Hot Rod followed Trailbreaker down into the basement. It had taken nearly three joors to convince Trailbreaker to take Hot Rod with him to confront Straxus's monstrous spirit. And it had taken even longer for Drift and Orion to be okay with it.
Orion was staying upstairs and was at the ready to comm a Paladin he trusted just in case Trailbreaker's plan fell through. Drift was waiting with him, too, probably flickering in and out of sight in agitation.
Hot Rod really had no problem with risking his life like this. But apparently everyone else did.
He stared at Trailbreaker's back as they reached the bottom of the stairs and the witch stopped, waiting and ready for whatever Straxus threw at them. Or at Teebs in order to get at Hot Rod's spark.
Hot Rod remained calm though,
He had known that by going downstairs to the basement he would attract Straxus's attention far more than Trailbreaker would.
The evil mech would be attempting to return to life and he would be searching for anyone's spark energy that he could find.
And that, unfortunately meant he would be after Hot Rod's own spark energy when he went down into the basement.
Not that Hot Rod was scared of Straxus. He would do what he could to get the monstrous spirit out of his house because the evil spirit needed to be booted out. Straxus had done enough harm during his life, and now Hot Rod had the chance to send him directly to the Pit.
With Trailbreaker doing most of the work of course.
But still Hot Rod knew that he would have a part to play in this.
Without him distracting Straxus long enough, Trailbreaker wouldn't be able to stop the evil ghost. With Straxus sufficiently distracted, Trailbreaker would be able to send the evil ghost to the Pit without Straxus even realizing what exactly he was doing.
It would be difficult, but Hot Rod was certain that they could do it.
He stopped as Trailbreaker stopped right in front of him. the bigger mech's back plating looked tense and nervous from what Hot Rod could see.
Trailbreaker turned around.
There was a look in his visor that told Hot Rod that he was about to ask if he was sure about this.
Hot Rod opened his lip plating to interrupt before the words were even out of Trailbreaker's own mouth.
"I'm certain, Teebs. I need to do this."
The witch pressed his lip plating into a thin line and said, carefully, "This isn't going to be a normal spirit Hot Rod. This is something dangerous that could kill you. He's not going to bother with me, but you? He could kill you if you aren't careful."
"I know that, Trailbreaker," Hot Rod said calmly. "I can handle it."
Trailbreaker looked grim, "I don't think you can. I've known Normal's who have fainted upon meeting a dark spirit like this one. Some of them have never woken up from it, Hot Rod."
Hot Rod scowled and said back, "Well, it's a good thing I'm not like those mechs, isn't it?"
Trailbreaker nearly groaned at that and said with an annoyed sigh, "Just keep close to me. And try not to pay attention to what the dark spirit is going to say. He'll try anything to get you alone."
"Why not?" Hot Rod said cheerfully. "It'll keep him distracted while you do your thing."
"It could also potentially kill you," Trailbreaker said flatly. "I'm not going to let you get yourself killed."
"Fine," Hot Rod said pouting slightly. There went his brilliant plan.
Trailbreaker frowned down at him a moment longer before turning away to face the basement doorway that lead directly into the room.
He took one last glance back at Hot Rod before he opened the door.
Immediately a rush of cold, icy air smacked Hot Rod in the faceplate.
He immediately wrapped his arms around his body as shivers began to wrack his frame. This was nothing like anything Hot Rod had ever felt before. It was almost like the cold was working it's way through his armor down to his spark, it was that cold.
Trailbreaker held out a servo and a small flame flickered to life on his palm.
Almost instantaneously the cold disappeared back into the room.
"W. . . What was that?" Hot Rod stuttered out as he kept his arms wrapped around himself.
Trailbreaker glanced back and said quietly, "He's a lot stronger than I thought he would be. That was him, trying to get at your spark. I've only ever read of dark spirits capable of reaching out of an open door. Keep close, if he's that strong he could physically push you away from me."
Hot Rod nodded his helm, a little shaken by what had just happened. He hadn't expected the cold. He had met several other spirits like Drift and yet he had never felt such cold come from any other spirit.
That frightened him a little more than he thought it would.
Trailbreaker stared at him for a long moment before asking, "Are you sure you don't want to go back upstairs?"
Hot Rod shook his helm and said firmly, "No. Let's just get this over with."
Trailbreaker nodded and then held out his vacant servo for Hot Rod to grab a hold of. Hot Rod instantly took it.
And then they both walked into the cold, dark spirit infested room.
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It was dark. That was the first thing Hot Rod noticed about the room. The only light came from the small fire that was in the palm of Trailbreaker's servo. And that light only allowed Hot Rod to see the witch's and his own frame.
It made his spark nervous. This was far darker than a basement should be. He curled his other servo around Trailbreaker's arm tightly, trying not to show how nervous this was making him.
The witch squeezed his other servo that was held firmly within Trailbreaker's own before the witch murmured a phrase in Primal Vernacular.
And then light slowly began to fill the dark basement around them.
As the light filled the room, Hot Rod saw more and more of his surroundings.
The room was essentially bare.
But on the walls was a sight that made Hot Rod's tanks begin to feel slightly queasy.
On the walls, there was the darkened stains of dried Energon along with chains.
It was enough for Hot Rod to get a picture of what this room had been during the dark entity that lived in here now's lifetime.
This had to be a holding cell/torture room for the Supernaturals that Straxus had caught.
He shivered and curled closer to Trailbreaker, whose entire frame was stiff and tightly wound.
This was a horrible place. How many Supernaturals had died down here before Straxus himself was killed in this room?
That question was never answered because at that moment a deep dark chuckle permeated the room, coming from one of the corners.
Hot Rod twisted his helm to stare at the corner as the spirit appeared in the light surrounded by a purple mist that made Hot Rod feel a little dizzy.
He was drawn closer to Trailbreaker as the spirit grew clearer and clearer, and the mist grew more and more, until nearly the entire corner of that basement room was covered in it.
The spirit, a black, and red mech with burning red optics that seemed to flicker to purple the longer Hot Rod stared at him, spoke, "Well, well, well, what have we here? A little mech so far from home? Why don't you come closer and tell me about yourself, little mech?"
It was as if the spirit awoke something inside of Hot Rod that was compelling him to go over to him and curl at the dark things pedes.
It was the hard pressure of Trailbreaker's digits as they curled deeper into his arm that reminded him of where he was and what was going on. And also, what would happen if he did go over to the dark spirit.
Hot Rod shook his helm and curled deeper into Trailbreaker's side as the witch spoke, "Begone, foul creature."
The fire in Trailbreaker's servo seemed to grow into a huge fireball.
The spirit of Straxus hissed at it, as he floated backwards away from it.
Then the thing hissed at Trailbreaker, "How dare you enter my home, witch! How dare you grace my hallowed halls with your foul Unmaker worshipping steps!"
Trailbreaker growled deep in his chassis almost animalistically, "I am not the one surrounded by the Unmaker's mist, spirit."
Straxus's dark spirit hissed again as the fireball grew even larger in Trailbreaker's servo.
It almost seemed to make the purple mist dissipate before Hot Rod's optics.
The evil thing recoiled away from the fireball, it's optics fixed on Hot Rod.
The warmth from the fire seemed to dissipate the coldness that seeped from this room. But Hot Rod still shivered a little, there was something coming from the spirit that seemed to cancel out any warmth that came from the fireball in Trailbreaker's servo.
A growl came from the witch as he hauled Hot Rod's nearly uncooperative frame farther away from the spirit. Trailbreaker said, vocalizer firm, "Leave him be, spirit. He isn't going to give you what you want."
"Shows what you know," the dark spirit hissed as it floated closer boldly, flinching slightly at the light.
It was then that something cold and dark slammed into them both, causing Hot Rod to be separated from Trailbreaker and the warmth the fireball emitted.
In that instant, Straxus's dark spirit was directly in front of Hot Rod as he attempted to struggle back to his pedes from where he had fallen.
The dark thing dug it's claws into Hot Rod's chassis armor and pulled him close.
Hot Rod groaned in pain as the cold from this creature sank into his body, numbing everything.
It felt like there were a thousand needles or knives poking into his protoform as the cold seeped in.
Hot Rod watched through bleary optics as Straxus's spirit's claws dug deep into his chassis, heading for his spark chamber.
It was then that a familiar vocalizer, shouted, "NOO!"
And then Straxus was being slammed off of him.
Hot Rod could feel another groan beginning to build as his fritzing optics spotted Drift floating in between him and the dark spirit.
Straxus's spirit was never able to scream in rage at Drift because at that very moment, something extremely bright hit him.
And then his entire form exploded as light and a searing warmth perfused the basement. A last scream came from the thing and then it was gone.
The cold dissipated, but Hot Rod's frame continued to shiver as Drift turned his attention towards him and called out one thing before Hot Rod dropped offline.
"Teebs help! He's freezing!"
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Hot Rod was so very cold as he came back online. He was being held against a warm chassis with two warm things around his own chassis that he assumed were arms. They were slowly warming up his frame as he slowly came back online. But he was still so very cold.
So very slowly he finally managed to online his optics and looked up dazedly into a familiar worried red visor.
Something was said, but Hot Rod was having trouble activating his audials.
Finally, they managed to click on and he heard a voice, his elder brother's voice, say from behind him, " – be alright?"
"Wha?" he mumbled tiredly.
The embrace tightened suddenly as Orion's voice called entirely too loudly, "Roddy, thank Primus! Are you alright? What were you thinking going down there? I should never have let you!"
Hot Rod groaned a little, "I'm fine, though. A little cold, but fine."
"You nearly died," Trailbreaker said flatly as he laid a servo on Hot Rod's chassis and shuttered his optics as he took in Hot Rod's spark signal. "But it looks like you are going to be alright. Just know that next time you're staying upstairs where you won't almost get killed by a crazy dark spirit."
Suddenly Hot Rod remembered what had happened directly before he had passed out.
He asked, "Is Drift okay?"
"I'm fine," Drift said as he floated through Trailbreaker inciting a shiver from the witch. "It is you who you should be worried about."
Hot Rod slowly sat up and looked around. He was in his living room. A part of him wondered how he had gotten out of the basement after he had passed out, but he was quickly reminded that Trailbreaker had been there too.
He twitched a little as Orion squeezed him tighter against his warm chassis, as his brother said, "You are not going anywhere without me from now on. Have you become disaster-prone while I wasn't looking or what?"
Hot Rod huffed a little at that, "I'm fine though. Nothing happened. Well besides that dark spirit getting blasted into pieces. That did happen right? Straxus is gone?"
Trailbreaker and Drift exchanged looks for a moment.
Then Trailbreaker nodded and said, "Yes, he's gone for the time being. He might reform but it won't be for a few millennia."
Hot Rod grinned at that and said, "That's great! So, why's everyone still so worried?"
"You nearly died," Drift said flatly.
"But I didn't," Hot Rod shot back cheerfully.
Trailbreaker rubbed his forehelm and said, "Just stay laying down, please. You still nearly died and need to remain off your pedes for a little while if you ask me."
"You're the witch," Hot Rod said as he leaned back against his brother's warm chassis.
Trailbreaker sighed and leaned down, saying, "Why do I get the feeling you are going to be the worst patient ever?"
"Maybe cause he is," Drift responded dryly.
Hot Rod just grinned a little and relaxed against his brother. The crisis had been averted.
