After Episode 18: Metal Attraction – Redone

Breakdown was still feeling low and out of it since his beating with Arcee and Breakdown over the Polarity Gauntlet but having a spider literally on his back was the bottom of the barrel. After reporting to Lord Megatron about yet another failure, he had been forced to stand and allow the ex-con to talk and explain herself, leaving Breakdown to feel like a piece of furniture Airachnid was using to spare her eight legs.

Finally he, or rather she was dismissed and now he was trudging to his station to be depolarised and free of the assassin's insults and chatter.

"Ah Breakdown." Called the joking tone of his partner. "How was the mission?"

"Not good." He mumbled, wishing the medic would just take a hint and not ask questions.

The hint was missed as the medic put one hand on his side. "Oh? What happened?"

"I happened." Called a femme's voice.

Stepping to the side, Knockout peered around the bulky form and saw the much smaller bot stuck to his back tire. "Ah, Airachnid." He chuckled smiling coldly. "How's it hanging?"

"Oh ha ha." She responded, emotionless.

Knockout hummed as he inspected the pair, thinking how to unstick them. He tried a few random tools but they just got stuck in the joint between them as well and when he almost scratched the paint off his door shaped arm, he stepped back and lifted his head. "Scrap!"

Airachnid chuckled. "Oh, come now Knockout, no reason for language like that."

"Scrap!"

"What!" Came an unusual voice. "I was only cleaning the energon filter, you didn't need to shout."

The assassin quickly tried to twist herself around to see the bot behind the voice but all she could see was Knockout looking downwards. "Scrap, come here, I need your small hands."

"Really? Not just to save your paint? I was listening you know."

"I need to install way to turn that thing off remotely. Now, get in there and put this between them, as far down as you can."

"Bien sûr, mon capitaine, je suis au travail."

"And stop showing off."

"Come on Scrap, I want this thing off."

"Ok, ok, keep you nickers on."

Airachnid just fell silent, wondering who the frag this 'Scrap' could be. It appeared to be female by voice but the choice of words were unusual and when she felt something crawling over her back and pressing down on the place she and Breakdown were joint, it appeared to be very small. Even service droids weren't that small!

"Right, it's in Knockout!"

The bot pressed a small remote he was holding and after a loud whirring sound of charge, there was a clatter as the many things that had gotten stuck dropped to the floor, as well as Airachnid plummeting to her feet and Breakdown stepping away.

"Wait, Break… Ahhh!"

Airachnid turned her head just in time to see something falling towards the ground and grabbed it as quickly as she could. When she opened her hand, her deep purple optics went wide as she saw what she was holding.

Scrap on the other hand was quite use to being bothandled and just rubbed her backside where she'd landed before looking at her saviour and her eyes went wide as well. "Wow… you're beautiful."

"Scrap, are you hurt?"

"Sorry bug, I thought you were holding on."

Scrap smiled as the two medics looked down on her in the spider's hand. "I was but I slipped. Umm… you can put me down… Airachnid right?"

Placing her on the ground, Airachnid nodded. "Yes and I guess you are Scrap."

"That's my name." She smiled a little more as she looked up and down the bot. "Seriously, the database on you needs updating. You are much prettier than your diagram let on."

"Well, aren't you a charmer."

"Ahem. Scrap, don't you have chores to do?"

Airachnid stood to her full height and stared at Knockout, pouting a little. "Ah come now, you can't keep her all to yourself Knockout."

"He does have a point, I have to get on with my chores. I've been behind recently because of my…" she stopped, dropping her head to the ground and holding her side. "Well, I'm behind." She smiled and looked up at the spider. "But we can always talk later."

"I would like that Scrap."

Knockout narrowed his eyes in irritation. "Scrap, work, now. Airachnid, a word."

"Later Airachnid!" Scrap called as she ran off to her work, passing the medic as he went to push the femme out.

Once out in the hallway, with the door closed and Scrap out of range, he pointed to the spider's chest. "Now you listen here Airachnid. I know all about your little human hunts and will tell you now, you harm one hair on her head and I will dissect you, one leg at a time." He changed his hand to the drill and held it closely to her face. "Got it?"

Arachnid didn't appear bothered by the threat. In fact, she smiled. "A little touchy aren't you?" She leant a little closer and hummed. "Don't worry, I'm sure Scrap and I will be very, very good friends."

As she swaggered off, Knockout went back to Scrap and Breakdown, watching as she sang to herself and cleaned but when Breakdown saw him, they shared a private agreement.

Keep Scrap away from Airachnid.

Later that night

Panting, Scrap bolted up in her bed, eyes wide with terror, crashing down in fear. She ran a hand back in her hair, pulling it into its ponytail before nervously tying it in place. "Oh Primus." She closed her eyes and rubbed her nose. "Not again."

Sighing, she stood up and pulled on her black and purple shirt, rolling the collar down and left her scrap metal home, walking around the medical bay in near darkness.

It was dark outside and the bots were still active but Knockout and Breakdown both had taken to recharging during the quieter times at night to reduce the risk of disturbing Scrap in her home.

But with her mind filled with fear and unable to sleep, Scrap left the bay and went off to walk the hallways, wandering mindlessly down them. Lots of troopers passed her but no one she knew so she was left alone.

As she walked deeper into the Nemesis, she began hearing the sound of grunting and fighting from an area she didn't normally visit. Intrigued, she headed closer to the noise, her curiosity still beyond caution. Opening a door, she saw the large black, yellow and purple femme lashing out at a replica of the smaller blue and pink femme, her movements quick and sharp, jumping out with her needle-sharp pincer legs and her poisoned nails. Scrap just stood in the doorway, watching the fight for a while, mesmerised by how Airachnid moved.

Finally the spider landed a perfect blow and disconnected the drones head from its shoulders. She hummed then rolled her main shoulder. "If only it was that easy Arcee."

"Tough is she?"

Airachnid turned sharply to the voice, tense but then saw who was speaking and smiled. "Ah, Scrap, it's been a while."

"Yeah, Knockout's been keeping me busy."

"I thought humans need to sleep at this time?"

Scrap nodded and yawned as she did. "I… can't… sleep."

"Are those nasty boys keeping you up?"

"Break and Knock? No, they leave me alone most of the time. And anyway, all I have to do to ignore them is take my aid off." She blinked. "Oh yeah, you probably don't know but this device on my head…." She pulled back her hair to show the small silver device that now slid over her ear and around the back of her neck. "This is a hearing aid. Without it, I can't say or hear a thing."

"How strange."

Scrap shrugged. "Being deaf is a common thing for some humans." She yawned again and shook her head to try and clear the doziness. "Oh, sorry."

Airachnid smiled as she moved to sit beside the human. "You should go sleep."

"I can't."

"You are falling asleep where you are."

Scrap sighed and sat as well, leaning on the wall, copying the much bigger creature beside her. "Airachnid, I haven't even told Knockout this but… I've been having nightmares."

"Night… mares?"

"Bad dreams. Reliving a horrid memory and whenever I do… I get so scared I can't sleep."

Raising a brow, Airachnid looked at her closer as she pulled her knees up to her chin. "What kind of memory?"

Scrap fell silent as she remembered then shuddered. "A few months ago… I was taken prisoner. I was tortured for information and almost killed. If Soundwave hadn't saved me… I would be dead."

"Autobots?"

"The Autobots are too goody-goody for something so dirty. No, it was humans. An organisation called M.E.C.H." She curled up a little more. "They made me tell them about the cybertonians."

"So that's how they knew."

"Hhr?"

"Nothing Scrap. So M.E.C.H, they hurt you?"

Nodding, Scrap pulled up her sleeve and showed it to her. Half way up her arm were several thin raised scars, a deep angry red on her skin. "It wasn't as bad as it looks but I didn't want Knockout to heal it."

"Why?"

"Don't you have a scar you use to remember your failures?"

Airachnid unwillingly touched her knee. "Humm."

"I wanted to keep it to remind myself… just how weak I really am. How… helpless I was against them."

The bot fell silent as she thought then looked over at her. "You know, I know a little bit about how a human fights. I could… teach you."

"What did you say?"

"I said, I could teach you."

"Really?"

"You wouldn't be able to make much damage on a bot but… on a human? I could help you get to a point where you wouldn't have to be scared ever again."

Scrap smiled. "I'd like that."

Airachnid held up a finger suddenly. "But, I would require something in return. You can't get something for nothing."

"What would you want?"

"I have been told that you are close to Soundwave and very good at collecting information."

"I have been."

"Well, you find anything useful, you tell me before anyone else."

Scrap frowned as she thought, biting her lip at the concept. "Alright. You teach me to fight, I tell you anything I find out."

"This is out secret Scrap."

Scrap bit her lip again, turning her head away. None of the other bots would spare the time to help her with her fear and she had never found any information of real use. So in a way, it was a win lose agreement for herself. But still, it felt like she had just taken a stand, on one side or another.

Only time would tell if it was the wrong side.

A few days later

"Good, very good Scrap." Airachnid nodded in approval as Scrap battled her way through the training. "That's enough for now."

"Phew!" She exhaled, rolling her shoulders. "Am I really getting better? It doesn't feel any different to me."

"You aren't watching from my viewpoint. Trust me, you are better."

"Thanks." She grabbed a water bottle from her sports bag and began to drink.

They were quite as she got her breath back then Airachnid nodded. "Have you got anything for me?"

Scrap shrugged. "I'm not sure if it's any use to you but… Soundwave has had me checking the old energon mines and the equipment transfer details. Turned out a few of the really old ones still have signals coming from them. Weak enough to be over looked but still, there were several of them making it a descent stockpile. He didn't tell me what it meant but it appeared important."

"Anything else?"

"One of the Vehicons slipped on some spilt energon, a few flyers were killed by autobots and… well, nothing juicy."

Airacinid nodded in agreement. "Keep at it Scrap."


2019 A/N: Well, I am up to season two now! But this rewrite is taking a while, I've been at it for weeks and I'm only up to "Before Season 2 Episode 24 Patch"! But, I am getting it done! Also, I just realised, although my view count is going up… I am noticing not many reviews… is that because I am reposting old chapters and fan fic only allows you to post one review per chapter? Anyway, hope you are liking it.