Nano-kilk - half of a Cybertron second
Klik - Cybertron second
Breem - Cybertron minute
Joor - Cybertron hour
Cycle/Lunar-cycle - Day or night
Meta-cycle - Cybertron week
Orn - Cybertron month
Vorn - Cybertron year
Deca-cycle - Cybertron decade
Mega-cycle - Cybertron century
Siren talking through datapad
::Comm Link::
Have no fear my dear readers! I have returned. For most of this one, it will focus on…*Drumroll*…Boltgear! TADA! Razzle dazzle! I wanted to bring that mech back along with those mentioned in the first few chapters and so this is what happens.
And for the titles, it's been taking a longer time to find a song to fit each chapter, so, I will be putting song titles of those I know and love yet, still try to keep each song to each chapter. Hopefully that makes sense.
Also, a new femme is introduced in this chapter. I have so many OC now it would have been hard to remember them if I didn't keep track of them by writing them all down. And half of them are turbofoxes! Ahaha!
Blaster: We're outgunned, man! We don't have a chance!
Kup: Boy, that's what makes life interesting.
Rodimus Prime: OR OVER!
765434567
Sweeps: This is blowing out my audio sensors! It's torture!
Galvatron: No! No! It's music! The symphony of destruction and the anthem of agony.
Boltgear's optics moved from side to side, taking in the reports from the vorns without the races. Having been within the race industry for many mega-cycles already, since his sire held the mantle of being the owner to his grandsire, he had plenty of credits, for now. A servo moved to his chin letting the digits take the weight of his helm as he thought over things. Each cycle he was losing so much trying to keep his turbofoxes trained and feed waiting for when he could race them again. He had stopped this cycle's breeding not knowing when the races would be able to start up again and it hurt his progress knowing they would have no new foxlings to renew the cycle.
Boltgear was hoping to Primus it would be soon. Already several of his competitors had to sell all they had in their stocks of racers, having no way to keep them without the income of credits they would have been getting during the suspension time. One of them that had to do such a thing was a good friend of Boltgear, the two would have friendly rivalries at times but it never went far to break what friendship they had. When he had found out about Smokeglide it tore the old mech up to know this soon-to-be war was tearing up their livelihood fast and swiftly. It was something that stayed with Boltgear because he knew it could do the same to him.
A buzz came taking him out of his dark thoughts. "What is it, Skybreak?"
The door slid open revealing a femme, a large frame with coloring of a blazing purple and white. Her face plate giving a tense look as she growled out three words. "They are back." Boltgear's optics narrowed at this information as he set down the datapad he had been looking over. "They demand an answer." From the look in her optics both knew what answer it was they were looking for. "You know as well as I, Boltgear, our answer from last was not what they wanted."
"They can go to the pits of Unicron for all I fraggin care! We have nothing here for them to slaggin' have!" Boltgear grounded out, his spark thrumming in his anger at the bots that would dare show up again. With a slam of a fisted servo on his desk he stood up. "Blasted slaggers! I want nothing to do with them or this war! I have no care for it."
The femme snorted a blast of air through her vent as she crossed her arms, bio-lights of purple and white glowed a little brighter at her irritation. "This war is here whether you want it or not, mech. We live near their capital and this space is good for tons of bots to train and that's what they are looking for. They may have space to train within the gladiatorial stands but not the space for thousands to do so at once. That is what they want so badly."
He gave a growl but conceded to her knowledge. She once was a gladiator deca-cycles ago before buying her freedom back and found work here helping to care for the elder turbofoxes and at times being the muscle for when thieves tried to come and take things. Since the rumors of war had come about, he found Skybreak was the one to take advice towards that type of thing seeing she had that knowledge.
"If you do not want anything to do with them, I advise we leave bef—" she was interrupted by Aquatalon racing into the room, her vents heard easily from her distress, optic wide and glowed bright in her fear. Both gave a glance feeling the dread that something was about to changed.
"Boltgear! They're, they're…." She held her arms into her chassis, armor rattling as she tried to get whatever it was out. "They're ransacking everything, burning every building down! An-and the turbofoxes are being rounded up into a pen. There's so, so many of them!"
Boltgear snapped to glance at Skybreak, who stood ridged at Aquatalon's words. "Aquatalon, gather the staff. Skybreak, lead them away from this area like I have shown you." With a nod from the larger femme, the three moved out of the room with Aquatalon following after Skybreak.
Once his foot hit the metal ground outside, Boltgear transformed into his tank mode putting everything he had in speed to race down to the smoke he could see bellowing into the air. The ramming grill he had at the front of his form slammed into several frames crushing them from underneath his treads. From the sides came out ion cannons that shot at anything and everything in front of him. Cries of pain were heard at his rampage but the mech held no care for them, they were destroying his home, they deserved what can to them. He may not know much about fighting, but this was his home, one he would fight for till his end.
He was slammed sideways by another frame making both shift back to mech form. Boltgear glared at the figure as he quickly stood on his pedes arms up to fight having no other weapons while in mech form. "I gave you ample time to give the right answer, Boltgear." The mech stated letting his optics bore into his own. Sudden the mech grunted bringing up a servo to his helm, whispering. " Yes, I know, she would have wanted this." With a slight shake of his helm he looked back to Boltgear. "But, I'm glad it came to this."
"So, you do the dirty work for your master, hmm?" Boltgear asked storing that little bit of glitching the mech seemed to be having.
The mech let out a crackle of a laugh. "I don't do the dirty work for my master…no, I do so because I love doing such work." The mech turned back to see his mechs working all around him raising an arm out like he was proud of such thing.
"You've changed since I had last seen you, Howler. What happened to you?"
A feral grin took over the mech's face. "As you know, I am a very old mech. One that remembers the many outbreaks of wars before the Golden Age. I grew to love it, yet despise it." Howler crackle lowly once again. "But the time during peace was not for me." His optics harden as they considered Boltgear's, and the mech could see the slight difference in a flash of red color from his blue glow. "You made her suffer! You took everything from her…but you never knew about her."
"Who?"
Howler snarled at Boltgear's question like he should have known who. "You started this all! She was just your property!" Howler then half turned form the mech his face holding worry. "But, then she wouldn't have been sparked. He's the reason for her living." Once again, his face changed into an ugly snarl as Howler pointing a digit at Boltgear. "It's your fault! Everything is your fault! You started everything by letting her be sparked!"
"Who do you speak of?!"
"NO! You do not have the permission to know who she is. She is best without you knowing her, you will never know of her. ARGH!" Howler shouted, charging Boltgear with a mad look to him. He was then sent flying several feet to the side as Boltgear turned to find Skybreak standing next to him. "Come, we need to leave! There is nothing we can do!"
She then shoved him roughly getting the mech to shift and race away with her coming up behind him like a bodyguard. Boltgear could see his turbofoxes being herded all around, some of the staff being outright shot offlined for trying to keep them from taking the foxes, those taken from his staff were brought to the pens the bots had set up since arriving there. Buildings had been set to blaze hot enough for the metal walls to melt down into hot pools liquid. His home was being destroyed and he could do nothing about it. The place he lived and worked was gone and it hurt his spark to know this.
::We need to leave Kaon. That place is not safe to be near anymore.:: Skybreak stated over the comm slowly knowing the pain he was feeling. She had only been there for a few vorns, thanks for being sent there for a mission, but it was the first place she had come to feel she had a home after being a gladiator for so long. She was just glad to have been able to free herself before Megatron had come to power there.
::And where shall we all go?:: he asked angrily. ::All I have known has been shattered.::
::Iacon is the best place to find shelter. You may not have been keep events in check mech, but I have and Iacon is where many are seeking safety.:: She answered letting his angered words slide over her as her processor was still in battle mode. ::Not only that, but it is odd that they would gather the turbofoxes as they did. That, is what I want to know about. What would they need turbofoxes for?::
Boltgear didn't reply as he did not know the answer either, and so, they continued to drive over the barren ground in silence. After half a joor they came to a stop at a building that would and should have held shipments of things but now held what remained of his staff. It was a building that held no purpose any more that he had bought to see about turning it into another building for his older turbofoxes. Now, it was being used to be a place of shelter for them.
"There are more coming, but it will take them a bit longer. Seaglide went back for them." Phasewing stated walking over as the two shifted. "We managed to get a couple of the turbofoxes away from those slaggers. Bluefire is injured but we managed to get him this far. Notch is looking over him now."
"Do you know how many?" he asked her.
Phasewing looked to her boss sadly. "Five total if I'm correct the last I heard from Seaglide. From what he gave, Coreshock, Nethertide, Grip, and Goldrush are the ones coming still. With Bluefire here that makes five."
Boltgear felt his spark siege at the sheer number loss of his livelihood. Out of a hundred and sixty-two turbofoxes, only five remands. Out of those five, only one was a vixen. With a strangle cry from his vocal processor Boltgear stormed to the nearest wall and slammed his fist into it. The whispers that were being heard went dead silent at seeing the mech tear into the wall with his punches. Skybreak watched with folded arms before looking around at the few staff that were here. Aquatalon, Notch, and Switchshot were all that was here and who knew what bot was coming back with Seaglide.
"NOTCH!" All helm snapped to the yell to find Seaglide skidding to a stop. "You have to help him!"
Notch gave Bluefire a once over, nodding to Aquatalon to watch over the old brute before getting up to the grey and white mech. "What's wrong?"
"Solarrun, he's losing so much energon." Seaglide quickly stated as he turned to lead the vet outside. Those that were inside could hear the screams of pain from a mech and the skittering yelps of the turbofoxes that were under stress from what has happened and being unsettled by the screaming mech.
Forgetting the wall that he had been denting, Boltgear quickly order Switchshot to help him calm his remaining turbofoxes. He may have felt pain from losing the only home he's ever had since being sparked, but he couldn't lose what was left of his livelihood. If he did, Boltgear would not know what to do, this was all he knew. Of those with the four turbofoxes, Jetway, Solarrun, and Glowstar were all that was left of his staffed jockeys. Only Solarrun no longer had his left arm and energon continued to leak from the gaping wound.
Notch quickly made his way to the mech that was being held down by Jetway as the mech thrashed all around and screamed. Seaglide went to help Jetway, being of a larger frame, could contain the smaller mech as the vet looked over him. Switchshot and Boltgear quickly took ahold of the four turbofoxes, Grip being the one to have energon on his frame, and lead them inside to help cancel out some of the shouting the mech was doing. Walking them around in the far end of the building, two turbofoxes to each bot, Boltgear could feel them calm and quiet down as their focus went somewhere else. Soon the mech was gently fighting with them to try and stop them being affectionate with him as they nudged and chittered at him for attention having forgotten what previously happened to them.
A small smile graced his lips components at how easily they could forget somethings. Looking over the two he held, Goldrush and Nethertide, both being from the same carrier but different sires so that left Nethertide being ruled out for breeding with his only vixen. Then he looked to Switchshot to the two she leads and pointedly looked at Grip. Like Bluefire, Grip was one of his older brutes and was Goldrush's grandsire, also ruling him out as a breeding pair for the vixen. That left only Bluefire and Coreshock to be the ones to breed with the vixen as those two held no relation to said vixen.
Once the four were settled and reins tied to keep them at the far end, Boltgear and Switchshot went back to the front to find out about Solarrun. They came upon Notch sitting hunched in a corner looking at the ground with vacant optics. Skybreak went over to the two with a grim look. "He didn't make it."
Boltgear would have felt pained to hear that, having known many of his staff for vorns, but he had become numb to the pain. He knew he should have felt something but with all that had happened in the cycle, it had become too much. Glancing around he found the others shuffling as they too, were at a loss of what to do now. Much had been taken from them this cycle.
"Jetway said that they were able to get away without being noticed until halfway here when they found a bot chasing them. By that time, it was too late, and the bot gave a shot that hit Solarrun taking his arm off." Skybreak stated. "It was around that time Seaglide came upon them and dove at the grounder from in the air. Once on the ground the two fought until Seaglide took the bot's blaster and snuffed the bot. You know what happens afterward." Boltgear gave a nod to the femme for letting him know what happened.
Looking back at the vet, he moved over to him. "We should get some rest. The trail of energon Solarrun left could bring others after us here." Seeing Notch give no indication to having heard him, the mech gave an ex-vent and let his voice grow soft. "Do not let his offlining get to you, he was probably already on his way to Primus by the time he arrived here."
"I-I could have done something." Notch stated in a stranded whisper turning his servos over to face his palms up. "I have fixed so many turbofoxes over the vorns, yet, one bot…one mech, I could not save. All that I know, and I could do nothing to save him."
Boltgear ex-vent again crossing his arms. "You are a vet, Notch, not a medic. You are trained to fix and care for turbofoxes, not mechs and femmes. Do not blame yourself for something you had no knowledge of being able to do. Not only that, but you had not tools to clamp the fuel line to stop the leaking and you had no extra energon to help replenish what was lost from the mech." Notch looked up at the mech, optics glowing dull as lubricant filled them.
Boltgear had to glance away. This would be the first time this mech dealt with death and it showed just how much Boltgear had come to find how hardened his spark had come to be dealing with death. He had dealt with it previously with both his carrier and sire that had passed onto Primus vorns ago. It was more so with his carrier that he had seen death as she enjoyed watching gladiators in their fights. It was how he remembered much about Skybreak having seen her fights as a youngling several times.
"Once you have yourself gathered, rest. We will be leaving soon, and I need my vet to look over Bluefire and the other four before we leave." He ordered turning to leave ignoring the soft hiccups coming from the mech. Boltgear knew he should have been a little bit gentler, but he couldn't, knowing there was a possibility of Howler's goons coming to find them. They needed to move soon if they were going to make it to see the next cycle come.
Optimus looked up at the buzzing that came and call to the bot to come in and found it was Blaster. "Blaster." The Prime greeted. "Optimus Prime." The mech replied in greeting. "What is it that you need?" The larger mech asked with a soft voice.
Blaster held out a disk to the mech who took it. "I just received a transmission from one of our bots near Kaon. It doesn't look good boss bot." Optimus nodded turning his chair around to insert the disk. A second later the holoscreen lit up to show a large framed femme of purple and white.
"Optimus Prime, I regretted to inform you that Beta Three has been destroyed. A mech by the name of Howler lead bots there killing many of the staff and rounded up the turbofoxes that resided there. I do not know why the Cons would need turbofoxes, but that was what they were doing. Of those that survived fleeing from Beta Three, Boltgear, Notch, Aquatalon, Switchshot, Seaglide, Jetway, Glowstar, and Phasewing are all that is left. Solarrun did make it here, but had been shot and lost too much energon to be saved." At this point they watch the femme glance behind her before looking back at them.
"For those that are around Kaon, sir, I advise them to find out why the Cons were corralling turbofoxes. If they did it to Boltgear's pack, then it could very well mean that other owners have had the same thing happen to them. Whatever it is they want them for cannot be good for us. I will try to help them make it to Iacon, but it will take a meta-cycle to reach and I do not know how long they will do without energon to refuel with and an injured brute. If you can send a shuttle to these coordinates, we will be heading that way in a cycle. Skybreak out."
Both mechs continued to look at the blank holoscreen. It was Optimus that broke the silence. "Have one of our pilots go and get them. With them being a small group of bots, we can let one of our smaller shuttles get to them and out without being detected. Even with those coordinates Skybreak gave us, they are still close to the Decepticon border. Have a few of our mechs go with to make sure nothing comes upon them. Also have a medic go with them just to make sure all are safe."
Blaster gave a nod and left to give out the Prime's orders. Upon entering the medbay, Blaster came to stop at Ratchets side to inform the CMO. Ratchet then turned to another bot letting the mech know to gather his medical bag. "Which shuttle?"
"He's to go to bay six. It holds our stealthier shuttles." Blaster stated gaining a nod. "I will inform First Aid, go and gather the rest that need to go with." With that dismiss, the cassette holder turned to leave.
A few breems later First Aid had gathered all he would and might need. Glancing around the mech found he wished Remedy was here but since he wasn't, and Ratchet was the only other medic here he would have to ask him. "Ratchet." The CMO turned to him at his name. "Uh, I'm going to be gone more than a cycle and I was needing to know if you wouldn't mind looking after Siren."
"Siren? Is that what you named the vixen?"
First Aid let a small chuckle out at that. "Well, she was Dawn, but I later decided Siren fit her better." Ratchet narrowed his optic at the younger mech. "She's really well behaved too. You don't have to leash her or anything, she'll stay right by you. I would have asked Remedy to look after her but he's busy at the moment." Ratchet could only ex-vent knowing just where that medic was.
"I will this one time, one time only. After that you will need to find some other bot to look after the vixen when you have to go on these trips." Ratchet stated pointedly gaining a nod. "I cannot have a turbofox following me everywhere I go in the medbay. This is a place for bots not some beast to galivant in."
"Thank you. You don't have to get her yet, she'll be okay. It's when I go home that she'll be waiting. She also has a few different ores that she'll eat at times with a few energon goodies. Oh, and make sure you have no oil cakes laying around, she loves them a lot and will not hesitate to eat them. Also, she like to be talked to in a normal manner, she tends to get irritated when others try to squeak their voices at her." He stated earning a look from Ratchet. "You act like she understands you mech."
That made First aid pause. "Well, you'd be surprised at how smart they can be, and Siren is pretty smart for one." Ratchet continued to give the mech a look before giving a huff of air. "Go, before they leave without you." The CMO watch First Aid leave before leaning his helm backwards to look up. "What the frag did I just comply with?" he asked himself before reading his internal clock and setting a timer to do and get the blasted vixen.
When that time came, he found himself putting in the codes First Aid had given him and entered his home. It was then he heard the low sounds of a growl from the small hallway. Taking in the vixen he could see the slight difference in her now. Her armor plating was thicker giving her a healthier look over all than from before with her thin plating that would do nothing to stop an attack. The thin line of wielding going down her right side had all but disappeared thanks to the thickening of her plating. If it wasn't for his trained optics Ratchets would not have noticed it at all.
"Oh, shut your vocalizer. I'm only here because your owner didn't have a bot to look after you." He stated, and the vixen did as told, though, she gave a tilt of her helm. "Now, get your back struts in gear and come with me. I'm warning you right now, vixen, you cause anything to happen in my medbay and I'll weld your tail to the wall." He turned before he could see the nod the vixen had given him. Every few kliks he found himself glancing back to find the vixen was indeed following after him.
It did surprise him with how short of time First Aid had the vixen, yet he had been able to train her to be this well behaved without needing a leash. When they reached the medbay, Ratchet turned to the vixen and pointed to a corner that he had clear just for her to stay in. "You stay in that spot, you move from there and get under my pedes, I weld that tail of yours." Once again, he watched the vixen moved to said area and sat. With a vent of air, the CMO went back to getting the medbay in order knowing at a drop of a wrench it could be filled to the brim with injured bots.
Siren herself couldn't help but stare at the bot as he moved around the room. Standing, well moving around, was Ratchet, THE Ratchet. Inside she found herself grinning at meeting this bot and somewhat happy at seeing the grumpy bot. Then came time when he would pick of a tool to sanitize it and each one she was able to name and give its purpose. She only knew about them thanks to the joors of reading and rereading First Aids medical pads. It soon became a game to her to be able to name them and state the purpose and at times sub-purpose of each tool. During that time, she failed to notice the glances he gave her since her processor was working to remember all she knew of each tool.
It unnerved the mech each time he took in the vixen. The look in her optics gave Ratchet a feeling of suspension at the intensity of her look. It was a gleam he could see in them that he had come to see that was not in others of her kind. That and the way the vixen took well to commands, but he shook it off as her being trained rather well. First Aid did tell him she was smart for a turbofox, so Ratchet left it as that. He had other things to worry about as a couple of mech entered for their scheduled checkups.
"Whoa, that's one slaggin large turbofox. Is it yours?" the mech asked moving to sit on the bed. Ratchet looked to Siren with a roll of optics. "No, she belongs to First Aid. He's gone for a few cycles and I got stuck taking care of the vixen."
"Oh, come now, Ratchet. She's nearly as menacing as you with your wrenches." Siren snorted a bit of air at that. Right, she was menacing looking. As if. Siren didn't know how to be menacing. Suddenly a ring of metal on metal happened with a yelp following after. The other mech that had come in, burst out in a strangle laugh trying to keep quiet as to not be hit also.
Ratchet let out grumbles of words as he went about giving the mech a once over. Once he was done Ratchet all but kicked the mech out before moving onto the next. During this time Ratchet had to give pause when a comm came in and from the way it hailed him, it was urgent. ::Ratchet here::
::Were bring in three mechs from the field. One has sustain heavy ion blasts to the chest, another is missing a right leg and arm from being cut off, the last has been put into emergency medical stasis from losing too much energon. We are in route, ETA two breems:: Ratchet shoved the mech off the berth. "Get the other medics. We have bots coming fast!" he ordered and the mech sprinted to do as such.
Ratchet them went into medic mode preparing his bay for the three incoming bots. His processor forgetting about the vixen in his bay as he focused on his trade. Siren found she was not prepared for what she saw. Three mechs were rushed into the bay as shouts were being heard all over. Information flew all over as Ratchet quickly went to the worse of the three as the two medics that came in worked with the other two mechs.
"I need a clamp!" Ratchet shouted using both servos to pinch two large fuel lines closed. "Fusetop, CLAMP NOW!" Siren looked all over before her optics landed on several clamps near her. With a quick glance at Ratchet and the two other medics as they worked to save the three mechs she made the decision. With sure steps Siren took a clamp and weaved around the berths and bots to jerk the clamp into Ratchets forearm gaining his attention. Without thinking he took it to quickly clamp shut one of the fuel lines as Siren made her way back to retrieve another clamp just as he shouted for another.
For a joor Siren did this. Each time he shouted for something she went to get it. Even for her size she was easily able to dodge bots as she ran about gathering things. At times it did become slick in spots from the mechs leaking energon onto the floor, but she plowed through it. Once things started to calm down did she go back to her corner and had to stop the shifting of her plating at the feel of drying energon on her pedes. Looking down at them she could see some having been splattered onto her underside and up her legs with her ankle joint down being completely covered. She needed a wash badly.
Ratchet hunched over the other two mechs, checking them over having stabilized his main worry. Looking up he gave Fusetop a nod. "Thank you for your help."
Fusetop gave Ratchet a confused look. "What? I mean, I heard you shouting for me for a clamp, but I was trying to stop the leaks from Redstorm. It could have been Chromedive."
Ratchet turned to the gray mech that was beginning to clean the tools used. The mech glanced over to them and shook his helm letting them know it was not him before jabbing a digit towards the vixen. "The floor is covered in her pedesteps." He stated and all three glanced to the floor to see that there was indeed several vixen pedesteps crisscrossing from dried energon. "I don't know how, but that turbofox knew each and every tool said."
Ratchet took in the vixen with narrowed optics, seeing the energon covering her pedes. Questions filled his processor wanting to know what is was about this vixen. Those questions would have to wait until First Aid returned but it didn't stop Ratchet from giving the vixen several looks as if to try and solve this mystery himself. It was only thanks to Fusetop that the vixen was even cleaned of the energon she obtained.
Do you know how hard it is to do a slightly unhinged character? I went over that scene so many times trying to get it just right that I still don't think it works. It is such a challenge to me, but I wouldn't have it any other way. A challenge to myself is a challenge that I intend to finish.
That and i seem to have been introduced to the craze that is Assassin's Creed. I havent played them yet but my friends has been all but talking about it and it's been getting to me to try them out.
wolf girl811 - hmm, love the idea!
Steelcode - Why thank ya. It was idea that i had that just popped into my head that i went along with. I was trying to find something that was different than just spraying paint on her plating.
And thanks to those who Favorited and followed! Kelrisathefiredemoness, Thrill-Pair-All-The-Way, Queen-Of-Angels-Yuki, UniCryin, AyanoZonurai!