This is a sequel to .net/s/7391659/1/Shattered_Origin, you might want to read that first.
Shattered flight
Home
Dwellers were large and agile creatures, native to the deepest levels of Cybertron. Riding one of them was a superlative sensation even for an experienced and brave miner like Megatron. Shockwave, riding on another dweller right behind him, completely freaked out at first. Soundwave seemed to take it relatively well. Cy-Clone was hanging on to her beast, looking at Megatron's stern silvery frame in front of her, daydreaming of holding him instead. The other miners sat silently, hoping Megatron knew what he was doing.
As the dwellers started climbing upwards, the air began to feel more and more familiar. There was still an odd sensation of being lost so deep under the surface, but they knew they were going in the right direction. Home... or whatever was left of it. Not even Megatron could help thinking about the horrible explosions that must have ruined the central shaft. It was a harrowing catastrophy, he should have been there, doing his part, working to save their lives... he feared there was nothing left to do but clean the mess. He was horrified of the mere thought of what he might find under the ruins of the mines... his mines...
The dwellers changed course suddenly, in perfect sync. Until this, they were going in one direction, from now, they were clearly going towards something.
No.
Somebot.
They were speeding towards a slim tall mech, light gray and blue, with a dark pattern across his face and a red insignia pre-dating the Autobot symbol. Megatron wouldn't have believed his optics, but he believed the lusty strong recieving signal his transmitter was picking up. It was his Master indeed.
The dwellers tumbled, leaving their passengers rolling on the hard rock flooring of the mine. Megatron felt like running mindlessly to First, but he had to catch Cy-Clone as she was thrown off from her dweller in a less than elegant way.
„Master! Am I glad to see you!" he cheered, nevertheless. I thought you were dead.They exchanged relieved smiles.
„I have become one with the Matrix" First explained before greeting the newcomers. „Shockwave, the always logical. Soundwave, the listener. Welcome to your new homes. And you, milady? I don't know you, I'm afraid."
„My name is Cy-Clone. I'm partly a Renegade" she explained, dropping an elegant courtesy. „Not many of my kind had made it to this wonderous world. According to Megatron, these mines are shelter to those in need. I humbly ask for your kind permission to reside here until I find some others from my species, and you have my word we will leave peacefully."
„You don't have to run away" Megatron turned to her. „You are only partly a Renegade, but you're also a Decepticon. Please, don't ignore what we have in common."
„What you have in common" First interrupted „is the responsibility to find those whom you take care of. For a time, your paths would run together, and may you take encouragement from each other on your ways."
„We will" Megatron promised, holding Cy-Clone's exotic-formed hand before letting her go.
Without a word, they all left, leaving First and Megatron alone.
The two mechs looked at each other, thoroughly. Primon noted the dents on his silvery miner: reminders of a fight he couldn't have survived without the programming First forced into his processors in advance. Megatron examined his owner's chestplate, checking out the damage caused by the dark energon. To their mutual relief, they found nothing but a few scratches on each other. They were both glad that the other could take care of himself, so that they could re-unite.
„So, you're one with the Matrix." When he finally found the words, Megatron's voice was filled with respect. „You knew this would happen." You even knew when.
„I had no control over it, if that's what you want to know" Primon said. There was some of the usual sadness in his reassuring smile. He looked at Megatron, grateful that he was there for him. „Things are getting different. I am multiversal, I can no longer interfere here. It would backfire on the other universes. You are on your own."
Megatron acknowledged with a nod. The burden was on his shoulders now, and he had agreed to it.
„Do you know where Train was taken?"
„In that, you are not on your own" Primon said, and disappeared as if he'd never been there.
There was so much to do. Digging through the debris took more than two cycles, and it took another two to remove all remaining equipment from the central shaft and position them in the new main chamber deeper underground. The entrance was halfway full with detritus, and Megatron left it so, hoping it would hide them from the Autobots on the surface. To the outside, the mines had to look abandoned and barren.
The victims had been buried in a dead-end tunnel, and Ratbat brought a fistful of local scraplets from the Omega Terminus so that their dead material could be later recycled as living metal again. Almost every survivor had injuries of different kinds, some were courtesy of the Autobot attackers, most were due to the explosions, and many of them were caused by the cave-ins that followed. They had found an Autobot cadet called Wasp. His fractured weak body was functioning despite the terrible damages it suffered, and Megatron guessed there was more to him than meets the eye if he was still alive after all that he had gone through.
The mines became silent, only the noises of hard work could be heard. It took the workers long cycles to get over all that happened, to accept their losses, and to set a defense system that would keep outstanders outside. The security system's centre was hidden even from the miners, only Megatron knew its exact location. It was in the unusually hard rock, in the tunnel First ordered him to dig out a few orns before his death.
The newly appointed leader was torn between his responsibilities of finding Train and keeping his subordinates from getting even worse injuries. None of them were in the condition to venture outside, and even if they gained some information, there was nothing they could have done.
First was nowhere to be seen.
An energon-pick buzzed online in an uncertain hand, there was a fling, and the tool was flying freely through the dimly lit tunnel, hitting the wall on the other side.
„Not bad, Shockwave" said a melodic voice with a tone of relief and happyness. „Now it's my turn."
Megatron turned in the direction of the voice, watching Soundwave brandishing the pickaxe, hoping he wouldn't disturb the newcomers' game. He found it amusing how quickly the two of them adapted to the life in the mines. He guessed it was because Primus's presence could be felt better here, and they had both belonged to the God of Light just like he had.
Megatron watched them silently as Shockwave lamented on missing the target again. Poor mech was built for office work and processing data, and with his lack of depth perception it was a miracle he could walk straight, no wonder he had terrible aim. Soundwave was doing it much better, Megatron was about to congratulate him after a direct hit, but that was until he'd seen the dartboard at the other end of the tunnel.
„Painting politicians on the wall is not at all funny" he frowned. „And energon picks are not for throwing."
„Then, what are we supposed to use?" Soundwave asked in his melodic tone.
Shockwave the Logical replied.
„Harsh language!"
Megatron was about to give the two a lecture of not throwing away a weapon that cannot be easily retrieved or replaced, but he was distracted by a dozen pebbles falling from a fracture above their heads. They were closely followed by a red and blue Empty. Soundwave welcomed Frenzy and asked whether his brother was around too.
„He has fragged me out of my snug!" the little one lamented. He would have continued if Megatron had not interrupted him.
„Are you Frenzy?"
„Yes I am" the Empty replied, dedusting himself as he stood up from the ground.
„Soundwave, congratulations. As far as I know you're only mech who can tell one from the other."
„Our paint patterns are different" Frenzy reminded them, but for some reason he didn't feel it mattered.
The mines' communication system sent a soft beep to Megatron. He looked into the monitors, muttered „No more painting here", and left. If a visitor was using the universal greeting when asking for admission, his request could not be ignored. The mine owner decided he'd better go and meet him in person.
The mech was standing where once the entrance was, anxiously, accompanied only by a dark shade that resembled Ravage in a way. Finally, a hatch behind his back opened, and in the dim light of a lone energon crystal in the wall, he saw another safety door opening up for them. He and his companion entered the small chamber behind it, not even flitching when the hatch and the safety door closed. He looked around, waiting for another door to open. He also took a tiny sample of the rock around him, analising it. The smaller figure sat down, waiting.
„Bah weep graaanagnah wheep ni ni bong" the mech tried again.
„Bah weep graaagnah wheep ni ni bong" Megatron replied from high above. The visitor looked up, only to find a ladder being hanged down for him. He quicky grabbed it and started climbing. The dark robot did not attempt to follow.
Soundwave, monitor his thoughts, but keep out of sight and stay back unless an attack occurs Megatron instructed.
Soundwave acknowledged.
Megatron helped the visitor up to the rim, immediately noting what they had in common.
„Senator of Tarn, if I'm not mistaken" Megatron welcomed him. „I apologise for this skew, but this is still our best entrance."
„Terrible things happened down here" the senator replied. „Thank you for accepting me."
„What do I owe the honor, Senator Decimus?" Megatron asked, motioning towards a bench carved into the stone. The newcomer sat down without hesitation, and accepted the cube of freshly refined energon with a quick thank. Then he looked the mine owner in the optics, sipping into his cube before answering the question.
„We up there on the surface need the energon you mine down here" he finally said. „Sentinel was out of his mind when he thought the Senate could get the mines under our control without you working them. The fool." And then, as if he remembered only now, „Have you talked to Primon since?"
Megatron frowned. How did the senator know?
„Only a breem or so" he replied.
„He must be busy catching up with the multiverse, now that he doesn't belong here anymore" Senator Decimus murmured, finishing his cube.
„He never belonged here" Megatron corrected him. „But he still tried to do his part."
The senator nodded.
„You mean we shall get back to business, then?"
Megatron drew two more cubes of energon, he gave one to the visitor, and kept the other for himself.
„Last taste of the Central shaft, from level twelve" he said. „It had been mined a few joors before the shaft was..."
„...bombed" the Senator finished the sentence for him. „How's the reconstruction going?" he asked almost innocently.
„Relatively well" Megatron said dryly. „We lost three unreplaceable miners. Some of the survivors are still recovering, and there is one who's still missing." Train. „The storages had been robbed or destroyed. What we mined out afterwards was exchanged for destronium and spare parts like an energon convertor."
He didn't mean to make the politician feel uncomfortable, but Decimus turned his optics down, nodding in regret and understanding.
„We have caused you so much pain."
„You did nothing" Megatron pointed out.
„Exactly!" Decimus replied. „We are depending on you, on the energon you provide us. And we did nothing to prevent this catastrophy."
Now Megatron understood.
„You have come to discuss the trade of energon, now that the former mine owner has been murdered, and the heir was almost turned into a sparkless gladiator for Autobot entertainment. That is what you came for. I admire your courage that brought you down here. Go and tell your Senate I'm willing to restart energon trading once the mines are safe and functioning again. I have no intention to see you starve into deactivation."
„In the name of the Senate, I'm thankful for that."
You well should be. „Energon is Primus's pure blood, given to all of us unconditionally. You may be an Autobot while I am a Decepticon, but most importantly we are Cybertronians and we have no right to be greedy when it comes to energon distribution." This is the most important of all.
The senator's dark companion let out an impatient beep.
„What is it, Night Stalker?" Decimus asked, standing up from the comfortable bench, emptying his second cube.
„He must be sensing the Autobots gathering on the surface" Megatron noted. „It might be safer for you to stay below ground level, my Senator. I will call Ravage to guide you home through the Eastern Mine, there are some pathways not even I am familiar with."
„You have never been to Tarn?" the senator asked. „I thought you were sparked there."
„But I never went back" Megatron replied. „It's for the wealthy and elite. No offense, Senator, but I belong here."
Soundwave, tell Ratbat to follow the Senator from a safe distance. Ravage should be easy to track.