All right, lets get this show on the road! I know the chapters a little shirted then usual, but for crying out loud Sterling stole the plot line and wouldn't give it back!
Neon: All great ideas and yes, I've planned for some of them. Not saying witch ones though.
Guest:Yeah he does of course, but i just like to drag it out.
Answerthecall:Cue the intense nail-biting drama. :D
Skyice98: Possibly. Maybe. Yeah, he'll be fine. After I've had my fun of course.
Child of Jon snow: Yep. Good memory.
InterstellerGazer: I'm the same way, i love pushing characters to their breaking points. That's half the fun of writing.
Sunstreaker's Squishy: Ooh, i'll have to check that out. Scare the behjeebers out of me.
The Tip of My Tongue: Yeah, it's pretty cool that I'm finally starting to get back on track and that things are starting to get familiar. And yeah, Axil's sticking around, he's grown on me. I've got plans for him.
Jazzilynn Hall: I love complications as long as its not in my life. I like things nice and simple. But writing? Heck yes the more complicated the better. And throw in a driller for the heck of it and royally screw everyone up.
Let the drama continue!
xxXXxx
Sterling's home.
xxXXxx
Sterling stood in the shadows just inside the shed, the long, mesh wrapped object leaning against the wall opposite him.
"Ya 'ave tah let meh go aft'a it!" Sterling stressed. "Ya 'ave tah let meh-"
"Absolutely not, it's out of the question!" Dusty snapped.
"Dusty, Ratchet will terminated!" Sterling spat. "Tha' thing will rip 'im apart!"
"I know that all too well Sterling!"
"Then let meh go aft'a it!"
Nervously, he took a step forward, reaching out for the object.
"What in pit do ya think ya doin'."
Sterling turned to face his mate silhouetted in the light, red optics bright with concern.
"There's one out there." He said quietly, not moving.
"Wha' ya talkin' bout?" She asked, taking a step forward. "Ah though' they were gone."
"There's ah little one. Ratchet fell an' Ah'd bet mah paycheck tha' it's gone aft'a 'im." Sterling replied.
Dusty dropped his gaze with a snarl.
"Ya know wha' those things can do." Sterling said quietly.
"I know Sterling." Dusty hissed.
"Then let meh do mah job!" Sterling all but begged. "This is wha' Ah was built fo'!"
"How are you going to get down there. It's caved in with talginite." Dusty asked.
"Ah know an old driller tunnel, couple miles away." Sterling replied. "It's long abandoned bu' ah can get ah good 2 miles below tah surface.
"Sterlin' ya can't." Carmine said quietly. "Sterlin' Ah'm beggin' ya!"
"Ah have tah."
"No ya don't!"
Sterling didn't say anything, instead flooding his mate with all the love he could over the bond.
"Ah 'ave tah."
Carmine continued to glare at him before her gaze softened, her frame slumping in defeat.
"Beh careful." She said finally.
"Ah always ahm." Sterling replied with a smile.
"How will you get back here."
"Ah'll track it. Ya know energon travels far in tah air." Sterling replied only for Dusty to growl again. "Ah'll either find tha' thing o' Ah'll find Ratchet."
"You're going to get yourself terminated." Dusty growled.
"Ah'm 'ard tah terminate." Sterling replied.
Carmine left and he finally reached for the mesh wrapped object. The thing was old, he hadn't used it since he was in Straxis. With a sharp vent he tore the mesh off, revealing the thirty five foot long weapon. It was an odd cross between a spear and a sword, the first twenty feet of the weapon a saw like blade with the same serrated double edge as his own smaller blades. It was attacked to a ten foot solid shaft before ending in another five foot double edged serrated blade. The weapon was worn with use and age, the once shiny edges dulled by the acidic fluids of the drillers. It was still as sharp as ever though, the weapon forged from the remains of a driller. Seven notches were carved into the shaft and Sterling's grip around the weapon tightened. One for every one he had terminated.
"You glitch." Dusty hissed again. "You fraggin glitch. How long will it take you?"
"Maybeh two orns. Three at most." Sterling replied.
"What the frag are you talking about." Sandstorm demanded, catching Sterling and Dusty's attention.
"Sterling's about to do something really really stupid." Dusty snarled, glaring at the silver mech again.
"It's only stupid if it don' work." Sterling replied with a shrug.
"Get out of my sight then." Dusty snapped. Sterling nodded before he turned and transformed, taking off down the road.
He hefted the weapon, its heavy weight an old friend as his codding once again roared to life, surging though his wires and making his systems burn with power. A feral smirk pulled at his lip plating as he let the coding take over completely. Walking out of the shed he saw Carmine standing on the porch of the rundown one level shack they called a home, optics filled with worry.
|Be careful.|
He dipped his helm to her before he transformed, the weight of the bladed staff heavy from where it was magnetised to his undercarriage as his engine roared with power.
It was time to hunt.
xxXXxx
Chainjack's mine.
xxXXxx
"Here's the deal," Dusty said, waving everyone over. "Ratchet's still functional. I don't know how and I don't feel like asking anyone, all I know is that that drop shaft is the only way down there."
"But that things likely to collapse if we start trying to dig it out." Sandy objected.
"I know." Dusty said quietly. "But unless we feel like running around underground for two cycles in old driller tunnels, it's the only way."
"Where's Sterling?" Longhaul asked. "He was one of the first up here I thought."
Dusty just managed to keep from wincing at the question.
"He's… trying out a hunch. He won't be here. Not for a while anyway." Dusty replied only to receive a burning glare from Chrome. He managed to keep from squirming under the medic's scrutinising gaze but it took all the willpower he possessed. "Carbon, you're in charge till he gets back."
Carbon nodded, the black miner crossing his arms over his chassis.
"What the frag is going on." Chrome snarled. "Dusty, what the frag did he do."
"He didn't do anything." Dusty replied. "At least… not yet…"
"Dusty!"
"Our only option is to open up that tunnel more." Dusty said, purposely ignoring Chrome. "Brace it up and carve it out so that we can get the gang down there. The bottoms full of talginite and it's gonna take all of us to drill though that slag. Chances are, its acting as a plug and the only thing that's keeping Ratchet from being crushed. This is gonna be one pit of a delicate mission-"
"We have to move fast, there's no way he isn't damaged." Chrome added, his optics a few shades lighter than usual in barely controlled rage. Sandstorm was little better off, the two mechs all but vibrating with anger and self-blame. Pit, he was barely doing better than the two twitchy mechs.
"Exactly." Dusty said with a low growl, his own tanks clenching painfully. He'd seen the type of injuries a mech could sustain from a fall, let alone a fall like that. It would not be pretty. "Chrome, I want you and Sandy back at the medbay, I know Axil's weak but I need his help down there."
"Yeah about that…" Chrome trailed off hesitantly, his armor flaring and Dusty felt a spike of alarm.
"Chrome, what didn't you tell me." Dusty demanded, taking a step toward the medic. "I thought you said the Guard had beat him up."
"They did. But that wasn't all…"
Dusty rebooted his audios. There was no way Chrome had just said-
"They did what?!" Sandstorm yelled, taking a shocked step back from Chrome.
"He's blind Dusty." Chrome repeated. "There's nothing I can do about it."
"Those fraggers!" Scrapper spat, servos clenched in anger even as Impactor cursed violently.
"Spawn of a glitch." Dusty swore, grinding his denta till he tasted sparks. If Axil was blind, he was as good as terminated. A couple metacycles ago he's have the energon lines in his legs slashed, dropped down a shaft and left for bait metal. Now… now he would just be taken out and shot.
"Is there anyway-"
"No." Chrome interrupted, his voice hard and ensuring there was no room for discussion.
"He's still in stasis right?" Dust asked.
"Yes." Chrome replied.
"Go stay with him. Make sure Copper doesn't get him. Sandy go with him." Dusty ordered.
"What?! Not a fraggin chance!" Sandstorm yelled taking a step toward the red mech.
"Would you prefer Copper grabbed him while you're arguing with me?" Dusty snapped.
Sandstorm and Chrome both flinched.
"Look, that shaft is too narrow for everyone to be working on it." Dusty explained, trying to calm himself down as much as the other two mechs. "Go watch out for Axil. He's your problem right now. Ratchet is mine."
Sandstorm and Chrome shared a look before visibly deflating, both mech's armor clamping tight against their frames.
"Wait, what happens if Copper does show up?" Sandstorm asked.
"He's not taking Axil." Dusty growled, his EM filed flaring in anger.
A feral smirk pulled at Sandstorm's lip plates as his engine snarled.
"He won't." Sandstorm assured him, armor flaring in aggression.
"Good." Dusty replied before turning back to the others. And focused on Jigsaw. The miner twitched nervously under Dusty's gaze as he started to smirk. He was a bit bulker then Axil but they were both thin, lanky mechs.
"What." Jigsaw demanded nervously.
"You ever used a repel rig?" He asked.
xxXXxx
3 miles away.
xxXXxx
Sterling idled at the entrance of an ancient, blocked off mine shaft. His sensors were stretched to their utter max and the flood of data was incredible. Transforming, he easily shouldered the bladed staff, the jagged edges easily sliding into grooves carved into his shoulder guard from carrying the thing around. Glancing around, he squeezed though the rough metal sheets meant to keep trespassers out and took a long vent of the stale air.
The tunnel was a straight shot but to him, he knew that it dropped down a few inches every hundred feet. Old energon from the mechs slaughtered here still glowed faintly on his scanners but he hardly spared them a glance. He was after bigger prey.
Once again he flared his sensor in a short, sharp burst. The feedback flooded his sensors and his lip plates curled back in a feral grin.
Gouges on the walls and floor glowed with driller residue, the same residue mixing with the energon of the former miners. It created a bizarre signal that only he could follow and he committed it to memory. His armor rippled, sensors locked on the signal and he easily broke into an fast lope, his long legs eating up the ground. His systems ran completely silent as he ran though the dark, tracking the creature that would hopefully lead him back to Ratchet.
xxXXxx
The Prime's Estates
xxXXxx
"They what?!" Sentinel Prime roared.
Avalon continued pacing, his armor flared at he cast a glance back at the seething Prime.
"Copper just informed me what Chrome did." Avalon continued, watching the Prime. "I told you as soon as I knew about it."
"That- that glitch!" Sentinel snarled, gripping the edges of his desk so tightly he warped the metal. "That glitch thinks he can get away with anything! You would have thought that nearly terminating that mech of his would have smartened them up!"
Avalon paused to turn to face Sentinel.
"Please tell me that it was that silver mech that fell at least." Sentinel growled. "Sterling or something?"
"Sadly no. It was Ratchet." Avalon replied.
"Ratchet?" Sentinel asked in amusement. "And how are you handling that?"
"Why would it bother me? He is no creation of mine." Avalon snapped. "He could terminate down there and I wouldn't care. He is just another one of them."
Sentinel chuckled darkly, shaking his helm.
"You really are ruthless at the rumors say."
"You can't believe everything you hear." Avalon countered with a smirk.
xxXXxx
Alpha Trion glanced up sharply when he heard a commotion outside his office door and a few moments later Orion Pax burst thought he doors, his vents heaving and an Elite Guard stumbling into the room after him.
"What is going on!" He demanded, shooting to his peds in alarm and annoyance.
"Trion, you have to help Ratchet!" Orion sputtered as he ran up to the tri colored mech, stopping just short of running into the mech's legs.
"Sir I'm sorry to disturb you but he got past me-" The Guard stammered.
"It's alright. You may leave." Trion said, cutting him off. The mech straightened, snapping off a quick salute before turning and marching back to his post outside the office.
"Now what on Cybertron are you talking about?" Trion asked, turning back to Orion. "And speak slowly." He added before the youngling could say anything.
"Ratchet's hurt." Orion said after taking a few deep vents. "I heard Sire and Avalon talking-"
"You were eavesdropping again." Trion interrupted.
"Ratchet fell and he might be hurt and Sire and Avalon won't do anything about it you have to do something!" Orion blurted.
"And what makes you think I can do anything about it?" Trion asked. "If he's fallen down some kind of shaft, there's nothing anyone can do about it, least of all me."
"But you have to help him!" Orion insisted.
"And just what do you suggest? You know how the caste system works." Trion said with a frown. "As much as I want to help, there's nothing I can do."
"But you have to!" Orion insisted. "What- what- what- Sterling! What bout Sterling!" Orion sputtered.
"What are you talking about?" Trion asked in confusions.
"It was Ratchet and Sterling that saved me when those miners tried to kidnap me! Sire owes him! And Ratchet said that they don't care about the credits!" Orion said, on a roll. "What if Sire payed Sterling back that way?"
Trion studied Orion for a moment before a smirk started to form on his faceplates.
"You just might be onto something." Trion said, brushing against Orion's shoulder guard as he walked out of the office. Orion continued to trail him until they were almost as Sentinel's office.
"Stay here." He ordered, turning to Orion. "The last thing you need is Sentinel finding out you were eavesdropping again."
Orion grinned sheepishly before taking off down the hall.
Steadying himself, Trion flared his ID signature before walking into the office.
"Alpha Trion, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Sentinel Prime asked, shooting to his peds.
"May I have a word with you?" Trion asked before shooting a pointed look at Avalon. "Alone?"
Sentinel nodded and with a scowl, Avalon left the room.
"What seems to be the problem sir?" Sentinel asked once the door had slid shut and locked, rendering the room soundproof.
"I heard you were having some miner trouble."
Sentinel shot the Council member a dark look before sinking back into his chair.
"Chrome again. I swear that mech is more trouble then he's worth." He growled.
"And, correct me if I'm wrong." Trion continued. "But a miner saved Orion's life, didn't they?"
Sentinel stiffened, red armor flaring marginally in anger.
"What about it." Sentinel demanded. "I offered to pay the mech and he refused. What's more, I didn't have him shot like I should have."
"But you do still own him." Trion pressed.
Sentinel shot him another dark took, crossing his arms over his chassis as he turned away from the tri-colored mech.
"Yes." He growled. "But I already told you, he wouldn't accept credits and quite frankly, I shouldhave just shot him. He's almost as much trouble as Chrome."
"What if you repaid that debt in a different way?"
"And I'm assuming you have a way?"
"Rescue Ratchet in exchange for rescuing Orion." Alpha Trion said. "Besides," he added with a smirk, "you might get Chrome out of your plating for a while."
Sentinel glanced back at Trion with a frown.
"Go on."
"There's an Omega station in norther Iacon for repairs. When he heads back to the Rust Sea he'll be flying directly over the mine."
Sentinel shot to his peds.
"Those Omegas make Cybertron millions of credits an orn and you want me to waste those credits to pay some kind of debt to a miner that I could just order shot?!" Sentinel demanded angrily. "Will all due respect of your position, but are you out of your processor?!"
"How much is you creation worth Sentinel?" Trion cut in politely. "Is he not worth the credits to repay a simple debt that saved your creation's life?"
Sentinel didn't respond.
xxXXxx
Chainjack's mine.
xxXXxx
Loose rubble clattered down the shaft and Dusty tensed, expecting the worse but only hearing Jigsaw curse violently.
"Careful Jigsaw." Dusty cautioned, glancing down at the mech clinging to the wall below him.
"Sure. Careful my aft." The mech snapped and had it been in any other condition, Dusty would have laughed at the amount of stress all but radiating off the mech. "Why the frag did I have to come down here?!"
"Because you are the only other mech that would be able to comfortably fit down here. I needed another set of servos." Dusty replied, carefully climbing up a few feet. "Don't drop anything."
Jigsaw glanced up at Dusty with a scowl and shifted his position before tossing a chunk of metal into a large scrap pail below them. So far they had been working not stop for the last 12 joors and had managed to widen out and brace only a third of the drop shaft. They were exhausted and low on fuel, not to mention the stress level was through the roof.
"Dusty, it's Carbon."
The red mech jolted, nearly slipping from where he was welding a support beam in place.
"Careful Dusty." Jigsaw shot up at the mech and Dusty scowled, glaring at the grey mech.
"Yeah, what?" He asked, just managing to keep the irritation out of his voice.
"You two need to come up. You haven't refueled all orn." Carbon said.
"We're good. We got rations." Dusty replied.
"Dusty, I'm serious, you need to get up here and take a break."
"Listen Carbon!" Dusty snarled, "If we don't get down there-"
"You think I don't know what that thing could do?" Carbon growled, his tone just above a snarl. "You're not the only one to see what those things can do Dusty. But I also know what will happen to you if don't take care of yourself. Get your aft up here before I drag you out myself."
"Yes boss."Dusty snarled before starting back up the repel line.
"What's going on?" Jigsaw asked in confusion, glancing up.
"Carbon's being an aft." He growled.
"Energon break?"
Dusty's response was a low growl as he kept climbing. "Miserable fragger."
"Me or Carbon…?" Jigsaw asked nervously.
"Carbon." Dusty snapped, crawling out of the hole only to come faceplate to faceplate with a black ped.
"Glad to know how you feel about me." Carbon replied with a smirk as he grabbed Dusty by the back of the collar strut.
"Hey!" He yelled, struggling against Carbon's iron grip. "What the frag mech!"
"Shut up. You're not going back down there for at least a joor." Carbon ordered, unclipping the cable from Dusty's chassis and jabbing a digit against the clip. Dusty gasped in pain, trying to jerk away from the sharp digit.
"That hurt!" He barked. "Chrome just fixed that!"
"And you're going to rip that clip loose again and then Chrome will strip your plating off with a rusty knife." Carbon continued, turning and stalking out of the mine. "Trust me, I'm saving your plating right now."
"You can put me down now." Dusty snarled, glaring at Carbon. The mech finally dropped him in a heap and Dusty spat a curse as he hit the ground on his back. "Spawn of a-"
"Drink." Carbon barked, sticking a cube of energon into the mech's faceplates. Dusty snarled again before snatching the cube and taking a long swallow.
"Oh thank Primus." Jigsaw muttered as Carbon handed him a similar cube. Dusty scowled before he tossed the rest of his cube back and stood up.
"Don't you dare." Carbon growled.
"Where are the others." Dusty demanded.
"I sent them home."
"You what?!"
"Impactor, Ironlock, Longhaul, and Scrapper are all too big to help you. Not to mention we have our own mine to worry about and you've been going non-stop for 12 joors! You're going to burn yourself out and then what." Carbon demanded.
"We still got two miles of tunnel to clear out, and the talginite down there!" Dusty spat. "We don't have time to stop! Ratchet could have terminated already!"
"And you're no use to us if you terminate yourself!" Carbon countered, looming over the smaller mech. "You and Jigsaw are the only ones able to fit down there. If you collapse, we'll never get Ratchet out."
"Gee, thanks for the pressure." Jigsaw muttered, staring down at his energon cube.
"You know that." Carbon continued. "And what about Azure and Pixel? They'll be worried sick about you if you don't come home tonight."
Dusty winced at the mention of his mate and youngling.
"We can't stop though." He repeated in a murmur, knowing that protesting was pointless. This would not be the first time Carbon physical threw him out of a shaft. "We can't stop."
"And if you lose your grip and fall? Smash your helm against the side and knock yourself stupid? You think Jigsaw's good enough to drag your dead-weight frame out of there?"
"Oh, come on! Give me some credit!" Jigsaw objected hotly.
"Could you?" Carbon asked, turning to the grey mech. "If something happened, could you get yourself and Dusty out?"
The grey miner opened his mouth to reply before pausing and slowly shaking his helm, his armor tight against his frame in shame.
"No…No I couldn't." He said quietly.
"It's not safe Dusty." Carbon stressed. "You know that. Look, take a break, we'll be back up here tomorrow morning bright and early."
"You're not leaving are you?" Dusty asked, giving Carbon a dark look.
"No I'm not. Someone has to keep everyone else away. And someone has to keep you out as well." Carbon growled, crossing his arms over his chassis. Dusty growled low in his chassis but finally backed down, taking a step back and glancing away.
"Alright." He finally said before glancing at Jigsaw. "You heard the boss. We're calling it quits for the night."
The grey mech nodded before tossing the rest of his energon back and transforming, driving around them and down the road.
"You had better hope he's still function by morning." Dusty hissed before turning his back on Carbon and storming off.
"Yeah, so do I." Carbon murmured before with a sigh, turned back toward the mine and transformed, parking just inside the entrance where the shadows hid his bulk. It was going to be a long night for everyone.
xxXXxx
3 miles underground
xxXXxx
Slowly Ratchet started to reboot, systems far too sluggish for his liking. Warnings flooded his vision and he whimpered in pain as fire flooded his systems. He was laying on his chassis, his arm crushed uncomfortably below him and his legs…
He couldn't feel his legs
His optics onlined in a rush only to see black. It was pitch black.
He fell. That's right, he fell down the shaft. The flooring collapsed and he fell.
He started to shift and instantly regretted it, crying out in pain as fire shot up his frame. His voice echoed eerily and another whimper escaped him as more warnings flooded his vision.
He started to sort through the warnings, ignoring most of them like fractured and cracked plating, severed fluid lines and the like. But one caught his immediate attention and he felt himself start to panic.
His spinal support had been severed in his lower back. He was paralysed from the waist down.
Fire shot up his frame as he got his arm out from under him, whimpering as he felt the broken joint shift, He paused, fearing he would black out from the white hot pain and once the fire subsided to a roaring throb, he re-booted his optics. His scanners were useless as all he could do was pick up static.
Talginite he reminded himself. Chainjack said that the mine was full of talginite.
But another part of his processor added that he was no longer in the mine but below it. The though sent another shudder of fear though his pain wracked frame.
"They'll come." He whispered to himself, hating how his voice echoed. "They'll come. Sandy will have told them that I fell and Dusty and the others will come."
Something shifted to his right and his spark sank. No, Sandy didn't fall with him did he?
"Sandy?" Ratchet asked, raising his voice a little more despite it started to echo again. There was more sounds of movement, closer to his legs. "Sandy! Are you alright? I broke my spinal support, I can't move my legs." He repeated. Again he got no answer and fearing the worst, forced himself to roll halfway onto his side, despite the damage he knew he would cause. He was more worried that the other mech was in worse shape than he was. Once again he had to stop as fire raced through his systems leaving him panting for air. After a moment he turned his headlights on, wincing at the bright light. It only lasted a moment as the one never turned on while the other died as soon as it powered on.
He caught a glimpse though of a long silver form draped over his legs and a gaping mouth full of razor sharp gear like denta.
He screamed.
xxXXxx
Unknown
xxXXxx
Sterling froze, his frame going completely silent as he listened. The trail had been getting stronger over the last few joors and he knew he was getting close. His entire focus was on the trail and finding that thing before it found Ratchet.
But then he heard that scream.
That same, terrified scream that haunted his recharge as he saw his sire, saw his friends, torn apart by those things.
Without even realising it, he broke into a dead run over the loos ground, aware enough to at least make sure he didn't put his ped in a hole and snap his ankle joint. He was on his own and would not be getting help.
That thing was with Ratchet. It was the only reason for the scream. And if it was-
With a low snarl Sterling forced the energon soaked images to the back of his processor. He didn't need the distractions. He didn't need that right now. All that matter was getting to Ratchet before he lost another brother to the mines.
So, lots of bouncing around but hopefully you were able to keep track.
Read and review guys, I love you!