This chapter is here earlier than expected, thanks to Albedo who reviewed my fic twice! W00t!
"This is idiotic," Slash muttered to himself, absently examining a giant mural, depicting the triumph of Megatron the First on some obscure, foreign planet. His army was spread out behind him, arms raised in triumph, and the Slag-Maker himself was standing triumphantly over the body of what seemed to be the conquered ruler. A crack ran down the middle of the mural, splitting Megatron in two. Slash snorted. Speaking of Megatrons... "Are you done yet?"
"Not quite," came the familiar accented voice, sounding slightly strained. "It seems... that this door is..." a grunt of effort, "well and truly stuck!"
"Then leave it!" Slash sighed, heading in the general direction from whence the words had come. "It's just another door, Megatron, into another room. This place is amazing, I agree, but that's no-- Megatron?" The tan mech looked around, frowning. He could've sworn the voice had come from...
"Slash! Over here!" Megatron poked his head out of a dark corridor, covered with dust. "Come on!"
Slash growled a few uncomplimentary things under his breath and carefully followed Megatron. "What could possibly be in here?"
"History, Slash! Part of the history we've lost!" He strained against a large door, trying to push it open and failing miserably.
Blinking curiously, Slash looked at the door. "How do you know? Did you find a book?"
"Erm, nooo... Not really," Megatron muttered reluctantly, still trying to force the door open.
Slash frowned suspiciously at him. "Then how do you know?"
"Well, I, er..." Megatron grinned weakly at him. "I heard a little... bird sing...?"
For a second Slash just stared at his friend. "You mean... you dragged us all the way down here, missing classes, breaking who knows how many regulations, because of a rumour?!"
"When you put it that way," grumbled the purple mech, quite ignoring the fact that Slash looked ready to kill him. "Believe me! If it's true, it's been very much worth it, yeess! And besides, we did get a lovely little trek out of it, did we not?"
"One day, I'm going to kill you, Megatron," Slash hissed, twitching. "One day!"
"Not if I kill you first!" Megatron responded cheerfully, pushing still futily at the door. Slash screamed in frustration and literally jumped Megatron, but the other mech managed to scuttle away. "Temper, Slash!"
Another hissed cry of distress, and Slash settled down, glaring venomously. "Is this the last place we need to look?"
"Uh," Megatron looked around, then nodded, "yes."
"Hrrr... Stand aside." Slash scowled at the door as if it were to blame, then set his shoulder against it and pushed. It moved not an inch.
Megatron smirked. "And, er, what do you think you're doing, my friend?"
Slash kept pushing, growling, "I'm opening the door!" Megatron, opening his mouth for a mocking comment, halted optics wide, and Slash drew back in shock. "Er... Like I said. Opening the door."
The purple mech glared at Slash's smirk. "There's still not enough room for us to get in."
Slash's smirk faded into an annoyed look. Sure, Megatron was right, but it was the principle of the thing. So Slash settled, once again, on blaming the door. "I'll make room!"
"My hero, yeess," quipped his friend.
Slash ignored him and strained against the door. "Nnnghgrrr... Come on, slaggit!" And once again, it creaked and gave just a little bit.
"Still not enough room..."
"Shut up!" Slash braced his back against door, his feet on the rubble and dust that made up the floor, and pushed. The barrier creaked in protest as it was slowly, but steadily forced open.
Megatron rested a hand on the wall next to the door, leaning forward and peering into the darkness. "There's almost enough room!"
"Nice... to know," growled Slash, face scrunched up with effort. A final creak and the door gave enough for the mech to stumble in shock.
"Yes. Yeess!" exulted his friend, his speech-quirk even more drawn out than usual. "We can get in now!"
Slash gave the darkness on the other side a wary look. "Megatron, do you really think that's such a good idea? We've no idea what's in the--"
"Then prepare your weapons, if you're so nervous," snapped Megatron in response, hardly paying any attention to his friend.
Slash hissed and drew his sword out of subspace. "You are insane, my friend."
"There's a fine line between insanity and genius," Megatron said humbly, before grinning flippantly and disappearing through the door.
"Megatron!" No answer. "Slag him and all he spawned from," snarled Slash, feeling a little better from it, before following Megatron into the rancid dark.
Surge trotted through Darkmount, eyeing the slum and its inhabitants with caution. In front of him, guiding him, loped a metallic lion, golden armour smeared here and there with mud and other, less savory substances.
"Are you sure it's t-their scent?" Surge asked nervously.
The lion growled, and shook his mane of cobber-threads. "Yes, I'm sure! Megatron and Slash, both came this way."
"Why would t-they want t-to go-go here?" continued Surge, nearly stumbling over an unconcsious - or dead; no one cared - mech on the street.
"Who knows how either of those two think?" growled Leonus in response, swiping at a beggar that got a bit too close. "All that matters is that we get them back to the Academy before someone blows a circuit."
Surge remembered the echoing roar of an enraged Laserblast and snickered. "I t-think it's too late f-for that."
Leonus growled and ignored him, continuing in the easy lope natural to felines. Of all the places to visit, they had to pick the smelliest, he thought, rather annoyed.
"Oh, such a sweet, little kitten!"
Leonus snarled and jumped away from the thug, lashing his tail at the ensuing cackling. Primus...
Surge trotted after him, warily avoiding the population. "How much farther?"
"How should I know? I just follow their scent!"
"Sorry..." The greenish mech looked around. Murderers, thieves, beggars... Darkmount was very much the gutter of Predaconian life, and the sad part was that neither Vilnacron nor Cyklopa was much better. Surge dimly remembered a class trip to inner Cybertropolis, the part where Predacons were only allowed with a special pass. He'd stared at the museums and the academies, mouth gaping.
"Hey, watch where you're goin'!"
Surge squeeked and screeched to a halt. "I'm s-so sorry! I d-didn't mean to-to--"
"Surge!" Leonus transformed smoothly, golden plates retracting and conforming, and stepped up to his friend, pulling him away. "You should be more careful! No telling what these people would do..."
"T-they're Predacons, just like us," Surge protested weakly.
Leonus sighed and shook his head. "Every bot for himself, my friend, just like I've told you. You can't trust anyone now a-days, and your own kind least of all." He transformed again, swishing his tail and picking up the scent once more.
Surge twitched. What kind of people can't even trust its own kin? he wondered. Is the tragedy in us rather than our ancestors? He sighed, picking up the pace after Leonus. And why can't I seem to really care?