A vorn passed by slowly, and Inferno found himself drawn to the underground sewers and whomever haunted it
The weather in Remnacon was truly beautiful most days, during which Inferno would stroll around town, visiting the different sights. It was on one such day, Inferno was walking along, and heard cursing up in front. "What's the matter?" He asked, curious.
"One of the newbie's just dropped an entire bag of weapons down. No one really wants to go down, but someone will…"
"I will." Inferno cheerfully volunteered. After all, he was used to darkness, and it wasn't like he would be going far.
Inferno dropped down into the darkness, searching for the weapons. A soft noise caught his attention. He turned to look, and found the bag with all of the weapons, sitting on top of a pipe, carefully kept right out of the mud of the sewers. Footsteps led to it, and away. Inferno was fascinated; he had never seen the 'Ghost' leave footprints before.
"Inferno, where are those weapons?"
Inferno jumped slightly, and turned to look up at the voice. Then, silently he climbed back up with the weapons. "Looks like the ghost got it for us." Inferno said cheerfully, smiling brightly.
"Did you look through to make sure that all of the weapons were there?" The general asked, one eyebrow cocking.
Inferno looked back steadily as he said, "Sir, I believe that since half of our weapons belong to the 'Ghost'; officially, if he took one little gun, we can't hold it against him."
Another mech called out, "No, he didn't take anything Sir. A few ammo pieces are missing, but that's to be expected. They might of scattered-"
Clang! The last few of the ammo flew through the air to hit the general in the head. Inferno smothered a chuckle, and attempted to keep his face straight. He couldn't however, and broke down laughing.
A soft snicker could be heard from the sewers, joining Infernos hearty laugh. The general turned scarlet from embarrassment, and hissed, "Very well, since you think it is so funny Inferno, you can spend the night in the brig."
Infernos laughter cut off, and he groaned. So much for going to the large party that was supposed to be going on tonight.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Red Alert moved through the camp, invisible and ignored. No one paid any attention to a youngling, and no camera caught sight of him. He had snuck through too many times before to get caught.
He still felt a little guilty about Inferno getting in trouble over his little temper tantrum. Did the general honestly believe that he would take one? He had other ways to kill the decepticons, and he was working just as hard as any of them. Red Alert scowled at his youngling body. He was supposed to get an adult body, however there were none to be found, and Red Alert was forced to wait.
He paused just before entering the brig, wondering what he was going to say. Then, he decided that it didn't matter. From what he knew of Inferno, from the times the fire truck visited the underground, Inferno would do most of the talking.
Red Alert slipped in, optics worriedly scanning the building. No one except Inferno was in the brig, and Inferno was still chuckling slightly. Silently he drifted along, keeping out of sight. Then, wryly he asked, "Enjoyed my little throw?"
Inferno sat up straight, optics scanning the room. When he came up blank, his brow furrowed. "Wha-?"
"I'm the one currently dubbed 'Ghost'. I heard the general threw you in the brig after you laughed at my throwing the ammo at his head…"
Inferno laughed again, leaning against the wall. "Yes, that was amusing. How did you do it anyways?"
Red Alert was silent, unable to find an explanation that would satisfy Inferno, and keep the mech from discovering from who he really was. "I'll decline from answering for now." Red Alert said at last, dryly. "I can't say anything without revealing too much."
Inferno's head tilted. "A lot of mechs want to know who you are. In fact, if I were to say I was visited by you, I'd probably be considered crazy. You're the number one betting item."
"I know. Odds are 18:1 that one day I'll disappear when I'm most needed, and odds are 8:1 that I'm actually a decepticon, and its what… I forget the odds that I don't actually exist at all."
"Well, you're talking to me." Inferno pointed out.
"Ah, but am I?" Red Alert asked, drawing on one of the psychology programs that he had found. "Or, am I just another mech who decided to screw around with your mind?"
Inferno roared with laughter. "Ghost or not, it's nice to be able to talk to someone. Besides, even if the ghost doesn't exist, someone had to of put footprints to the bag of ammo."
Red Alert froze. Footprints? "Didn't I get rid of those… no, I didn't. I should probably to destroy them now, before anyone sees."
Inferno called out, "Wait!"
Red Alert hesitated, waiting silently. "Can I at least get a name?"
"Sorry, just keep on calling me ghost. I can't give out my name for my own reasons." Red Alert said softly.
Inferno nodded, and said, "Well, if you ever need help, I'll be more then glad to come on down and blast some Decepticons with ya."
"I don't blast them. I allow the rats and bats to eat them alive, or for the acid to completely melt them." Red Alert pointed out amused.
Infernos head tilted, but it was too late. Soft footsteps were already receding into the night. "Maybe it was a good thing I got thrown in the brig." Inferno mused out loud, settling down against the wall.
0o0o0o0o0o0
Red Alert sighed in relief as he obliterated the last of his footprints. He was beginning to get careless. Red Alert hesitated as he set down the tool, and he looked around. Infernos footprints stood nearby, and Red Alert placed one of his down inside. The giant footprint dwarfed his own. Then, angry at himself for wondering about having an adult body that he probably would never get, he moved off.
He knew, because he had a glitch, that he was unlikely to get an adult body. In fact, he astounded doctors by living, for his glitch was so strong, he had been told repeatedly that it would one day fry his CPU. His glitch screamed that they were lying, but his logic processor realized that it was probably true.
So, he drifted along, ignored by the population at large. No city liked to admit that they had a glitchy mech in their midst.
0o0o0o0o0o0
"Red Alert! Filthy once more." The scowling femme that met him in front of the sparkling home for unwanted younglings, was usually good-natured. Red Alert wondered what he had done wrong this time.
"You kept the good doctor waiting!" Red Alert frowned, confused. He knew of no doctor that was supposed to visit.
"It was a surprise to all of us when he heard, but he's rumored to be the best doc in the entire galaxy-" Red Alerts glitch reared its head, snarling, All the con men say that! He'll dissect your CPU with a spoon! "-so he's been very patient in waiting for you. We'll have to give you a quick run through with the wash room."
Red Alert meekly followed the femme. Experience told him that if he resisted when she was in this mood, he was likely to get no dinner. Something he couldn't afford to miss. Not with a body like his, and not with how long he usually went without energon.