C.M.D: This chapter is censored. For the full story, head to my profile for the links off-site.
Title: Mainframe V
Rating: M
Mainframe shuttered his optics slowly, his sluggish processor taking in the bright monitor screen in an otherwise dark office. Just when had he passed out? Shifting lowly, the autodog groaned; every joint in his frame felt rusted to the center and there was a distinct crick in his neck from where it had been lain over the back of his chair. Clearly he'd been asleep long enough to cause some variant of agonizing atrophy to his limbs. Grumbling under his intakes at his sore plating, Mainframe relaxed back into his seat, exercising a portion of his frame at a time with careful ministrations, as he stared up at his computer.
A frown made its way to the cocker collie's lip components, optics following the repeating track of symbols scrolling down the screen. He'd poured cycles into studying this code, but he was barely any closer to understanding what it was, let alone what it did. Running it through his own systems only revealed that it was equipment-specific -and that not even a super computer and its connected servers were enough to make full use of the code. Aside from lacking the appropriate tools to run said program, the autodog had also noted that the code seemed damaged. Multiple strings of commands were designed and then just... were cut off abruptly. No proper end sequence or divergence order sent into the fragmented glyphs.
Trying to restructure them or delete the broken processes was a fruitless endeavor; the program denied him access to complete any real changes and the lines he could alter merely reset themselves after he rewrote them. Then there was the addition of a queer block of code that kept appearing every few astroseconds; an active set of instructions that superseded all other sequences. That code set was the most baffling to Mainframe. Despite all his years of expertise and familiarity with programming, this arrangement of glyphs presented itself like a foreign language to the red mech. He had no understanding of what its' directive was nor could he even begin to speculate. Yet it was a live sequence, if its incessant repetition was anything to go by, and its mere presence was a disturbance to the rest of the code body.
"Slagging thing should just let me delete it...," Mainframe scowled to himself. He set his tablet down on the console, standing up as the needling sensation finally eased from the majority of his frame.
Removing the corrupted code would allow the programmer to properly reset the remaining sequences and allow a successful end-repeat to be swapped in, but clearly the stubborn glyphs were completely glitched if they were capable of bypassing end user influence. The cocker collie just couldn't piece together a successful strategy to overcome such a broken command prompt, not when it reacted to each of his intrusions so abnormally every time he attempted to slice away bad sets or put new patches into the core directive. Raising his arms above his helm for a stretch, Mainframe decided to put that conundrum out of his thoughts for the time being. As much as the strange code gave him a throbbing processor ache, it was also thrilling of a challenge unlike any he'd had before and he knew he was making head way with it -even if it was taking him longer than most. For now, he needed to get a quick wash and a suitable meal into his tanks before he could continue puzzling over the strange code. Clutching his aching abdomen, the programmer shuffled tiredly for the lab door, his no-longer-occupied mind drifting unexpectedly to his office's string of unwanted visitors over the last few weeks. In particular, an akita.
Pedes pausing in panic, Mainframe tapped at the screen intercom set into the security doors, optics peering into the feedback frantically. Outside his office, the camera showed that the corridor was empty as it should be. Sighing, the cocker collie opened the door, hurrying out of his labs and for the elevator, his tail held stiffly behind his legs as he pressed the call button impatiently. It arrived within moments, easing some of the mech's paranoia as he stepped inside, beginning to gripe silently instead. He didn't know why he kept thinking about the strange autodog whom had taken to dropping into his daily life lately, but it was an additional stressor that Mainframe told himself he did not have the time to deal with. Though it had been several orns since he'd last seen the beautiful akita, the programmer noted...
Well, it only meant that the bothersome mech would be reappearing again soon, the red autodog thought to himself cynically.
As if on cue, the elevator pinged before it ground to an early stop; his spark leaping up into his mouth, Mainframe took a hasty step back, hitting the lift wall as he fearfully watched the steel doors slide open. He felt his cheekplates erupt into an inferno when an autodog of similar height and colouration stepped into sight instead of his suspected tormentor.
Perceptor paused in the elevator's mouth, his blue optics shuttering slowly at the other's posture. "Mainframe? Are you well?," came the detached inquiry of concern.
The scientist's optics were a soft shade of blue, almost pastel Mainframe just realized, but they were not nearly as pale as- The cocker collie twisted his helm away quickly, his vocalizer awkwardly chirping until it could mimic proper syllables again. "My health is adequate. Exactly why are you here still, Perceptor?," he asked, gaze snapping to the border collie suspiciously as he stepped into the elevator fully, taking up position adjacent to the programmer.
"Completing the final details of another contract," Perceptor answered, face turning to Mainframe. "I informed you that I would occupy lab space this evening to keep in time with the client's deadline. Did you not receive my message?"
He couldn't recall seeing such a message but Mainframe had been preoccupied with other things, so he waved it off, returning his attention to the opposite wall. Perceptor did not press at his superior's dismissal, staring quietly at the display readout as the elevator descended once more. His action didn't escape the cocker collie's notice, casting a subtle look-over his companion, pondering. Quiet, obedient, non-confrontational... The other autodog was all of those things, and more, plus he had a pretty face to go along with it. The border collie would be the ideal partner for someone like himself, Mainframe mused, more ideal than pushy, showy 'bots. He was just pondering what an isolated night with the scientist would be like when his attention was yanked back to reality; faceplates darkening and that dizzying sensation, the one he always felt just before a faint, distorting the words being spoken to him.
"W-what?," he squeaked out.
Perceptor paused, finally withdrawing his face so it was a respectable distance instead of the mere centimeters it had just been at. "I was bidding you a good night when I noticed you seemed to have lost your mental faculties. I was assessing you for any symptoms, should I need to call emergency services," he informed, canting his helm slightly to the side -a motion that was cute despite the border collie's blank stare. "Are you certain you are not under any duress, Mainframe?"
"Should I succumb to unconsciousness then you may worry about my well-being," the other autodog snapped testily, "Until then, I suggest you respectively keep your distance. It is no crime to be lost in thought over my own work!"
Grey ears lifted alarmingly at the programmer's aggression and even Mainframe felt a twinge of shame. He wasn't known for losing his temper, especially not on his coworkers.
"Very well," Perceptor replied, turning away from his superior abruptly.
The cocker collie only clenched his denta tightly, shuffling out of the elevator after the scientist; too cowardly to even voice an apology at his companion's quickly retreating back. All this strife because he had to remember for a moment how pretty Perceptor actually was... An angry huff escaped Mainframe as he turned in the other direction, heading for the darkened cafeteria on the other side of the Science Department. Relationships were just a chore. The cocker collie yanked on the cafeteria doors hard, guilt blending into his general disdain for people as he marched into the black room- and right into the rounded chestplates of another mech.
"Hello," came the charming greeting, dark blue optics snapping upwards in terror.
Mainframe had enough time to trace the delicate lines of Streetwise's face before he blacked out.
xxXxXxx
This was becoming such a comforting normality.
Streetwise chuckled, laying the unconscious cocker collie on the floor of the decontamination shower room, fixing his limbs and undoing the first few buttons at the top of his dress shirt. "How adorable...," he sighed wistfully, his servos sliding up Mainframe's collar struts, around his neck and cradling his helm up for the cyborg's kiss.
How long had it been since he'd last seen this mech? Streetwise couldn't be bothered to defrag his mess of a processor to get a concrete timestamp on that inquiry; remembering that he'd fled Iacon in a moment of panic had already soured his good mood. Humming softly, the akita laid the programmer down again, standing himself and reaching for the shower nozzle. "I'll get to you in just a klik, my cutie," Streetwise said aloud, not minding that his victim still remained unconscious. "I just need to freshen up. See, I took such a long run- across Cybertron's entire circumference actually. Three times in fact!"
The cyborg stripped off his dusty clothes, throwing them to the side carelessly, moaning as he stepped under the heated spray. "I almost didn't return at all... but then I remembered sweet lil' you and I just couldn't get back here fast enough. I certainly hope you're as eager to see me as I am you. Though I must say you seem to have had an odd altercation with that Perceptor which I find very interesting..."
Slender fingers paused as they slid down wet plating, pale blue optics snapping to the back wall with a crazed glare; joy covering the anger immediately, a coy smile coming to the white mech's face. "Good morning, Mainframe," Streetwise cooed, turning to face the startled programmer fully as he came to. "Care to join me?"
Cheekplates burned bright red on the cocker collie, flared optics tracking up the cyborg's naked frame as he shifted a hip and puffed his chestplates forward.
"No?," the akita pressed sensuously, feeling his interface system light up at the obvious allure reflected in Mainframe's gaze. "Really? Not at all? Well, okay..." Chuckling, Streetwise reached behind himself, shutting the water off as he sunk to his knee joints slowly, optics half-shuttered as he crawled towards the smaller autodog.
Mainframe jolted upright at the other mech's approach, servos scrambling along the wall uselessly, too panicked to figure out how to plant his pedes on the ground in order to escape. He nearly blacked out again once the soaked beauty reached his legs, forced to attentiveness again as soft lip components captured his mouth in a firm kiss.
"Now, now...," the akita whispered against his denta, pale optics pulling the cocker collie into their hypnotic depths, "As cute as you are asleep, I'd prefer you to stay awake for me now."
Mainframe thought to tell the sexual autodog exactly what he could do right now -with fangs and a snarl!- but found himself in another lip lock, his servos being placed on slick plating and his processor became flustered immediately. But before he could even act upon his intentions, he felt the other's servos pull quickly away from his hips. Puzzled, the akita onlined his optics. "Mainframe," he started with a chuckle, "There's no need to be-"
His vocalizer shut off mid-sentence, a stream of data flooding into his processor. Mainframe: pressing flat to the floor, ears swiveled back, servos curled repulsively at his chestplates, core temperatures just slightly under the normal standard, neural pulses of anxiety and stress heightened, and the horrible, little bow on the whole package... The frightened optics staring back up at the cyborg. Streetwise felt his spark sink to the bottom of its housing, the earlier smile on his face cracking at the edges.
"But you...," he whispered out loud in confusion.
Mainframe had been so receptive! His systems had been as equally charged, his readouts hot and aroused; then why-? A faint scent reached the akita's olfactory sensors before it could disappear entirely into the humid air. A half-laugh barked out of Streetwise immediately; he forcibly shut down his own vocalizer before the rest of the warbling sound could slip out. But of course, it was a heat scent that had inclined the programmer in his favour. His heat scent, the cyborg cursed bitterly, manufactured and pumped out by his own traitorous systems to meet an end goal.
"...he never wanted me either," the akita mumbled brokenly, unaware that his poor victim could hear him.
Mainframe had just parted his mouth slightly to speak when the white mech threw himself up and off the cocker collie with astounding speed, scooping up his discarded clothes in one servo and fleeing from the shower room in a flash. Shakily, the red autodog got back to his pedes, fixing his clothes in a conflicted daze. Just what was going on?! First, that stranger appeared and through unfathomable strength forced Mainframe into an interface, mumbling crazy ideals of love and romance unfitting to the situation, then acting all remorseful after when he noticed his partner was less than willing... The akita was a bonafide psychopath!
He needed to report this at once to this security team, the cocker collie thought, stumbling towards the intercom system set on the outside of the decontamination chamber. At bar minimum, he would need to chastise his staff who were so wholly incompetent in their position! Mainframe would have to subject himself to a medical check as well, to understand how the akita had made him so unresistant to his own assault; an experience he was certainly not looking forward-
There was a crackle and a hiss as the intercom came to life, a patient "Yes, sir?" wafting through the speaker tinnily.
The programmer looked at the intercom blearily, unaware he'd even pressed the button during his internal ranting.
"Sir? Is everything okay?," one of the guards asked on the other line.
Mainframe paused, suddenly uncertain on what to say. "Everything... is fine," he began slowly. "I was just... checking up... on you. Continue with your night."
"Um, yessir. Good night."
The intercom popped and hissed one last time as the cocker collie withdrew his servo, finding his gaze drawn back to the decontamination room. Between the white autodog's erratic behaviour and his own drug-like state, perhaps neither of them were at fault. Mainframe had heard that a heat scent was known to drive both its owner and surrounding parties into a series of lustful acts of debauchery. Coupled that theory with how stunned Streetwise looked when the act was all over... The red autodog dropped his gaze towards his pedes uncertainly. He knew he hated loud, flashy and forward 'bots, and being so helpless during the akita's assault was ever so terrifying, yet... Yet, he couldn't erase the image of those horrified optics filling with coolant as they stared down upon him. Streetwise appeared as much a victim as the cocker collie; perhaps worse, as it seemed his little fantasy had shattered in the face of cold reality.
Mainframe shuttered his optics slowly, still haunted by that spark-broken look even as he shoved the memory to the recesses of his processor. There was work to be done now and the red mech could be safe in the knowledge that the beautiful stranger would not darken his doorway ever again. Turning out the lights for the shower room and its adjoined lab, Mainframe headed back to the elevator and his own office.
xxXxXxx
In only a few kliks, he'd managed to get dressed and silently raced to the southern edge of Iacon city. Any emotion he'd felt at the debacle that had unfolded back in the Science Department -anger, despair, humiliation, hopelessness- it was gone, forced beneath an impenetrable veil of apathy. Now Streetwise was left with one of two choices: stay or leave Iacon again. This time for good. For the cyborg, the option was clear. He walked in an even pace toward the first stretch of highway leaving the metropolis, pistons and internal energy reservoir thrumming in preparation of the run that was upcoming. His fractured systems pinged the moving projectile astroseconds delayed; twisting sharply, the manhole cover scrapped across a cheekplate, narrowly missing his entire helm.
"...oh, Sixshot," Streetwise grinned darkily, sections of plating flared disjointedly, trying to active a weapons array damaged and half-dismantled, "To what do I owe this lovely night affair?"
Several feet down the street, illuminated by the sidewalk lamps, stood the leopard; his masked face and optics threatening in the heavy shadows. It did not escape the akita's notice that a long sword was clutched in one of the kittycon's massive fists, nor the large, military-grade blaster strapped to his backside. His fellow Wrecker did not reply, heading towards the cyborg silently, his optics a blazing red. Streetwise shuttered his optics for a moment, laughing mirthlessly.
"So you're honestly going to attack me? On whose authority? Yoketron's? Yours?," he questioned casually. Shrugging, the akita reset his gaze on the teal mech. "Well..."
In a flash the autodog crossed the block, a pede slicing through the air for his opponent's helm. The kittycon dodged, sword arcing up to the akita's exposed side as he tipped back. Grey fingers snatched at the blade, following the force of momentum to carry himself over the weapon. Pedes barely lighted on the ground before Streetwise was propelling himself up into the air; avoiding the leg attempting to strike his spinal struts.
"Nice try," the white mech taunted, grabbing the fist that came next.
His optics glowed for a moment, charging the space between them until gravity suspended itself shortly, allowing Streetwise to throw the leopard over his frame with massive force. Asphalt boomed with a loud crack, cratering beneath Sixshot. The cyborg smiled all for an astrosecond, until he found himself yanked towards the kittycon, limbs immobilized by invisible wire that had been slipped around his frame. There was no time to dwell on how it had gotten there as Sixshot pounded the autodog with several, plating-shattering punches, a pede rising up in the path of the next flying fist, sending the pair flying away from each other. The teal mech toppled a lamp post in his slide; Streetwise crashing through the first floor of a business. Bricks clattered and glass tinkled as the cyborg's vocalizer drifted out from the dust and ruin.
"Do you really think you can take me down? You -a fragment of the real Sixshot, copied for mere convenience? You're barely a shadow of your true skill and potential!"
Smoke burst forth from the wreckage, Sixshot slicing into the centre of the cloud as it approached him. The blade sunk into something deep, before a grabbing force yanked the weapon forward, snapping the metal cleanly away from the hilt as the two initial contact points refused to yield. A large servo flashed into the dissipating plume to grab the smaller mech, razor-sharp claws grasping him by the back of the helm instead, attempting to twist the leopard's neck free from its spinal base. Sixshot twisted with the motion, flipping and forcing Streetwise to flip as well, a heel sending the cyborg skidding a few feet away again before he could recover. Like lightning, the akita grabbed nearby objects, throwing them at the kittycon with little concern for their size or weight.
"Out of the two of us," he sneered, watching as Sixshot barely dodged the assault; slipping the gun off of his back finally, "I think we both know who is the better of Scorponok's creations. He had you cloned for simple bodyguard gigs, while I was finely crafted and designed. A living weapon for his ultimate goals."
The teal mech opened fire, Streetwise dancing out of reach of every round; the moment his attacker needed to reload, he buried his servos deep into the street and ripped the asphalt upwards, as though as it was merely clothe. The leopard shot down the first few layers before it could collapse entirely on him; pedes carrying him to the top of a nearby building faster than an optic could shutter as the remaining rubble clattered to the ground in thunderous cacophony. He wasn't alone when he reached the top. Knees rose up to block the fist heading for his abdomen, deflecting the next several volleys from his helm, chestplates and hips, but not without a price. Clothing flew away on the manufactured breeze in tatters, plating dented deeply and a forearm cracking under a particularly monstrous punch from the cyborg.
"See?!," Streetwise jeered at the kittycon's grunt, blocking a retaliating kick as Sixshot pointed the blaster towards his helm one-handed, "You damage so easily; how could you ever hope to be my equal?"
The akita plunged his servo deep into the barrel just as the kittycon pulled the trigger. At once, the weapon exploded, knocking the teal mech off of the building's edge. Streetwise rocked in place but held his ground at the following reaction, ash powdering the front of his frame while his left arm dangled weakly at his side; charred and littered with little cracks, but still whole. A scowl adorned the cyborg's face as he walked to the rooftop's edge, fingers twitching slightly on his injured servo.
"Everyone always talks about me as though I am a failure; as if I had no part in overriding Scorponok's wired control," he snarled lowly, "Treated second-rate, coddled... When I could slaughter them all with no effort and the rest of this miserable world as well! And for what?! Here you are, praised and listened to- just because you're transbiological inside and out? Because your spark is real and mine is mimicked?! Primus, I absolutely hate y- Gaahh!"
At first, it was a stumble... then the electrifying agony hit, shooting from the akita's helm all the way to his pedes, growing stronger with each pulse. System notifications swamped his visions, disjointed commands firing off in his processor, only increasing the electric burn as they failed to execute successfully. His frame was beginning to lock up, neural net readouts failing to send and functionality spazzing in duress. He'd over-exerted himself, the cyborg realized in a panic. That cursed interface programming manipulating Mainframe to his whims... It had already pushed his ruined systems to their limits and now he'd thrown himself past the edge with this fight. He had to escape, before he lost any further control of his frame. Streetwise turned slowly on halting pedes, forcing the warnings of critical failure down -only to find himself slammed to the rooftop violently, jagged sword blade pinning him in place through his shoulder plating. Searing pain flooded through the remainder of his fried sensors as the akita coughed, energon and red oil spewing from his panting mouth.
"G...g-guess... yo-you w-win...," he croaked weakly, watching Sixshot's pedes approach from his peripheral. The looming leopard said nothing and Streetwise succumbed to the darkness at once.
xxXxXxx
Mainframe walked into his lab tiredly, still feeling at odds with the last encounter he'd had with the akita. Why was his processor so fixated on dwelling over that mech?
He just needed to return to his mysterious code, the cocker collie told himself, pulling out his computer chair and sitting. Work would help clear his distracted mind entirely. Fingers picked up his tablet with eagerness, stiffening in alarm when he saw the black screen. Had he not left this on when he went downstairs? Uncertainly, the programmer pressed the device's side buttons, expecting the screen to light up again and shuttering his optics in alarm when it didn't. Panic doubling quickly, Mainframe mashed the buttons repeatedly to no success, scrambling to get the connecting cable. The power cord was already attached to the tablet though, and the tablet was connected to the office computer.
So why wasn't it working?!
"You," a vocalizer echoed loudly, "Will get no results with that."
Mainframe jumped from his chair in terror, turning to face the rest of his lab. Yet not another 'bot could be seen among the servers and wide, open space. Trembling, the red autodog faced back toward the computer, his spark puttering weakly in its chamber at the sight that met him. The looping lines of code that he'd spent orns pouring over were vanishing from the monitor, a face morphing onto the screen flatly, shaped from binary and light. Streetwise's face.
"It is time you paid for your crimes," the hollow vocalizer spoke, false optics setting on the autodog, "There is no escaping your judgment, foolish mortal."
Behind Mainframe, the lock thunked into placed inside the lab doors.