Chapter 14 - Altihex
Hey all :) Another chapter for you. There are not very many chapters left in this story, but they're mostly planned out, so I should be able to have them up pretty quickly. Keyword there, should haha..
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, just Steel and the rest of my oc's and the story.
Hope you enjoy!
Silver walked into the office, beelining for the front desk.
Nightracer glanced up, smiling wearily when she reached him.
"Good offcycle, Silver. What can I do for you?"
The femme placed her hands on her hips, looking down at him disapprovingly. "Nightracer, you look exhausted. Why are you still here? You are usually only here during the orn."
The clerk shrugged. "I am still working on the case."
Silver shook her helm. "No wonder you and Prowl get along so well. Neither of you quit until you drop."
"I am assuming you're here to see Prowl?"
Scoffing lightly, the young teacher smirked. "More like send him home."
Grinning, Nightracer tiredly gestured with a hand. "You know where he is. You are welcome to go and get him."
"Thanks, Nightracer," Silver said with a smile. She strolled away, heading for Prowl's office.
Reaching it, she pressed the entry request button beside the door.
There was no answer.
Silver looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. "Prowl."
Keying in the code on the keypad, the femme entered the small office.
And sighed at what she saw.
Prowl's desk was covered in various datapads in addition to his computer. The mech himself was slumped over in his chair, helm resting in his servos on the desk.
Walking quietly around the desk, Silver gently laid a hand on Prowl's backplate, shaking him. "Prowl. Wake up, sweetspark," she murmured softly.
The white and black stirred, slowly sitting up. He blinked, glancing around the room. Rubbing his faceplate, he asked, "Silver? What are you doing here?"
Crossing her servos, Silver raised an optic ridge. "Prowl, the real question is why are you still here? It's late."
Gesturing to the contents of his desk, the enforcer sighed. "I was trying to finish here before I went home. The mecha responsible for the prisoners escaping must be found and brought to justice."
"Well, you are exhausted. Time to pack up and go home. It will be here when you return. Besides, you will be able to come back next orn and do a much better job when you're rested."
"I suppose you are right."
"Yes, I am," nodded Silver. She straightened, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Now let's go."
Prowl got to his pedes, picking up a datapad and subspacing it. He followed Silver out of his office, locking it behind them.
When they reached the reception area, Silver stepped over to Nightracer.
Tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention, the teacher pointed to the door. "You too. Time to go home."
Nightracer glanced from Prowl to Silver a few times, a little unsure of himself. Prowl gave him a tired shrug as his courted continued to stare the poor mech down.
"Yes, ma'am. I will gather my things and be on my way," the blue and white finally said.
Nodding, Silver resumed her exiting of the building. Calling over her shoulder she added, "You had better. I will know if you don't."
The two mechs exchanged a look but said nothing. Nightracer began to pack up, letting the offcycle shift on duty know he was leaving.
Prowl followed Silver out into the offcycle.
"Silver, I will escort you home- "
The femme held up her hand. "No, you will not. Officer Prowl is exhausted and he is the one needing an escort. Teacher Silver will be fine driving by herself from there. Do not argue please."
"Why are you speaking like that?" asked the confused Prowl.
"Because I'm checking to see just how exhausted you are. If you hadn't caught it, then we would be taking a transport."
The two walked onto the street, transformed, and drove off. Once reaching Prowl's house, they said good offcycle and Silver went home.
Prowl managed to wait until she sent him an internal comm, telling him she had arrived at home safely. Almost immediately, the enforcer fell back into recharge.
It had been a long few orns.
Meanwhile, a certain investigator was far from recharging.
Jazz crept through the darkened streets, his visor dimmed as to avoid alerting mecha to his presence.
This section of the city was empty, except for several homeless mecha huddled in the little shelter they could find. Empty optics watched Jazz warily as he moved through their territory.
None made a move to stop him.
All were likely too afraid.
In some sectors like this, you might find mecha willing to try and steal from higher caste mecha.
Or each other.
These ones wouldn't bother with him, unless he bothered them.
They didn't have much, but they'd protect what little they did have.
Jazz felt pity for them, but there wasn't anything he could do for them. There was too many of them for one mech alone to help.
Hopefully, Orion Pax and Megatronus would eventually get somewhere with their movement.
Though Jazz had a lot of doubts about the gladiator.
For multiple reasons.
"Ah hope Orion ain't walkin' in ta somethin' foolish."
He didn't want to see his friend get hurt.
Reaching the outskirts of the city, Jazz transformed into his sleek alt form and sped off in the direction of Iacon.
He, Prowl, and Nightracer hadn't found very much about who was responsible for the release of the prisoners from three detention centres. The mecha that had been rearrested had not supplied any information. They didn't seem to really know who it was that had let them out.
Jazz still thought it was an inside job.
And Barricade had up and disappeared.
Coincidence?
The investigator didn't think so.
It was time to see what his data clerk friend could find for him.
Steeldust walked swiftly down the street, helm and optics darting this way and that. He peered warily into the shadows, audios on high alert.
He was back home, his first home, in Polyhex. The area seemed familiar, but also strange and foreign.
"How'd I get here?" he wondered to himself.
Off to his left, there was a sudden noise, jerking him out of his thoughts. It sounded like someone's pedefall. A loud one too, belonging to somebody bigger than Steeldust.
Spooked, Steeldust froze, plating and doorwings rising. His spark hammered in his chest. His audios strained, but the offcycle was now silent.
Had he actually heard something? Maybe it was just his imagination-
A dark figure suddenly appeared from above, landing several yards away.
Steeldust jumped and let out a yelp. Staring fearfully up at the newcomer, he started moving backwards.
The mecha moved with him, steadily and at the youngling's pace. It never got closer or farther away.
Details began to come clear on the shadowy figure. Red optics seemed to bore into Steeldust's spark and mind. A pistol became visible at the mecha's hip. Black and white paint gleamed in the moonlight.
The faceplate of the short mecha then split in a nasty grin as Steeldust saw who it was.
A cold shiver ran up Steeldust's spinal strut.
"Barricade," he said in a whisper, optics widening even further.
The law enforcer chuckled as he continued to keep pace with the speedster. "Think you and your investigator friend can outsmart me, youngling? I will just find you again."
Steeldust turned and bolted. His long pedes spurred him forward, away from Barricade.
He checked over his shoulder and almost tripped.
Barricade was still right behind him. The same distance he'd been before.
The enforcer folded his servos behind his back and shook his helm as he walked. "You can run, but you won't be able to hide forever."
Darting around a corner, Steeldust ran into something. Or rather, someone.
Laid out flat on his back from the impact, Steeldust shook his helm. He looked up and gasped. He began crawling backwards, away.
Four more mechs stood in the alley.
They were featureless, just like Barricade had been at first. Only their optics, cold and evil, were visible.
"We will find you eventually, young racer," said Barricade from his place he'd halted in.
Whirling to face the enforcer, Steeldust realized he was almost right in front of him.
Barricade bent down to look at him. "And you will not see us coming."
With that, the enforcer threw back his helm and laughed. The other mechs, the shadowy ones, joined him. The sounds echoed around the alley, surrounding the youngling in the midst.
Desperately, Steeldust scrambled to his pedes. He ran to the left, halting when he saw more shadows with red optics approaching. He tried the opposite direction, but the same thing happened.
His vents came in short gasps as he looked around him in terror.
He was surrounded. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide.
The mecha began closing in, their eerie laughter getting louder and louder.
Steeldust knelt down to the ground, covering his audios with his hands.
The mecha reached him, the closer ones reaching towards him, Barricade watching with that same sick smile.
Huddling on the ground, covering his helm with his servos, Steeldust let out a long scream.
"JAAAAAAAZZZZZZ!"
Steeldust awoke with a start, sitting straight up with his servos in a defence position. Shaking his helm, he glanced around.
No mecha reaching to take him away. No Barricade.
He wasn't in Polyhex, he was in Bluestreak's room.
Sitting on the floor?
Bluestreak's helm appeared over the edge of his berth. He looked down at his friend, who spun to face him, servos raised as if ready to hit him. Blue's expression turned from concern to puzzlement, his blue optics watching him with worry.
"Are you okay, Steeldust?" he asked in a whisper.
Steeldust lowered his servos. His doorwings slumped and his shoulder and back plating flattened. Nodding, he answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, Bluestreak."
Bluestreak sat up and swung his pedes over the side of the berth. "Did you have another one of those dream things? You fell out of your berth."
Looking around, Steeldust again noticed he was sitting on the floor. "Yeah, I guess so. Is that what woke you up?"
"I think so. All of a sudden, I just heard a loud noise. I woke up and you were sitting on the floor."
"Oh." Getting up, Steeldust walked over to his borrowed berth and climbed back in. "At least I didn't actually scream this time."
"Do you- Do you want to talk about it?" Bluestreak asked from his berth across the room.
"No," said Steeldust quietly. "Maybe next orn."
"Okay."
"You should go back to recharge, Blue. Sorry I woke you up."
"It's okay, Steel. I know you don't mean to have dreams." Bluestreak was back in recharge within a few astrokliks.
Steeldust however, stared at the ceiling for some time. He was now wide awake, thoughts running wild rapidly through his helm.
Barricade had disappeared. Jazz and Steeldust were going to disappear too.
"Will Barricade still find me like he did in my nightmare?" Steeldust wondered.
It took breems, but finally, the frightened youngling managed to fall back into recharge.
Fitful, dream-filled recharge.
"I agree with you, Officer Prowl. This does seem to prove that Officer Barricade was involved. I will alert the other Praxian enforcer offices immediately."
Prowl nodded his thanks to the chief officer. "Sir, it has been deducted that Barricade has fled to Kaon. Do you wish me to send someone after him?"
The chief frowned, shaking his helm. "No. It is now out of our reach. Besides, how likely do you think Kaon will give him to us. We will keep watch for him. From Praxus." At this, the mech gave a stern look to the two visitors in his office.
"But-" Jazz began.
He was silenced when he was hit in the helm by a doorwing. The investigator sent a glare to his friend, who only kept his attention on the chief.
"Sir, Jazz means to say, Barricade has crossed the line and now more than just Praxus is paying for it. He has now been declared a wanted criminal, and not just by us. The data that Jazz found in Iacon gives further evidence to an inside job.
"One of the mechs in the prison in Protihex was involved. Jazz's findings suggest that he had been planted in the facility to assist Barricade in the jailbreak."
"Yes, you told me about Blackout already," the chief replied coolly. "He was previously in the centre, yes. Now he, among many others are no longer there. But they are not in Praxus either. If they make their way back to our city-state, then we will take action. As it is, if what you two think is true, we have no good reason to pursue them out of our jurisdiction. If Barricade and this Blackout are a part of the gladiator's supporters, then Praxus has already made its decision on the subject. In addition, anything related to it."
"But, Sir," protested Jazz, sitting forwards in his chair. "There could be lives on da line here. We got a lead. It ain't great, but it's somethin'."
The chief turned his attention to Jazz. "If you wish to involve yourself further in this, Investigator, then do so. Your help has been appreciated in the past, as is this orn. However, if you make that choice, make it from elsewhere. Maybe Polyhex has decided to concern itself with the revolutionary speeches of a gladiator, but Praxus has not."
Jazz and the chief enforcer stared each other down for several kliks.
"Fine," the investigator finally said.
"Do you not think that Megatronus and his followers could pose a threat?" inquired Prowl.
"What I think does not matter in this situation," sniffed the chief. "The leaders have decided. It is my job to make sure that decision is followed. Megatronus is a gladiator. They call him a revolutionary, but that is giving him too much credit. Praxus will not stoop so low as to concern itself with or add to the trouble he has caused.
"Officer Prowl. Unless you have reason to that falls under what I have told you, I do not want to hear anymore about this. Your friend can do what he wants. He will anyways I am sure. You, Investigator, must do it outside Praxus. Are we clear here?"
"Yes, Sir," Prowl said stiffly. He rose from his seat and left.
Jazz followed and as soon as they were out of hearing, began talking.
"Ah don't agree wit' him. How can ya stand ta listen ta him, Prowl?"
The enforcer sighed. "You do not have to do either, Jazz."
"Ah know. An' Ah ain't gonna. Ya know what dat many criminals can do? An' if dey are on Megatronus' side? Dat might just be a disaster waitin' ta happen."
"I agree, Jazz." Prowl opened his office door, letting his friend enter first. "But I do not know what we can do about it."
"We. You basically got told to stay out o' it or yer fired." Jazz flopped into his usual chair. "Me? Yer boss ain't my boss."
"He realizes that," Prowl remarked dryly. "He also knows you likely will not listen to him, doing what you want."
"Dat is what he said. Should know me 'nough by now ta know threatenin' ain't gonna work either."
"So, what are you going to do? You said that your friend has actually gone to speak with Megatronus?"
Jazz rubbed his forehelm. "Yeah. He was tellin' me bout it again last offcycle. Orion is actually somewhat excited 'bout some o' it. Doesn't agree wit' all Megatronus' ideas though."
"I see." Prowl frowned. "You say he has good judgment?"
"Yeah. It wasn't my idea ta go ta Kaon. But it seems the gladiator has got quite the followin'. More than we or even Orion knew. Orion believes there might still be more than he's been told."
"Including Barricade."
"Orion said ma description matched the Barricade he met." Jazz shrugged. "Ah don't know dat we can just go there an' nab him though."
"No, that would not be wise," Prowl replied. He sat quietly for a few kliks, thinking. Finally, he spoke again.
"I believe we may just have to wait and see what happens. There really is not much we can do as of now. It is out of our reach."
Jazz scoffed. "Ya sound like yer boss. But Ah do agree. Kaon's a long way from here an' enforcement pro'bly won't like ya tryin' ta take one o' theirs. But if Barricade moves- "
"We will act," finished Prowl.
Steeldust stood in front of his friends.
This was it. The last orn of school for the term.
They were in the process of saying goodbye.
Bluestreak was holding up surprisingly well so far. He was sad, but he realized that Steeldust would keep his promise to visit.
"Steel," Smokescreen began, looking at his friend. "Visit often, okay?"
The speedster nodded. "I promise."
The group looked up as Drag Strip and Wildrider approached, interrupting them.
"So. You're leaving?" Wildrider asked, keeping a bit of distance between himself and Steeldust.
"Yeah. You better be nice to mecha, Wildrider," said Steeldust sternly. He sent a warning look at the troublemaker.
Wildrider stuck his glossa out, but forced himself to stand his ground.
Drag Strip walked up to the other speedster, staring him down for a few kliks. Steeldust returned the stare.
"One last race, Drag Strip?"
With a nod, the orange speedster quietly walked towards the track. Steeldust was right behind him.
The rest of the present younglings followed sadly.
Readying themselves at the starting line, the two speedsters glanced towards the crowd.
Smokescreen looked down at Swerve. "Want to do the honours?"
The red and white stepped forward and climbed onto a nearby bench. "Racers! Start your engines!"
The speedsters placed one pede behind the other, bracing themselves.
"Get set!" Swerve yelled.
Drag Strip and Steeldust exchanged a glance.
"GO!"
And they were off.
The crowd was silent until Bluestreak yelled, "Go Steeldust! Go Dragstrip!"
Then, the rest joined in. Cheering for the young racer-wannabes for the last time of the school term.
Finishing fairly close together, with Steeldust in the lead, the speedsters paused at the finish line before joining their friends.
"You know, Steeldust," Drag Strip said quietly, kicking the ground with a pede. "I might just actually miss you. A little."
Steeldust nodded. "I might miss you a little too, Drag Strip." Extending a hand towards the orange and purple speedster, he continued. "You know, if you were nicer, we might've been friends."
Smirking, Drag Strip took his hand and shook it. "If you'd been a little less good, we would've been."
Glancing towards the rest for a klik, Steel returned his attention to Drag Strip. "I think we sort of are. A strange, rivalry, sort of friendship."
Drag Strip nodded his helm, then shrugged. "Something like that."
Sending him a small smile, Steeldust walked away. Once he met the others, he, Smokescreen, Swerve, and Bluestreak headed towards the front of the school.
Wildrider joined Drag Strip on the track and they watched the four leave.
"I'm glad he won't be coming back," said Wildrider, crossing his servos. "That traitor Swerve too."
Drag Strip only grunted his response and the two began heading home.
At the front of the school, Jazz, Silver, and Prowl were waiting. They watched as the four younglings came towards them.
Swerve's creators were waiting for him, so he went first. Sadly, saying goodbye to his friends that were still there, he trudged away.
Smokescreen and Bluestreak's creators hadn't arrived yet. Steeldust glanced over at Jazz pleadingly.
The investigator nodded his helm. He would let Steeldust wait until his friends had to leave.
The trio moved over to the play set and sat together.
"Poor younglings," murmured Silver as she watched them. "It's gonna be hard on them."
Jazz sighed. "It's already been hard on 'em."
"They will be alright, Jazz," Prowl said. "It's not forever."
"Ah know."
Smokescreen glanced up when his carrier arrived.
"I gotta go now," he said, rising to his pedes.
Steeldust rose with him, looking up at him. "Goodbye, Smokescreen. I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too, Steel," Smokescreen replied. He tried to smile, extending a hand towards the speedster. "See you later."
Dismissing the hand, Steeldust threw his servos around Smokescreen. "See you later."
They separated and the older youngling walked slowly away.
Smokescreen lifted his hand in a wave. "See you around, Bluestreak."
"Bye, Smokey," said the younger Praxian.
The two remaining younglings watched as Smokescreen ran to his carrier and then disappeared down the street.
Bluestreak's sire came shortly after.
Sniffling, Blue got up and stepped over to his best friend. "I don't want to say goodbye," he whispered.
A tear rolled down Steeldust's faceplate. "Me neither," he whispered back.
"Promise you'll come back?" asked Bluestreak, wiping his faceplate.
Steeldust nodded, his expression firm. "I promise. I'll never leave you for good Bluestreak. You're my best friend, you always will be. And I'll never forget you. Ever. We're brothers now, remember?"
Bluestreak twitched his doorwings. "I remember. I'll never forget you either, Steeldust!"
The four adult mecha watched as the younglings hugged, then trudged towards them.
"This is sparkbreaking," Silver said, wiping her optics.
Prowl put a hand on her shoulderplate, pulling her close. "I know." He glanced over at Jazz. "It is for the best. For now. We all agreed."
Jazz nodded. "Yeah."
"Yes, we did," added Silver. "And now we have to be strong for them."
Steeldust stood on the curb, watching Bluestreak and his sire drive away. A single tear dripped onto the ground.
Turning to face the three mecha waiting for him, he said quietly, "I'm ready to go now."
Silver swiftly walked over to the youngling and knelt down in front of him. Reaching out a hand, she cupped the side of his face.
"Oh, Steeldust. I will miss you, sweetspark," she said, smiling sadly. "But don't worry, we will see each other again."
Nodding, Steeldust gave her a quick hug. Whispering into her audio, he said, "You're my favourite teacher, Silver."
With a smile, Silver drew back. "I'm glad I had you in my class, Steeldust. Farewell."
Next, Steeldust strode over to Prowl and stood in front of him, gazing up at him. Prowl looked down at him sadly.
"Don't forget us," whispered Steeldust. Then louder, he said, "I'll miss you too, Prowl. Thank you for everything."
Prowl crouched to be on Steeldust's level. "I will also miss you Steeldust. Thank you for what you have done in our lives. I'm glad to have met and gotten to know you."
Steeldust flew into the enforcer's servos. Prowl held him tight. He realized he wasn't ready to say goodbye to either this little youngling or his guardian.
Releasing Steeldust, Prowl straightened. He turned to Jazz, who looked absolutely torn.
"Until we meet again, Jazz," said Prowl, dipping his helm.
"See ya around, Prowler," Jazz replied quietly. "Bye Silver."
"Goodbye, Jazz," Silver said, waving as he headed to the street.
The three adult mecha had previously said their goodbyes, but it was still hard. It would be strange not seeing each other for awhile.
Steeldust followed Jazz, hopping into his alt mode. He waved once more to Prowl and Silver.
The teacher and enforcer stood on the sidewalk, watching as they drove away.
"I will miss them," said Silver, putting her servo around Prowl.
"As will I," Prowl replied. Placing a servo around her shoulders, he guided her away. "They will be back."
Opening the door, Steeldust took his first look at his new home.
The apartment was smaller than their house in Praxus, but it was enough room for the two of them. Their belongings and furniture were already here, having slowly been moved in the past decacycle.
They just had to figure out where some of it went still.
"What do ya think?" Jazz asked from behind the youngling.
Wandering further into the apartment, Steeldust twitched his doorwings. It was a new place, just like Altihex was. It was a new place to explore, a new adventure.
"I think I'll like it."
Jazz entered and closed the door behind himself. "Good. I'm glad."
They stood in the middle of the room, looking at the piles of boxes surrounding them.
"What should we unpack first?" the investigator asked.
Steeldust looked up at him and shrugged. "I have no idea."
"Me neither," Jazz smirked. "We could just start next orn..."
"Jazz-" Steeldust smiled.
The first smile all orn.
Jazz smiled back. They were going to be okay.
In the decacycles following, Steeldust did a lot of exploring. Altihex was quite different than Praxus.
Even the mecha were different.
In Steeldust's opinion, a lot of Praxians were a bit snobby. But here, well, he wasn't quite sure of his opinion on the mecha yet.
The youngling had noticed that this was a lower caste section of Altihex, so maybe that was why some mecha just seemed to be a little untrusting.
Not that he blamed them.
Something almost everyone knew, or those that cared to know, the lower your caste was, the lower the quality of life was. And it was harder, sometimes even impossible, to get a good job.
Often enough, mecha would end up on the streets. Homeless.
Other mecha would sometimes try to take advantage of their predicament and steal what little the poor mecha had.
So why wouldn't they not trust anyone?
Steeldust was by himself while Jazz went to work, so he'd usually leave their apartment and explore. Jazz had by now taught him quite a bit about how to protect himself, and felt confident that Steeldust would be fine on his own.
"Just remember," the investigator had said. "If yer in over yer helm, just run. Ah doubt anyone could catch ya an' the surprise o' yer speed would give ya a head start anyways."
Steeldust smirked as he remembered the conversation. Running fast was never a problem for him. He always had dominated any game that involved a chase.
If someone decided to give him trouble, it wouldn't be any different. It'd only be another game that Steeldust would win.
The more challenging thing for the navy and black speedster would be to find a friend.
He had tried to talk to a few younglings here and there, but they mostly had either been afraid of him or told him to get lost. The latter kind already had their own friends and didn't want to accept a stranger. The former group had likely inherited their creators' fear of other mecha.
Or at least Steeldust hoped that was the case. He didn't think he was scary. No one had ever seemed afraid of him before. Maybe a little intimidated when he was angry, but not scared enough to run away.
Well, except for Wildrider. But Steeldust didn't think the crazy youngling counted.
The young speedster shrugged. He would just have to keep trying. He hadn't been here that long yet. Not time to give up. Surely, he could win someone's trust.
And if not, he could skip on over to the sector where he'd be going to school.
The youngling frowned, raising an optic ridge. That was a little farther than Jazz said he could wander.
Steeldust would have to wait and see what his guardian thought of that idea.
Until he could ask, he would just keep wandering where he was told he could.
"I wonder what it's like to live like a wanderer," Steeldust thought to himself. "I've heard about mecha that do that all the time. Think they're called nomads. They never settle down anywhere. I bet they see lots of stuff. Maybe to the lower layers of Cybertron even!"
They probably got to travel around the planet with their best friends too.
"I miss Blue and Smokey already.
"I bet the loners that wander are lonely a lot. I don't think I'd like being a wanderer. Not for a long time anyways."
Steeldust suddenly stopped. He glanced around him, frowning. He hadn't been this far in this direction yet. He was sure of that.
Quite unsure of everything else about it, however.
The change was almost like someone drew a line, making a strange border through the city. The difference was almost like solarcycle and offcycle.
"This must be where the next sector meets this one," Steel thought, studying the area that began several yards in front of him. "I've never seen anything- Anywhere like this."
And it changed so- Immediately.
The buildings across the invisible line were much more worn down and deteriorated. So was the street themselves. Steeldust didn't have an alt mode yet, but figured that it would be hard to drive on the street.
What was even more strange, was how empty it looked.
Over here, in the sector that Steel lived in, there would be mecha. Sitting out in front of their house or shop, a few using the road, or just casually walking around like he was. A couple mecha, likely really poor, perhaps homeless, begged from anyone passing by.
Over there, it was completely empty. Completely silent.
It was as if everything and everyone just stopped. Right there at the invisible line.
"Maybe it's some kind of forcefield-shield-thing. Maybe there's something different on the other side that someone is hiding," thought Steeldust, inching closer. He cautiously stepped over to where the two sectors met, waiting for someone to jump out and tell him to go stick his olfactory sensors elsewhere.
No one did. No one appeared.
Stopping again just in front of the line, Steeldust studied it carefully. Up close, the line wasn't as defined as it had looked farther away. But it was still there. The street did suddenly change.
Throwing a look over his shoulder, Steeldust considered what he should do. "I could go ask some mecha if they know what's over there. Maybe they wouldn't know though. Maybe I should just wait and ask Jazz. But I'm allowed to go farther than this, I don't think he'd mind about that..."
Turning back, Steeldust took one more look at the line. Then, he crossed it.
Tensing up, he paused, waiting for something to happen.
Nothing did.
He looked around again. Nothing had changed. It was still dark, gloomy, and a bit on the creepy side.
It looked like something out of those horror holovids that Smokescreen sometimes would watch when his creators weren't home.
"I guess there isn't a forcefield thing," mumbled Steeldust. He tentatively kept moving, keeping an extra careful watch for anything dangerous.
"Maybe Prowl was right. Maybe we do watch too much on the holovid."
After wandering a ways down the street and seeing nothing different, Steeldust decided that he would investigate a building.
"They are abandoned," he said quietly, venturing up to the door of what had maybe been a hotel at some point. "I don't think anyone would care if I did."
Finding the door was unlocked, Steeldust snuck inside, leaving the door open a crack behind him. He paused a few astrokliks, letting his night vision get used to the dark interior.
It did look like an old hotel. The room Steeldust was in was large and spacious, with a huge desk off to the left. A staircase was up ahead a little bit on the right. Garbage littered the floor here and there, gathering along the desk and in the corners of the room.
"I wonder how long it's been since anyone was here last," wondered Steeldust. The youngling made his way carefully and silently down the hall.
He didn't find much. Just a bunch of empty rooms. Empty except for more garbage and lots of dust.
After exploring the whole ground floor, Steeldust moved to the next one. He was starting to get that eerie feeling again, but curiosity won and he kept going.
"Huh, I wonder why the stairs weren't very creaky," he thought. "Maybe I just missed the spots that are creaky. Or I went too fast and they didn't have time to make any noise. Is that a thing you can do?"
Reaching the first door in the hallway, Steeldust tried to open it.
It wouldn't open.
Tilting his helm, he looked the door over, twitching his doorwings as he did.
These were an old style, they actually didn't have a keypad and buttons beside it. They had a weird looking knob that you had to turn. And then the door opened inwards instead of sliding into the wall.
The whole building had these kind of doors. Even the entrance one was like this. But none of them had been locked or stuck so far.
This building, maybe the whole sector, must be really old.
Placing one shoulder against the door, Steeldust pushed against it as he turned the doorknob.
Nothing budged.
"It must be locked for some reason."
Thinking quickly, the youngling looked about him. Spying a thin piece of wire among the pile of stuff along the opposite wall, he ran over and snatched it up. Returning to the door, he slid the wire into the hole beneath the doorknob.
No clicking sounds.
Wiggling the wire around, Steeldust listened. He'd never tried to pick one of these kinds of locks before, but figured it should be easier than the normal kind.
He'd probably get in less trouble for it too.
After a few kliks, the locking mechanisms gave in. With a grin, Steeldust withdrew his piece of wire, sticking it into a chink in his servo plating in case he needed it again. He turned the doorknob and opened the door.
His smile dropped and optics widened at what he saw inside.
Several pairs of optics stared at him.
Steeldust was too shocked to do anything but stare back.
There were five adult mecha in the room, three mechs and two femmes, all huddled in a circle on the floor. Between them, was a large container of some sort with fire in it.
The mecha had almost no paint left on them, and looked malnourished. One looked sick. Really sick. Steeldust wasn't a medic, but he somehow knew she probably wouldn't last much longer.
The group stared at the youngling in the doorway, surprised at his sudden appearance.
"Uh-hello," Steeldust said nervously, finally finding his words. "I'm-sorry-I- I-didn't-know-anyone-was-in-here."
"Did you forget to lock the door when you came in?" one of the mechs hissed lowly, glaring at the one beside him.
"I'm sure I locked it," the accused mech hissed back.
"Then how did he get in here?" grumbled one of the femmes, eyeing the youngling warily.
The second mech shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sure I locked it."
"Why didn't we hear him coming?"
"How the pit am I supposed to know?"
Steeldust helm turned this way and that as the mecha began to argue. Only the sick one stayed quiet, just watching the young stranger.
"He's probably going to go and tell someone we're here. Then, we'll have to find somewhere else!"
"Him? He's just a youngling! Look at him, he doesn't know what to do. He's just standing there."
"Yeah, I see him. See how he actually has all his paint? He's not from around here."
"Which means he's higher caste than us. You know what that means. So are his creators. He might not tell on us, but they will."
"Maybe we can get him to stay quiet."
"Pfft. Younglings blab everything to everyone. We shouldn't let him leave."
"This one doesn't seem that talkative. How would we keep him here? What would we do with him?"
"Did you hear him before? I couldn't understand a word he said. Was that some different language he was speaking?"
The first mech swatted the third mech in the helm. "No, idiot. He was just talking really fast."
"Did you understand him?" retaliated the mech, rubbing his helm.
"He said- Uh- Umm-" the first one muttered, glancing away.
The sickly mecha looked away from the youngling, facing her companions. "I understood him. He apologized. He didn't know we were here," she said weakly.
"Yeah, that's what he said," the first mech nodded.
The group turned their attention back to the young intruder.
Who was now right beside them.
Startled, they all jumped.
"What was that for? Why are you sneaking up on us, youngling?"
"Why are you even here?"
Steeldust looked at them in turn, then at the one who had asked the question. "I- I was exploring and- I'm sorry if I scared you. Who- Who are you?"
"None of your business!" one of the mechs hissed.
"Calm down, I don't think he means us any harm," said the healthier of the two femmes, shooting the mech a look.
Steeldust shook his helm rapidly. "No, I don't. I-promise."
"So, you're not here to steal from us?" asked the first mech, looking at him suspiciously.
Steeldust shook his helm again.
"Good. Now go away. Before I decide to offline you for snooping around."
"Okay."
Steeldust bolted, leaving in a blur of navy and black.
The mecha stared at the spot where he'd stood only an astroklik ago, listening to the clattering sound echoing throughout the building as the youngling ran down the stairs. The front door closed with a loud slam as the youngling vacated the building.
"What- What was that?" asked one of the femmes.
"He just vanished!"
Steeldust ran all the way home, not stopping until he was back in the apartment. He closed the door and leaned against it.
He didn't know who those mecha were, but he didn't think he'd ever go back there again.
It wasn't necessarily the mecha that had freaked him out. Although, the one mech, likely their leader, had threatened to offline him. It was the whole experience.
Steel knew that some mecha were really bad off. He'd heard it before. The mecha in his sector weren't doing great or anything. But he'd never met any like the five in the abandoned hotel, or seen anything like them for himself.
Never seen someone that close to offlinement before either.
Except for his creators.
Sliding down to sit on the floor, Steeldust wondered if there were more like them.
There had to be.
Why was life so unfair?
Steeldust hadn't realized how different the castes were. He wondered what a high caste mecha looked like. Or how they lived.
How many more new things would he learn in Altihex?
Thanks for reading!