Chapter 3

Breaking

D-Structs was feeling anxious. Every second passed, Skrap-It's life was diminishing. He told himself not to think about the worst-case scenario. He had to be strong. Dwelling on what could happen wasn't helping him or Skrap-It. He needed to focus for his sake.

Short-screw pointed forward to the circle structure. "It's just up ahead!"

The Pounders had gathered in an enclosed area. The place was bigger than Ty's garage. A collection of large ice blocks formed a large circle, with just one way in and out. The Reptool told him that the Bit Bugs and Screwsquitos live in small holes within the ice walls.

With the Pounders inside, it was going to be tricky fighting within confined space. D-Structs wondered if there was ore within the walls. It might explain why they had taken over the area.

Reaching the entrance, D-Structs began moving slower. He whispered to the others to do the same. He did not wish the Pounders to hear them. He pressed his body up against the wall of ice. Taking a chance, he peered his head around the corner to see inside.

Sure enough, the Pounders were moving back and forth, breaking the walls for Ore. D-Structs gaze drifted to the back, behind all the Pounders. The Bit Bugs and Screwsquitos, shined like stars as they flew in and out of their homes.

Instantly Short-Screw let out a cry. D-Structs pulled back fast. "Quiet!" He fixed him an angry look and growled. The damn fool nearly giving away their position.

"But! But there are way more than I thought! The last time I was here. There were only 4. Now there are 9! Too many for us to handle. We need to leave!"

"No!" D-structs snapped at him and tried his best to keep his voice low. "The bit bugs are in there. I can see them. I'm not leaving until we get them".

D-Structs looked back to Tor, Shocky. "Get ready..."

One of the Pounders. The biggest one had started fighting against the smaller ones. Smashing them hard with his hammer and taking their ore.

Once he ate his fill. He planned to rest and just settled down for the night. A Roar disturbed him. A T-Trux came rushing into their new territory. The rest of the Pounders turned fast, facing him.

D-Structs roared. Once he got closer. He spun fast. Lashing out with his tail, grabbing one of the Pounders. He threw him against the others who hit the ground hard.

The rest of the Pounders gathered in a group. They growled and snapped at their attacker. Then they all charged at once. D-Structs backed up, using his tail again. He grabbed part of the ice wall and pulled. A chunk of ice came loose. He snarled and threw it. The block smashed against one of them so hard. Instantly knocking him out.

The others dodged, just missing another chunk of ice that the T-Trux threw. One Pounder managed to get close. He pulled back his hammer and smashed it against D-Structs tread. It hurt but he used his tail to bash him away.

The leader of the Pounders had enough, hating the T-Trux. He will happily end him for daring to attack them. He pulled back his hammerhead and raced to him. The T-Trux was distracted. One of his fellow Pounders had jumped on his back, biting him. D-Structs let out a cry. To get it off, he reversed back fast.

The Pounder hit the wall hard then collapsed. D-Structs brought his tail down on its head, stopping it from getting up. The T-Trux barely had time to react when the large Pounder made a move to strike him. It didn't get to do it. Suddenly It cried out, red lightning surrounding its body. It screamed before collapsing, eyes shut.

D-Structs got his answer on how it happened. The Shockarachnid peaked out from behind the large Pounder. She clicked her fangs together. The red lightning appeared around them.

The Arctic Scraptor now joined the fight too. He jumped on one of the Pounders, using its claws and teeth to pull apart important parts it needed to move or even use its Pile driver head.

D-Structs yelled. " I had enough of this!" Feeling frustrated this was taking longer than he liked. He quickly began bashing more Pounders away, biting down on them and smashing. He wasn't stopping until they were all gone.

Short-Screw was watching in awe from the entrance. He never saw a T-Trux fight before. He thought it was incredible, watching how fast and deadly his hits were. It made him wince just picturing getting hit with his tail.

A noise near him drew his attention. The tool noticed something on the ice floor. Cracks on the ground started appearing. He watched as a Pounder smashed the ground with his hammer when he missed striking the Scraptor. It caused more cracks on the ice to start appearing.

Realization hit him on what was happening. The ground was weakening, cause of the fighting! If D-Structs and the others didn't get out soon, the ground will break! They would fall into the freezing ice water below!

He was scared but had no choice. No way could the bigger Trux hear him from where he was. He raced into the battle, moving fast to the big T-Trux. He yelled when a Pounder landed near him. Quickly dashed fast to the left then continued. "I'm so not built for this!"

D-Structs lifted a Pounder in his jaws and threw it hard, smashing it against the ice wall. There were 5 left. The Scraptor and Shockarachnid were dealing with 2 of them. While the other 3 were closing in on him.

"D-Structs!" Short-Screw yelled, climbing up on him until he was resting on his snout, staring right into his eyes. "The ground! The ice! It's breaking!"

His eyes widened in shock when the Reptool said that. "What!" he yelled.

The distraction was enough for the Pounders. They rushed at him, dealing him a massive blow. The force was enough to knock D-Structs on the ground. He fell, landing on his side. He tried to get up but a Pounder smashed his head with its hammer.

The T-Trux nearly blacked out from the impact. It was hard to focus, vision blurry. His hearing picked up, a loud noise. The ground beneath him started to crack. He could feel the ice-cold water against his frame. Shivering instantly.

Short-Screw had fallen off him when he got hit. He was shaking, so scared he didn't know what to do. D-Structs eyes focused on him, as he struggled to get up. His pain-filled voice called to him. "G..go! Get the bitbugs, f...fix Skrap-It..."

The little tool sat frozen until D-Structs roared at him. He panicked and quickly raced off to get them.

D-Structs tried to get up but the 3 Pounders surrounded him. They each pulled back their hammers to make the final kill. He had no choice in his next move but knew what would happen if he did. He thought back to some of his favourite memories of Skrap-It. He never told him how much he was grateful they met. (Whatever happens. I know you're saved).

The Pounders brought their hammers down. What happened next, seemed to happen in slow motion. Throwing his tail, its claws caught the nearby wall. He pulled and forced his body to slide back away from them.

Their hammers missed him completely. Unfortunately, they smashed against the ice floor. The combined force of the hammers instantly cracked the ground. The Pounders fell into the water.

D-Structs groaned when he forced himself up. Everything hurt, his body ached horribly. He felt the damage to his head. The pain pounding fiercely. The ground around him started breaking. There was no time to hesitate. He had to move.

He saw Short-Screw and the others had already cleared the area. He raced to get to them. The ice was breaking faster around him. He was close to reaching them but his treads slipped.

He landed awkwardly on his side. The sound of the ground breaking below him got louder. It was too late. He cried out as the ground below him completely gave way. He fell into the freezing water below.

"Shocky!" Short-Screw screamed. The spider shot out her web and just managed to latch onto D-Structs before he fully vanished. She pulled back hard with the Scraptors help. Trying to get the big T-Trux out of the water fast.

The Reptool panicked, pacing up and down as he watched the wire getting closer to them. "D-Structs!" he screamed.

Water exploded before them as the big T-Trux came up to the surface. He bit down on the ground and pulled himself up to land again. His body was shaking uncontrollably. Eyes hardly able to focus on his surroundings. He spat out a large amount of water and collapsed. He felt so cold, his systems were hardly able to respond. He felt like he was shutting down.

Short-Screw was looking right into his eye screaming at him. He couldn't make out what he was saying. Hard to focus on anything anymore. It hurt too much, everything hurt. His vision started getting dark, unable to stay awake. He passed out.

...

A few hours later

Skrap-It opened his eyes. He felt warm. It was a long time since he felt this warm and toasty. It made him smile and curl up so he could sleep more. However, his sleep was disrupted when his memories came of what had happened to him.

"D-Structs!" He shot up from the ground and looked around his surroundings. Snow walls surrounded him and there was an opening before him. There was ore beside him and a little bowl of water. He hurried over to the opening and looked out.

There were many other holes along the snow wall like his. He saw tools scurrying in and out of them. He also heard voices and noises like building work was going on. He wondered where D-Structs was.

"Your awake!"

"Ah! " He jumped and nearly fell off the edge. He managed to stop himself. "Do you know it's rude to sneak up on others! *twitch*". He stared at the red Reptool.

"Oh, sorry but it was my turn to check up on you. I'm glad you're ok!"

"Where am I?"

"Oh, this is the HUB. Snowclear and your friend brought you here"

He gasped. "D-Structs! Oh, where is he?!"

Something with the look on the Reptool's face told him something happened. "Please..take me to him"

The Reptool nodded. "Follow me"

They climbed down the wall together. They followed a group of tools out to the main area of the hub. It was like Ty's garage, each area housing a different Trux who needed help. He could see tools hurrying along, climbing on a Scrapadactyl, and another fixing a Dozeratops. It was weird not seeing them fight but the Reptool quickly explained that no one is allowed to fight. If you want to get fixed, you got to behave and help out.

Another section of the HUB had Slamtools. He could see them hammering out a metal piece, sparks flew as tools were cutting then fixing metal pieces together. They soon loaded up trays of new screws and blots.

They headed into a third area, where the red tool stopped. "He's in there"

Skrap-It wanted to ask, what happened to him but he thought it was best to see for himself. He quickly hurried in. The place was lit up with Lightning Bitbugs. He watched them fly around as he made his way in. He turned a corner and instantly yelled out in shock.

D-Structs lay on the ground. Eyes shut. He looked like he wasn't even breathing. Tools were all over him examining every piece of him.

"D-Structs!" They were all startled by the panic-filled voice. They looked down to see Skrap-it racing to them. "What are you doing to him! leave him alone!"

A blue Reptool jumped off D-Structs and hurried to him "Skrap-it, please! My name is Short-Screw. I was with D-Structs when he fell into the ice..."

"F..fell into the ice?! B...but how!"

"We needed parts to save you, and he wouldn't settle until you were ok again. He attacked a group of Pounders to get at the bit bugs"

"He did that...for me?"

Short-Screw nodded then explained what happened during the fight. The only saving grace was that D-Structs wasn't in the water for too long, but it was still a dangerous situation. He had been close to freezing to death.

"Will he be ok?!"

The Reptool wished he had an answer. They spent most of their time repairing damage to his tread, head and checking his insides for damage caused by the freezing water. The T-Trux showed no signs of waking up. "Were, double-checking everything, but maybe you could help us?"

"How?" he cried.

"You have more experience with a T-Trux maybe you see something damaged that we missed. Please can you check him"

Skrap-It nodded. Glad he asked him. He rather feel like he was doing something, instead of just sitting. He hurried over and stared at D-Structs. He lay forward. Treads up. He could hear him breathing but just a little. His eyes were firmly shut. Skrap-It felt like crying. He felt so cold when he touched him, like ice.

"D-Structs..." He softly called to him but the big Trux showed no response to his voice. He jumped on him and set to work, checking every inch of him for damage. The tools had done a good job of repairing the damage. He saw a few bolts that needed tightening but other than that everything seemed ok. He just hoped he would wake up soon.

He eventually sat before him again feeling helpless. D-Structs saved his life but at what cost. He couldn't picture a world without him. He cried a little and the rest of the tools decided to leave. Letting him be alone with D-Structs.

Short-Screw approached him. "If you notice any change in him, good or bad please call us"

Skrap-It just nodded and returned looking at the one he loved. All he wanted was to rule a place with him. Like he said they'll do after they left Ty and the others behind. He kept crying.

Time passed. He wasn't sure how long he spent alone with him. He wished he could do more.

He was just a Scraptool after all. His life was taking scrap not fixing someone. However, working with D-Structs quickly changed him. He had to learn. He knew he wasn't the best at fixing, not easy working in reverse all the time. Instead of taking parts apart, he did it backward and fixed them. Like D-Structs told him to.

"D-Structs..." he muttered. He looked up at the silent, slow-breathing T-Trux. "Please, wake up D... I...I can't live without you..."

Skrap-It heard nothing from him and looked down. His sobs seem to echo around the area. He felt truly alone, more than ever now.

"Stop that..." A deep voice spoke.

Skrap-It jumped. The voice?! He looked around wondering who made it when it spoke again.

He gasped looking back and finally realized it came from D-Structs! " alive!"

D-Structs groaned and forced his eyes to open. His systems slowly coming alive. "Argh...It'll take more than Pounders and Ice to kill me..."

Skrap-it ran over to him. He hugged his face crying more. Not caring if D-Structs got annoyed at him. "You alive! " he sobbed. Crying from relief.

D-Structs was quite listening to him. A sudden feeling of guilt struck him. He never had someone cry over him before. He couldn't remember his brother even doing that.

He couldn't imagine how worried sick he must have been. He had no idea how long he was out or how long Skrap-It had been sitting there. He couldn't stand his cries. It just made him feel worse.

" . I'm fine, we're fine. Please stop"

Skrap-It calmed himself eventually. He rubbed his eyes, wiping away the tears. "I'm..sorry..."

"Don't be sorry. Just...be ok" D-Structs looked at him. Feeling helpless. He never had to console someone before. He wasn't used to looking out for anyone. His brother couldn't give a crap about him. He always belittled him, messed with his head. Making him feel like crap, and constantly reminding him, he was always weak. In his younger days, he would have cried quietly, when the abuse got too much.

Some nights he would have left their cave during the night. Finding a place alone, he let out his pain in sobs. He had no one to help him. No one to support him. To tell him that everything will be ok.

Now things were different. He had someone. Someone who was always there for him. He couldn't picture his life before Skrap-It. He didn't want to think about it. He had to be there for him.

"Skrap-It, are you ok? Your injuries"

The little tool nodded but suddenly felt tried. It had been a long day. " I'm ok. Thank you. They told me what you did to save me".

The Trux stared down at him. Feeling uneasy about expressing his feelings. "I wasn't going to let you die. I...I need you"

Skrap-It smiled a little and he hugged his face again. "I'm glad I have you *twitch* "

D-Structs chuckled. So glad to hear that twitch again. He was shocked that he felt tears threatening to spill from his eyes. Relief hitting him hard. He was saved and they were together again.

"Let's rest and tomorrow we leave this snow wasteland. For good"

Skrap-it jumped up and laid down before him on his snout. "Hopefully, It'll be someplace warmer. A lot warmer *twitch* "

D-Structs smiled and hoped that too. They will find a place together to live and rule together. That he swore.

...

Preview of Next adventure idea

D-Structs and Skrap-It find themselves in a large dark forest. Hot, thick with trees, hard to move around but preferable to the ice and snow that have been their closest companies for days now.

As they try to navigate their way through the forest. A figure watches them. Someone with eyes set on having a T-Trux. He wanted him. He had tried before to get one but failed. No! He will not lose this one. He will have him. The T-Trux will be his, all in gold!

Goldtrux returns.

...

Note

Hi everyone! I'm sorry this took longer to do. Work keeps me busy. Sorry for bad grammar or spelling mistakes. I don't have a beta reader. I really hope this chapter is ok and that its what you were waiting for. I plan indeed to make a more chapters on this but want to write a one-shot next on the D Brothers.

Again hope you enjoy this and take care all