When all hope is gone...

What is left but a shadow without a light...?


The dark red mech slumped against a pile of rubble near the street, miserably contemplating his solitary energon cube. He was tempted to just drain the cube now, but then he'd definitely go into stasis the next orn. If he rationed it well and avoided any fights, he could probably last a while longer, but he needed to conserve enough energy to power up his medical-grade laser cutters if he encountered another victim or adversary.

He offlined his optics, considering his options. Perhaps he could create a trap; there were plenty of mechs down here that would risk their sparks for a single cube. Yes, that would work - he would set up the bait and wait for an unwitting mech to fall into his trap. Then, he would bring the parts back to Chopper, and the scrap dealer would have to pay him.

Red optics onlined as heavy footsteps approached the mech's position. A large, blotchy grey six-wheeler emerged from the gloom, casually wandering towards the mech, unusually bright optics searching for nothing in particular.

"Hey there," the newcomer shouted.

The mech shot to his pedes, subspacing the precious cube of fuel as he frantically re-routed power to his lasers. Down here, mechs only approached one another for two reasons: to do business or to kill. Since the dark red mech only bought from and sold to Chopper - however disadvantageous that arrangement could be at times - it was certainly not the former...

"What do you want?"

"I'm a bit lost," came the answer. "Can ya help me find somebot?"

"Nobot here worth finding," the mech cautiously replied, backing away from the advancing grounder. "Nowhere to get lost, nothing to lose."

"Apparently there is." The grounder approached even more, using his bulk to his full advantage. "I heard there was a flier down here who sold a dead city-bot's parts. Know where I can find him?"

"Yes, of course, I'm-" the mech froze, noticing a distinct reddish shape beneath the peeling grey paint on the grounder's arm. Enforcer. They only came to ground-level to beat up empties or-

Or contain threats to the city - by any means necessary. He was in serious trouble if the Enforcer suspected him of killing the orange bot. "I-"

"Well?" The six-wheeler stepped closer, looming even more.

"I, aah, wouldn't know anything about that," the mech mumbled, preparing to ignite long-unused thrusters. Crashing into a wall for lack of fuel was preferable to being caught by an Enforcer. There were horror stories. "No, no, nothing at all."

The grounder looked disappointed. He turned away, asking, "do you know who would?"

"No- wait!" An idea struck the mech. He needed energon, and this 'undercover' Enforcer was clearly well-fueled, not to mention dangerous to Chopper's business if he started prying...

"I- I might remember something."

"What is it?" The poorly-disguised Enforcer looked far too interested to bode well for the mech. "Tell me now!"

Yes, killing the Enforcer was definitely the mech's best option for survival, and it would also get him back in Chopper's good graces. Standard military-grade parts were always in high demand by Chopper's clients, and weapons dealers would pay well for the Enforcer's blaster.

"I heard this thing about- ah, no, sorry." The mech lowered his wings and widened his optics piteously, trying to imitate the beggars he had seen in the Market while subtly scanning the Enforcer's thick armor for weaknesses. "I just can't think without energon."

"Fine." The Enforcer drew a half-full cube from subspace. "This info'd better be good."

"It is," the mech assured the Enforcer, congratulating himself on his genius at collecting the energon before starting a fight. Getting things out of a dead mech's subspace was an exercise in patience he neither possessed nor wanted. He pointed down the street. "You see that alley over there?"

"Yes," the Enforcer said, predictably turning to look at the alley.

There! The space between the Enforcer's helm and torso plating was lightly armored, leaving the motor relays in his neck vulnerable. The dark red mech quietly charged his small lasers while the Enforcer was distracted.

"I heard about- oh no! Over there," the mech suddenly yelled, waving his arms.

"What?" The Enforcer spun around, one servo transforming into a blaster. "Whe- aagh!"

The mech activated one arm-mounted laser, aiming for a spot on the Enforcer's exposed neck cabling. A beam of ultra-focused light slashed through the thin metal paneling, burning towards vital components below.

The next instant, the mech was flying through the air, though not by his own doing. He struck a solid wall, crying out as his already damaged wing broke off on impact. He had clearly underestimated the thickness of the Enforcer's military-grade plating.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The Enforcer loomed over him again, grinning unpleasantly. He tried to back away, clutching the broken metal trapezoid that had recently been a wing, but pain shot through his shoulder every time he moved. "A flier trying to scrap an Enforcer after a flier sold a city-bot's parts? How... coincidental. Looks like I'll be getting a promotion soon."

Drastic action was required. The mech ignited his thrusters a split second before the Enforcer grabbed his pede. He shot away, spiraling uncontrollably through the darkness as long-unused flight systems struggled to compensate for his missing wing while conserving as much fuel as possible.

He finally crashed to the ground, energon coating his shoulder and back while his HUD flashed an ominous warnings of 'Energon at 5%' and 'Stasis Lock Imminent'.

At least he had the extra half-cube of energon.

It was a small consolation.

Energon at 3%. Stasis initiated.

Darkness.


Energon at 1%. Stasis interrupted.

Stasis? No, he didn't need stasis! He canceled the alert. Where was he, anyway?

Stasis initiating... initiating... error. Stasis protocols overridden.

Why couldn't he fly? He twitched his wings, hissing as searing agony shot through his back and shoulder. He twisted his helm to the side, looking for the source of the pain, and saw- nothing. Where one faded dark red wing should have been, there was nothing but a jagged, faintly glowing bluish stub.

A Seeker without a wing... grounded... flightless...

He twitched again, wincing at the pain, and found himself mesmerized by the slow drip of bright blue emerging from his broken wing. He felt an odd hollow sensation as even more of the precious fuel left the wound, flowing onto his back and pooling on the ground below.

Losing energon... so bright... a beacon in the darkness...

Fascinating. But now he was asymmetrical. He looked down - there was the missing wing, dark red like he remembered it. Once-white - but now smudged greyish - stripes lined the leading and trailing edges. The other end was a jagged mess of glowing blue wires, cables, and plating. However, something was still missing; he looked up, up, up - there was nothing. The sky should have been the pale purple-pink colors of dawn - why was there only darkness above?

A jet without a sky... walls closing in... darkness everywhere...

He needed to fly, but he didn't have enough fuel to power his thrusters. Sensors misfired as panic set in, and he felt a slight tapping sensation along one servo. A scraplet, perhaps? He twitched slightly, trying to shake off the feeling of little claws moving up his arm.

Once the scrapper... now the scrap...

His optical feed chose that moment to glitch, displaying blindingly bright blots of formless color that did nothing to chase away the surrounding shadows.

In the end, he was just another Empty... lost in the darkness...

He'd been built without a name, with nothing but a serial number to call his own, but now he did not have even that luxury. Now, he was just another unnamed mech, one forgotten Empty among thousands-

-NO. A long-forgotten flicker of memory resurfaced, accompanied by a fierce determination. He was still online. He could still fight. He'd survived far too long to surrender to fuel deprivation, especially when he still had energon in his subspace.

With his last energy reserves, he retrieved the glowing blue half-cube from the Enforcer and drained it.

Energon at 26%. Stasis override terminated.

Stasis initiated.

Darkness.


"Hey, look what I found!"

"Woah. Is that... a Seeker?"

The dark red mech onlined to unfamiliar voices. He lay still, keeping his optics dark and offline as he assessed the situation. He was in an unfamiliar territory. One wing was broken off, the detached part firmly clutched under his frame. His shoulder and back hurt, but self-repair had sealed up the worst of the leaks from his missing appendage. The lack of sensory input from the broken wing was disorienting, but he would manage.

Energon at 15%, his fuel indicator helpfully supplied.

At least he still had a cube of fuel in his subspace. That would - probably - sustain him for an orn, as long as he avoided additional injuries. Flying was definitely out of the question.

Something gingerly poked his servo. "Sure looks like it."

"Huh. That parts dealer in the Market, what's his name - Chipper? Chopper? He'll probably pay a fine price for such a rare model."

Chopper? The irony of the mech's situation was not lost on him; he, who routinely scrapped and sold other mechs, was now going to be subjected to the same process and kindly 'returned' to his boss. He forcefully muted his vocalizer to avoid crying out in pain as the two four-wheeler scavengers cautiously poked at his frame.

"Let's see what's inside," one said, powering on a sonic knife.

He wasn't deactivated yet. Crimson optics flared online as the dark red mech abandoned his pretense of stasis lock. He rolled sideways, ignoring the agony that flared through his shoulder as the wing stub scraped against the ground, and lashed out with the jagged edge of the broken wingtip in his servos.

The scavenger above him cried out, staggering back as a faint stream of blue trickled from a gash on one servo. The sonic knife fell harmlessly next to the mech, who wasted no time in grabbing the new weapon and rolling to his pedes.

The two grounders warily exchanged a glance before both charged the mech. He dodged a punch from the first, twisted behind the second, and jabbed the unfortunate scavenger in the back with his broken wing. The bot crumpled to the ground with a soft cry, severed motor relays paralyzing everything below his torso.

The remaining scavenger took one look at his fallen comrade and ran for his life, clutching the small blue gash in his servo.

"I hate to do this. Really, I do," the dark red mech muttered as he crouched over the paralyzed scavenger. "But, y'see, Chopper's my boss, and competition's tight enough as is."

"Get away," the scavenger cried, unsuccessfully attempting to scoot away from the mech.

"There's only room for one scrap harvester on the streets, y'know?" One claw, blunted from overuse, approached his victim's visor. "And that's me."

"No! I mean yes! I- I just needed the energon-"

"Don't we all," the dark red mech mused unsympathetically. "You, me, and half of Cybertron."

"Wait, please-"

"Hmm... is that visor diamond?" Clink, clink. The mech's own optics widened in surprise. He hadn't expected another Empty to have something so valuable. "It is! Now I know Chopper will pay a pretty price for this."

The sonic blade activated with a high-pitched buzz. He brought it downward, relishing the feeling of power as his victim struggled and pleaded.

Once the scavenger's armor was removed, the mech started carving out useful parts with the sonic knife. He was starting to see why the scavenger had used it; despite the blade's small size and annoying buzz, its cutting capabilities were similar to his medical-grade lasers, but it drew energy from its own power source instead of leeching off his systems. With its help, he easily eviscerated the grounder's frame.

The shiny crystal visor was placed in the dark red mech's subspace, along with the deactivated scavenger's t-cog, fuel pump, optics, engine block, and other valuable internal systems. He also placed his broken wingtip inside. Maybe, if he made his case well enough, he could convince Chopper's apprentice to fix it. The dark green flier was normally quite friendly, and - more importantly - he could be trusted to repair the mech without attempting to steal parts.

The mech stood, storing the sonic knife in an arm compartment as he contemplated his next move. The Enforcer had somehow known about his sale of the orange city-mech's parts. Either Chopper had sold him out, which was quite unlikely, considering Chopper earned more energon dealing parts than an Enforcer would ever pay for information, or somebot had seen him in the Market when he had showed the orange servo to Chopper's guard.

Either way, it was probably best to be more discreet with the next few deliveries. The dark red mech knew how to disappear into the darkness. Despite his status as one of the few fliers beneath a city of grounders, finding one Empty among thousands was all but impossible if said mech actively avoided capture.

He would be just another shadow, invisible in the night.


Some units:
orn - day

decaorn - 10 orns / 1 week
vorn - year
megavorn - 1,000,000 years

Review if you like it! More coming soon!
~VoidStarFire