their knife properly; and that their stun gun was ready. It was so much easier to slit a Cybertronian's throat when they weren't conscious and squirming. They muttered something about making the other prisoners pay, before going to recharge.
XxX
"Prisoners, report to the main room." A voice came over the intercom, stirring all of the prisoners from their slumber. Each of them made their way to the main room, standing in groups with the other inmates they got on with.
"I'm glad you all could drag yourselves here so promptly." The mini-con made his way to the ramp at the front of the room, leading up to a raised plinth; so he was at eye level with all but the tallest and shortest of inmates. He didn't sound sarcastic, or annoyed.
"What else is there to do besides stare at the walls?" A mech with a red body with lots of pale blue tentacles remarked.
"Well, since you've decided to mock my generosity Octopunch; you can all make a start with some cleaning!" This comment earned a few whines and complaints. The mini-con ignored the complaints and wheeled off to get some mops for them.
"You shouldn't antagonise Fixit, brother." A mech with pointed ears and a long blue tail told Octopunch.
"Yeah, yous got all of us stuck doin' this scrap!" A blue mech with spiked protrusions sticking out of the side of his head glared at him.
"Are we fighting now? I wanna fight!" A large green Dinobot shouted over the top of everybot else's complaints.
"I see you are all eager to begin!" The mini-con, Fixit, had come back; pulling a trolley laden with buckets of cleaning fluid, mops and other cleaning supplies.
"Anybot found to be causing a disturbance will be punished." Fixit told them, making some of the more nervous prisoners shiver. They didn't see much point in causing trouble and so got on with their assignment. Some cycles later, Fixit made another announcement over the intercoms.
"Prisoners, return to the main room." Each of them did as asked, carrying the equipment back with them. Once they had gathered in the main room and put their equipment back on the trolley; Fixit made his way to the front.
"That is all for this solar cycle. Report to your rooms." He wheeled his way to the trolley, before dragging it back to the storage cupboard. Some of the prisoners made their way back to their rooms, but a few were clustered about, chattering to their fellow inmates. By the time Fixit had made his way back, he was the only bot in the main room.
"Now to go and recharge; I've got jobs that need doing next solar cycle and…" Fixit heard a voice telling him something and stopped still.
"Fixit, some of your inmates are planning a coup. You have been randomly assigned three bots to investigate other bots' movements for you. There are three assassins and the coup leader to watch out for, as well as a loose cannon; somebot that just wants all of the other inmates dead. Watch out Fixit, and keep your wits about you!" Fixit thought the voice sounded familiar, but couldn't place it. He headed to his room, seeing his computer screen was on. It had three boxes on it, each one with 'Investigator' followed by a number on it. He tapped 'Investigator 1'; and saw each of the prisoners' mugshots appear on the screen. He selected one and a circle with a 1 in it appeared in the top left corner of that mugshot. He chose a bot for the other two investigators to investigate; then went to recharge on his berth. In another room, a bot was pacing, waiting for the right moment to visit their target for the night. Three bots were stirred by that same voice.
"You are an investigator. You will be told which door to go to and which bot it is you are investigating." Three bots were stirred by the same voice Fixit heard.
"You will be investigating… Minitron." The first one heard. They shrugged, before heading out of their room. The voice told them to press a switch beside the door; so they did so, before making their way back to their room to recharge. The second investigator did the same as the first; but they were ordered to investigate Malodor. The third was told to investigate Saberhorn. Each of the prisoners was then roused; being told that they may be receiving visitors or could go and visit others. A few of them headed out; only one having a specific target in mind.
XxX
Octopunch was surprised by the bot visiting him.
"Didn't expect to see you in here. Come to tell me off for making ya do cleaning all solar cycle?" He asked challengingly.
"No. I'm here to make you pay for it!" The bot pulled out a gun, making Octopunch's optics widen.
"Now, there's no need to be unreasonable! What do ya want me to do? Name it and I'll do it." Octopunch was becoming very nervous of the bot advancing on him.
"Lie still and take this!" The bot fired the gun, sending a jolt through Octopunch's body. He cried out, before collapsing to the floor. The bot grinned, putting their gun away. The bot drew out their knife now, slicing it through their victim's throat cables.
XxX
"Prisoners, report to the main room." Fixit's voice came over the speakers. He headed towards his door, seeing once more that his computer was on. There were three files visible on it. He touched the one on the left and it brought up a few lines of text. 'I kept an optic on Minitron, as ordered. He didn't leave his room, and he didn't receive any visitors.' Fixit shrugged; that wasn't much help to him. He tapped the next file and it displayed a similar message. 'I kept an optic on Malodor, as ordered. He didn't leave his room, and he didn't receive any visitors.' He pondered how these were supposed to help him, before tapping the third one. He realised how from looking at this report. 'I kept an optic on Saberhorn, as ordered. He left his room once, and he didn't receive any visitors.' Fixit knew to ask him about it later. He made his way to the main room and saw the prisoners gathered around waiting for him. He wheeled up the ramp, before looking around the room at the remaining prisoners.
"Who did you visit last night Saberhorn?" Fixit asked, drawing everybot's attention to the mech in question. A voice spoke in Saberhorn's audios, telling him he couldn't tell Fixit his role.
"I didn't visit anybot." He answered, making Fixit a little suspicious. He heard the voice in his audios.
"An investigator would leave his room to place the bug. However, bots are not necessarily going to tell the truth." Fixit pondered if the voice was trying to tell him Saberhorn was an investigator, or an assassin. He decided to leave it for now; he could find out later.
"Hey, has any of you seen Octopunch this morning?" Hammerstrike asked.
"Shall we go and check on him?" Fixit asked, wheeling his way over to the door. He made his way to Octopunch's room. Fixit opened the door, finding Octopunch lying on the floor. He went over to investigate why he wasn't lying on the berth and reeled in shock when he saw why.
"Somebot's slit his throat!" Hammerstrike looked disturbed, but came over to see. He had a strange mix of awe and revulsion on his face.
"I hope he wasn't online when that happened." Hammerstrike shivered; imagining it being done to him. Fixit was informed by the voice that Octopunch was an innocent, whatever that meant. How can he be innocent? He's committed some sort of crime, or he wouldn't be here! He thought to himself. They went back to the main room, ignoring the look on the faces of the other bots in the room; the look of morbid curiosity. Fixit made his way back to his raised plinth, before telling the others what had happened.
"Somebot visited Octopunch last night." Fixit told them.
"How do you know?" Bisk asked, his claws rubbing together nervously. Fixit wondered if he had something to do with it.
"Because I don't imagine he would have a reason to slit his own throat." This prompted noises of shock.
"Who would dare?" Glowstrike seemed surprised; she didn't think any of her fellow prisoners would do that to any of them.
"Ah didn't like 'im, but Ah wouldn't ha' done that to 'im." Underbite shivered.
"Ah think we'd all be safer if we weren't hangin' around a known killer!" Clampdown looked around nervously, like he wanted to bolt and didn't know where to go.
"You are all trapped here! You must decide whether or not to kill somebot. After doing so, report to your rooms." The voice told them, sounding much more intimidating than it did yesterday.
"We're all gonna die!"
"Quit whining! If there's one thing I hate, Clampdown, its whiners!" Scorponok glared at him.
"Kill somebot? Why would we do that?" Vertebreak wondered, glancing around at few certain mechs who had stood on his tail.
"I'm not going to kill anybot!" Fixit told them all. The voice announced that all of them were to report to their rooms. Each bot did so; unsure how to escape this trap. Fixit wheeled to his room, unsurprised to see that his computer screen was lit up again; three boxes with 'Investigator' followed by a number written inside on it. He tapped each one in turn, choosing a bot for each of them to investigate. He headed to recharge; pondering how exactly he would kill bots if asked to. Each of the prisoners was told to wait in their room. Some of them decided they were going to recharge; hopefully that would wake them up from whatever nightmare this was. One received a com message from another; telling them which bot they were going to dispatch shortly. The bot smirked; he got on their nerves. Each investigator was told who they were going to be investigating. The first heard they would be investigating Chop Shop. The bot headed to that mech's door; certain that Fixit would find something out. The second heard Clampdown. The bot sniggered; that coward wouldn't go anywhere! The third was told to investigate Hammerstrike. The bot shrugged their shoulders, but supposed that he might be next and they could catch the killer in the act. After the three of them had returned to their rooms, the bots in recharge were roused by the voice. They all heard they could visit others, or might be receiving visitors. Again, a few bots decided to head out, only one doing so because they were ordered to.
XxX
"Aw, can't ya wait 'til later? Ah'm tired!" Underbite commented, yawning. The bot that had come in his door grinned.
"Oh, you can head off to recharge if you like. In fact, let me help you with that!" The bot pulled out a gun; set to stun. Underbite looked a little worried.
"What're ya doin' with a thing like that? I ain't done nothin'. Why'd you wanna kill me?" Underbite felt a jolt go through his body and he collapsed. The bot who'd shot him moved over towards where the mech had fell.
"That's enough of your whining." The bot changed the gun's settings from stun to kill and pointed it at Underbite's chest. The bot fired it once, straight into the mech's spark, before making their way back to their room.
XxX
"Prisoners, report to the main room." Fixit's voice came over the speakers. Each of the prisoners made their way out of their rooms, noting the absence of one very large purple bot.
"Should somebot check on Underbite?"
"Since you seem so worried about him, Grim, why not you?" Scowl suggested, heading towards the main room with the rest of the prisoners. Grimlock knocked on Underbite's door.
"Hey, Underbite! Fixit said we had to go! Come on!" Grimlock knocked again and decided he could head in and check on the mech. He quickly ran off toward the main room when he saw what lay inside.
"Underbite's been shot!" This got a few noises of shock. Fixit wasn't aware of this commotion; he was still in his room, reading his reports. The first read 'I kept an optic on Chop Shop, as ordered. He left his room once, and he didn't receive any visitors.' Fixit made a mental note to ask about that, before reading the next report. 'I kept an optic on Clampdown, as ordered. He didn't leave his room, and he didn't receive any visitors.' Fixit moved on to the third report, seeing something similar and frowning. 'I kept an optic on Hammerstrike, as ordered. He didn't leave his room, and he didn't receive any visitors.' So, they aren't targeting certain groups of bots then… Fixit thought, making his way to the main room. He could hear a commotion as he made his way along the corridor. He wheeled his way to the raised plinth and then asked.
"What's all the fuss about?" He saw a few of the bots turn to look at him.
"Grimlock says Underbite's been shot." Razorpaw told Fixit. Fixit heard the voice in his audios, telling him that Underbite was an innocent, whatever that meant. That's two now, maybe they weren't really guilty of their crimes? Fixit pondered, before turning his attention to the rest of the bots in the room.
"Who did you visit earlier, Chop Shop?" Fixit grinned at how nervous the mech looked. Maybe he visited Underbite? Fixit heard somebot else speak.
"He visited me." Glowstrike told him. This got a few whispers from the rest of the bots in the room.
"Isn't she taken?" Chop Shop heard one bot say. He thought it might be Zizza since it sounded feminine.
"I'm sure she is, by either Scorponok or Saberhorn!" Kickback replied; Chop Shop recognised his voice.
"Why not both? They are both quite the catch after all." She remarked in response. Chop Shop thought she might be a little annoyed; possibly because Zizza wanted at least one of them for herself.
"Determine whether or not somebot is going to die; then report to your rooms." The voice told them. Fixit once again informed them that he wasn't going to kill anybot and they all dispersed to their rooms. Fixit chose who he wanted his investigators to investigate; then went to recharge. He'd find out if they caught anybot later. Somebot else meanwhile was informed who they were going to dispatch by their leader. They grinned, preparing to head for the door. One investigator heard they were going to investigate Quillfire, the second heard Springload and the third heard Stockade. Once all three had placed the bugs, they settled down for the 'night'. Somebots decided to head out, again only one with orders to do so.
XxX
"What do you want?" Razorpaw asked the bot who'd come in his door. The bot sniggered, as though this question, or maybe the bot who asked it, was a joke.
"Your spark." The bot grinned, pulling out a stun gun. Razorpaw tried to bolt, aiming to run for the door and escape. He made it to the door, the bot strangely allowing him to get to it. He tried to open the door and found it wouldn't.
"Run as fast as you can, it won't be fast enough!" The bot then fired the stun gun, sending Razorpaw into a slump on the floor. The gun's setting was changed from stun to kill. The bot fired a shot into Razorpaw's spark before going back to their room. Meanwhile, a bot had made their way to Terrashock's room.
"What are you in here for? You and I don't normally…" Terrashock trailed off, spotting a gun in the bot's hand.
"I'm here to kill you, Terrashock." The bot fired the gun, knocking Terrashock into temporary stasis. The bot pulled out their knife, which would make that stasis permanent. The knife cut through Terrashock's throat cables as easily as it had cut through Octopunch's. The bot made their way back to their room.
XxX
Fixit told the prisoners to make their way to the main room, before heading to his computer. He was surprised by the fact there were only two reports on the screen. He read the first, hoping that he'd forgotten to send out one of his three investigators. 'I kept an optic on Quillfire, as ordered. He didn't leave his room, and he didn't receive any visitors.' Fixit frowned, before checking his other report. 'I kept an optic on Springload, as ordered. He didn't leave his room, and he didn't receive any visitors.' He seemed confused by this; there should have been three reports.
"Investigator 3 hasn't given you a report, have they?" The voice asked, almost teasingly. Fixit found himself shaking his helm before he could stop it.
"Dead bots can't do much of anything." The voice told him. Fixit quickly wheeled out of his room to try and find out who the dead bot was; that bot must have been his investigator! He made his way to the front, not noticing one thing.
"Where's Terrashock?" He asked the bots gathered in front of him.
"And Razorpaw?" Stockade asked and Fixit noticed that the cat like bot was missing as well. Two bots died?
"Would any of you like to come with me to check on them?" Fixit wheeled his way towards the door; not noticing the sound of footfalls behind him until he was nearly at Terrashock's door. He turned and saw a blue wolf like mech standing behind him.
"I thought I would come and check on them." Steeljaw informed him. Couldn't you have announced your presence you shifty con? Fixit thought, opening Terrashock's door. He found the mech in question lying on the floor; just like Octopunch was. And just like Octopunch, his throat cables had been sliced through. The voice informed Fixit that Terrashock was an innocent as well. Fixit pondered how a prisoner on a prison ship could be innocent when he saw, was that fear in Steeljaw's optics?
"Was this what happened to Octopunch?" Fixit nodded his head and Steeljaw shivered once more.
"I've got no idea who might hold a grudge against both Octopunch and Terrashock. They don't have anything in common, apart from the obvious." The obvious being that they had both committed a crime; and were imprisoned on this ship as a result. Fixit thought about their crimes for a moment; realising that Steeljaw was right.
"These two bots had their throats slit by the loose cannon. The loose cannon just wants all of the other prisoners dead." The voice told Fixit.
"Let's check on Razorpaw." Fixit wheeled his way back out of the door, careful to avoid Steeljaw's tail. Fixit opened the door, noting that Steeljaw was slow in following him. He saw Razorpaw lying on the berth, as if he was in recharge. Fixit couldn't see anything wrong with the mech. Steeljaw could and he stilled.
"Razorpaw has been shot." Steeljaw looked like he'd been shot; with how still he was standing.
"This is your investigator 3." The voice told Fixit, and Fixit realised something. How am I supposed to find out who is trying to kill everybot with only two investigators? There are 24 bots and only four of them are out to kill everybot… Fixit thought.
AN: Fixit, there are actually five; he forgot the coup leader! Pseudo is missing, for obvious reasons; as are any of the bots who can't speak. There is one bot that you will guess the role of as soon as it comes out. You'll find out whom in the next chapter. The quote for this title is said by Fracture; 'I love technology, but there's something to be said for old fashioned brutality.".