Author's Note: Sorry for the extended delay on this chapter. My laptop has been on the verge of breaking for the past several months, so I've been taking it easy with it. I just got a new laptop last week, so I've been able to work on this again without fearing that it will break. Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
"Alright, Onslaught. We're here," the black-and-red pilot said to him as he turned back to look at the Combaticon. "Ready to disembark?"
"Yes, I do believe so. You're getting off with me?" Onslaught questioned him.
"Yeah, orders given to me. Got to deliver some supplies and talk to some people about transferring items over to a low-security storage facility nearby," the red-visor wearing mech with matching headphones explained to him. "I don't question it, just following orders."
"As you should, Killshot" Onslaught agreed with his statement as the two of them got up.
"It won't take long to reach it. I'll still be escorting you off the base once you're done with your assessment and hopefully find the Autobot before he escapes," Killshot explained to him.
"He won't escaped," Onslaught stated to him. "I'm sure as you saw as you were flying us in, but Grindcore is literally surround by lava for many miles. It's impossible for him to escape without a ship."
"Right, right, obviously. Well, as far as we know," Killshot agreed with him with some reservations as he opened the door for them to exit. As expected of a planet as hot and barren as Lampo, the air above them was filled with smoke and always seemed to be dark. The only sources of light were from the lava below and the floodlights all around the prison. Waiting outside for them was a familiar face to Onslaught.
"Hey, Ons! Glad to see you," Vortex said to giddily as he approached the two disembarking passengers. "I don't like admitting it, but we're a bit of a situation here."
"Yes, I'm aware that you somehow let Perceptor escaped," Onslaught said to him in an accusatory tone that made the helicopter wince a little. "I thought I taught you better then that."
"Hey, it's not my fault! This is all Deadlock's fault," Vortex explained to him.
"Like hell it is," came a voice behind Vortex as a mech of white-and black came from behind with a submachine gun in hand. "I'm telling you, when the alarm went off, Perceptor was locked tight in his cell."
"Oh yeah, sure he was. You're totally not an incompetent loser," the helicopter mocked him.
"You want to say that again, you fragger?!" Deadlock threaten him as he pointed his gun at him.
"HEY! Both of you, calm down!" Onslaught yelled at them as Killshot drew his sidearm at both of them.
"I won't miss if you two decide to muck around," Killshot threaten them. "We were given orders from Megatron to solve this and you two idiots won't stop us from doing so."
"Hey now, we're just having a mild disagreement. Put the gun down," Vortex assured them as he got his hands up in an innocent matter while Deadlock rolled his optics at him before lowering his weapon.
"Fine but tell your mech here to think before he spouts a bunch of slag," Deadlock told the investigator as he relaxed, but still having his servo on the trigger.
"How about you have some proper trigger discipline first," Killshot remarked to him as he lowered his pistol as well but had his servo on the side of the gun instead of the trigger.
"Like I need your approval," the prison guard growled to him with a huff. "Let's just take you guys to where Perceptor initiated his escape attempt."
"You're taking Onslaught over there. I'm heading to Shockwave's area to deliver the supplies he wants," Killshot informed them as he holstered his pistol before approach the side of the escort ship where a large panel was that was kept locked by a keypad. He entered the code quickly in sight of the three watching him, unlocking it to reveal it as a storage compartment where a box was. He took it out of the compartment before closing it back and lifting the box up. "Where's Shockwave at?"
"North end of the area," Vortex said while pointing him in the direction of a large building.
"He should still be at his lab. Despite having a prison escape, he's not bothered by it at all by it," Deadlock remarked with a scoff. "It's just like him to be completely untroubled by all of this madness."
"That is very much like him," Killshot remarked to them with a belabored sigh. "Now I got to go meet him and give him his supplies. Joy." At that, Killshot headed off the north end of prison.
"Well, while he's working at Shockwave's lab, we'll take you to the prison," Vortex said to his boss with a grin. "It's quite the predicament we're in right now."
"I'm quite aware. Losing a prisoner is a big deal," Onslaught remarked to him with a scowl.
"I told you, it's Deadlock's fault, not my fault," his mech remarked to him with a huff.
"And I just did what you told me," Deadlock bitterly remarked to him.
"Will you two stop arguing until we reach the cells?" the blue mech stated to them with a growl, silencing the two of them quickly as they walked inside the building.
"Building has an entrance on all four sides of it. One up front, two on the sides near the front, and one at that back that leads to a balcony," Vortex explained to him.
"Ladders are by the left and the right side," Deadlock added on to Vortex's words as they walked through a corridor before entering a large area, being a cellblock in the shape of a T, with them entering in the center of the shape. It didn't take long for him to infer where Perceptor broke out of.
"I take it Perceptor's cell is right by the corpse?" Onslaught asked them as they kept moving.
"You know it. Victim is Runamuck, one-half of the Battlechargers. He's the white one," Vortex informed Onslaught.
"The black one, Runabout, is in mourning right now, over at the barracks," Deadlock add on to the information.
"Was he guarding the prisoners?" Onslaught asked him.
"Yeah, he was one of them. He was the only one on duty at the time, which is a mistake on our part, I'll admit," Vortex informed him. "Usually, we have two in here at all times, but we've been having some problems recently."
"That's an understatement. It almost feels like sabotage," Deadlock informed him. "It is quite unusual the amount of bad luck we've been having lately."
"Yeah, Bitstream has been complaining nonstop about it," Vortex agreed with a huff. "Stupid seeker."
"Understood…" Onslaught murmured as they reached the body, a completely black mech with red optics crouched beside it. "And who are you?"
"Name's Flatline. I'm the doctor here, or in this case, the coroner," the black mech informed him as he was looking over the body. "I'll be the one conducting the autopsy for our fallen comrade."
"Right, I appreciate it," Onslaught said to him with a nod.
"Oh please, it's not like we need a doctor to figure out how he died. Dude took a bullet to the head," Vortex stated, drawing attention to the bullet hole at the back of Runamuck's head.
"Cause of death is not all that we can infer from a corpse, Vortex. You do best to remember that," the doctor advised him as he looked up at Onslaught. "So, you're heading the investigation into Perceptor's breakout?"
"Yes, I am. And since I'm here now, Vortex, Deadlock, continue searching for Perceptor on your own while I investigate here," Onslaught ordered them.
"Roger that, Boss. I'll be checking the east side if you need me," Vortex said to him as he rushed off.
"I'll be in the west. I refuse to believe that Perceptor got off this island so easily," Deadlock insisted as he headed off.
"Well, they're gone, so you can now start your investigation, correct?" Flatline asked the blue mech.
"I believe so. I can already tell this isn't going to be a normal one," Onslaught remarked with a sigh as he looked at the body. Perceptor killed him and he had to figure it out. The question is, how could Perceptor escape in the first place? That was the question he had to figure out.
Investigation Start!
Head Detective: Onslaught
His first course of business was getting a look at the sole fatality in this incident. "So, did Runamuck die as simple as we are to assume?" Onslaught questioned him.
"So far, I see nothing to discount that," Flatline admitted to him. "All signs indicate that the shot to the back of his head killed him. Looks like he was killed with his own weapon," he said, pointing to the gun that was next to the body.
"If he was, I wonder why Perceptor didn't take it with him for protection," Onslaught remarked to that.
"A good question to ask, but that's not my area of expertise," the doctor remarked to him as he got a wire out of his wrist and plug himself in at a port of the body's wrist. "Going to run diagnostics on him to see what was going on at the time of his death."
"You can do that?"
"Well, it's a prototype I'm working on, but I think this will help me determine how his body was functioning," he informed him as he went to work. "It may take a while for me to do this, so feel free to check the rest of the scene out."
"Right," Onslaught murmured as he examined the way the body wax positioned. The body was halfway in and out, the top half outside of the cell. "Looks like he entered Perceptor's cell and was shot with his guard down."
"A likely assumption," Flatline remarked with a hum as he worked on diagnostics.
Ammo Added: Runamuck's Position
Was found half way in the cell, the top half outside the cell.
"Hmm… is there anything about the scene that's off to you?" Onslaught asked him curiously.
"Energon splatter," Flatline stated bluntly, surprising Onslaught.
"The energon splatter?" he repeated, looking at it. There was splatter on the floor in front of Runamuck as well as small amounts of high-velocity energon splatter. More energon appeared to be inside the cell on the far side of it with a small energon pool existing there as well as small droplets of energon existing around the cell. "What's wrong with it?"
"Well, put it simply, the bullet is lodged in his head without penetrating to the other side, which means the splatter can only come from the entrance wound, right?" he stated, leading him along.
"Yeah, so is there a problem with it?" Onslaught asked him.
"Hmm… a mech as smart as you should be able to know something's wrong with it. I'll let you mull it over," he suggested to him, confusing Onslaught as he looked at the scene again. "As for the other energon pool inside, I'm not sure about that. It might belong to Perceptor, but I'll have to run a test to make sure."
"Do so," the Combaticon stated as he went back to looking at the energon puddle.
Ammo Added: Energon Splatter
High-energon splatter exists outside the cell. An energon puddle is inside the cell as well
"Something seems off here," Onslaught murmured.
"On that, we're in complete agreement," Flatline informed him with a curt nod. "It's why I was the one to call an investigation into this."
"You did?" the Combaticon leader asked him.
"Yes. I'm not a nice mech, far from it, but I don't like it when people hide the truth," the doctor informed him. "It was me who pushed for an investigator to come here. I know the war is of the upmost importance, but that doesn't mean I'll just mark Runamuck a casualty of war and call it a day."
"How… noble of you, for someone who's job it is to keep torture subjects alive," Onslaught remarked to him.
"Like I said, I'm not a nice mech," the red-optic mech remarked to him with a smirk as he worked. "Now then, I'll inform you on anything else after I'm finished here."
"Right… the prison has a circular design, right?" Onslaught asked him.
"Correct. All of it is interconnected and easily reached from any position," he told him.
"What's all the important places?"
"Well, the security office is to the east. That's where you can access the footage from all the cameras in the area," Flatline informed him as he pointed to one camera at an entrance, watching over a hallway.
"I see… I'll definitely stop there," Onslaught agreed.
"Bitstream is the one who runs all the cameras here. You'll know him when you see him. He's the only seeker here," he informed him. "He's also the one the keeps this facility running and maintains everything."
"I get the feeling he's really useful," the dark-blue mech remarked.
"He's an arrogant runt, as far as I'm concerned," the doctor remarked back to him with a huff. "He's the youngest person here, but he thinks he has all the answers."
"I hear he's a savant with technology, correct?" the blue mech questioned him.
"Oh, I won't contest that. He knows what he's doing, but he is very annoying to talk with," the black mech remarked back to him. "He's either at the security office or working on the groundbridge."
"Right, I'll remember that. What about everything else? The cells are south, so go clockwise from there," Onslaught ordered him.
"Well, to the southwest, we have the armory. We don't have much for weapons, but it's serviceable," Flatline informed him.
"Kind of a risk to have it right by the cellblock, isn't it?" the Combaticon questioned him.
"Not really. It's not like they're capable of defeating us if they ever get out. Plus, we have a top-level security system in place to get into the armory, curtesy of Bitstream as well. We've run drills to try and break in, but we're never able to. Which irritates me greatly," Flatline stated with a huff. "I would love to crack it just to stick it to him, but I suppose it's a good thing we've not done it yet."
"It is…" Onslaught insisted to him. 'I get the feeling the two of them have some sort of rivalry going on.'
Ammo added: Armory
Located in the southwest section.
According to Flatline, the security by Bitstream has not been cracked yet.
"Anyway… to the west is the scrapyard where we get rid of all of our garbage and wastes," Flatline stated to him.
"I suppose wastes includes corpses?" Onslaught remarked back to him at that.
"Only every now and then," the doctor remarked back to him. "And if we want to get rid of a body or other wastes, we just toss them off the sides into the lava below. That'll be sure to get rid of them easily. I dump medical waste off the side myself."
"I am positive that is not environmentally friendly," the head Combaticon remarked to him with a scoff. 'I wonder if reporting something like this is even worth it to Megatron… probably not, but I'm damn sure making a note of this to put into my list.'
Ammo Added: Scrapyard
Located in the west section.
Use to dispose of all waste in the prison, even dead bodies. Highly unethical and not environmentally friendly
"Anyway, up in the northwest we have the storage units. Everybody has their own personal storage units as well as storage areas for certain equipment that we use around here. A lot of my medical utilities are in there, as well as equipment from other people," Flatline informed him.
"I'll have to make sure each storage unit is empty, you know that?" Onslaught asked him.
"Of course, that's not a problem for me. Everyone else's will be the hard part, although I believe there's an override code you can use to access each one," the doctor stated to him. "I'm not sure what's the code. I believe Bitstream has access to it, so make sure to ask him that."
"Oh, I will," Onslaught insisted. "There's nothing I shouldn't know about, is there?"
"Not in my storage unit, I assure you," Flatline stated bluntly.
Ammo Added: Storage Units
Located in the northwest section.
Used by the various prison staff to store items and equipment in the prison. Everyone has their own personal storage unit as well.
"Right, so, up north is Shockwave's Lab, right?" Onslaught asked him.
"This is correct. That is where Shockwave conducts his macabre experiments in near secrecy. Honestly, I don't mind that he does them, I just wish there was some more transparency from him regarding them," Flatline remarked to him with a huff. "He just does what he wants and expects us to go along with it because it'll help in the long run, but I haven't seen how his research has help us yet. Seems more like a personal hobby than anything."
"Shockwave is a very… secretive mech, but he has helped the cause before and Megatron trusts him. I wouldn't doubt his efforts to help us just yet," the tactician stated to him.
"Maybe so, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Neither does anyone else. About the only one who gets along with him and has his confidence is Vortex," the medic stated to him.
"Huh? Vortex? Really?" Onslaught asked in shock.
"Thought you would know your gestaltmate better, Onslaught," he remarked snidely to him before continuing. "But yes, him and Vortex are confidants with each other here. Whatever Shockwave needs done, he calls upon that deranged helicopter to do it. Occasionally, they get Deadlock involved as well, but more as someone to fetch what they need then a true ally. You can tell by how Vortex and Deadlock talk to each other that there's no love lost between them," Flatline stated to Onslaught.
"I can tell. Killshot had to defuse a situation between the two of them right when we arrived," Onslaught stated with a scowl. "Vortex does not play well with others, I will admit."
"Yes, and he has a certain way of hurting our prisoners that rub me the wrong way," Flatline stated to him with a scowl. "We're supposed to get information from them and then verify it, but sometimes, he'll just drop them from a great to smash them or to just chuck them right in the lava. We can't interrogate a dead mech again, you know that?"
"I am quite aware. Unfortunately, his blood lust gets the better of him sometimes," Onslaught informed him with a sigh.
"You should've trained him better then," the doctor stated with a huff to him, "but I'll admit, some people just can't behaved, no matter how they're taught. Guess I can't place all the blame on you."
"How gracious of you…" Onslaught seethed at him in a sarcastic matter. "Anything else?"
"Well, despite the name, I'm also resided inside there. I have my own section there divorced from his lab. We tend to not like each other very much," Flatline stated to him. "He demanded as such since prisoners are brought there all the time for testing, it makes it easy to patch them up when they're through with them."
"When they're keeping them alive," the Combaticon leader remarked.
"Exactly."
Ammo Added: Shockwave's Lab
Located in the north section.
Shockwave's personal lab where prisoners are brought for interrogation and experiments. Flatline works there as well in his own section.
Ammo Added: Shockwave and Vortex's Partnership
Shockwave and Vortex appear to be confidants who work with each other on prisoners. Deadlock also does favors for them.
"Anyway, Northeast is the spacebridge, which is currently inoperable right now," Flatline stated to him.
"Hmm… before it broke, I assume you used that as the primary way of leaving the prison," Onslaught remarked.
"Right you are. We hardly used the helipad before this happened. Now we got to use it for everything with people coming and going," Flatline informed him.
"When did it break?" Onslaught asked him curiously.
"A week ago. Not sure what went wrong with it, you'll have to ask Bitstream about it. He knows more about it then anyone else. He's been working on it pretty hard," the doctor informed him. "He's been pretty mad about the whole thing. Apparently, it's a difficult fix for him."
"I imagine it annoys him quite a bit," Onslaught agreed with the suggestion before he thought to himself. 'Well, at least that's one way Perceptor couldn't escape. Certainly limits his options with that offlined.'
Ammo Added: Spacebridge
Located to the northeast section.
Broke one week ago and Bitstream has been operating on it since then.
"Lucky for Bitstream, it's not too far off from where he works. The security office is located in the east section," Flatline informed him.
"I take it that's where all the cameras feed into," Onslaught remarked to him.
"Right you are," the doctor nodded to him. "All security camera feeds go there. That's not all too. Many of the doors here have sensors that timed when people open them as well, such as the prison doors on the front and sides."
"They keep that strict of a timetable?" Onslaught asked curiously.
"Bitmaster's insistence. He wants to know where everyone's going at all times," the doctor said bitterly. "You can ask him about the details when you run into him."
"Right, a good idea," Onslaught nodded. 'He really hates him.'
Ammo Added: Security Office
Located to the east.
Has all the security monitors and logs when certain doors are opened.
"So, the last place is the southeast region and that holds the barracks," Flatline informed him. "Naturally, when we're not on duty, we're resting there."
"I figured as much. All one building?" Onslaught asked him.
"It's a two-story complex with assign rooms," the doctor informed him briskly. "Almost everyone rests there."
"Almost? I take it Shockwave stays at his lab?" Onslaught asked him.
"You got it right," he nodded. "He's always by himself in his lab. At least the warden stays with us in the barracks when he's here."
"When he's here?" Onslaught asked him.
"Our warden is often… derelict in his duties and often involved with other activities, so he usually leaves Shockwave in charge while he's gone, including now," Flatline informed him. "Needless to say, it's annoying, but whatever, we just deal with it. Having a warden is not the biggest issue here thanks to the lava surrounding the prison, but it would be nice if he stuck around more."
"So you had to talk Shockwave into letting me investigate here?" Onslaught questioned him.
"More like work around him. The Warden isn't here much, but he's easy to contact. Shockwave insisted we didn't need to bring an investigator on board, but I said otherwise, so I contacted the Warden and talked him into letting you here," Flatline explained to him.
"Huh, well, that's good. Still, Shockwave was against letting me here?" the Combaticon asked him curiously.
"Oh yes and he was mad when he learned he was overruled. Well, mad, in his own emotionless way. It's hard to describe. You just have to see it," the doctor informed him. "Either way, he was displeased with this."
"Odd. You think someone like him would want to bring an investigator here to discover the truth," Onslaught remarked with a curious hum.
"I thought so too, so I was surprised by it as well. I had Runabout with me when I contacted the warden so that I could emotionally appealed to the mech. Speaking of Runabout, you should fine him in mourning in the barracks if you need to talk to him," Flatline added on to the information.
"I'll make sure to at least offer my condolences for him," Onslaught agreed with a nod to him.
Ammo added: Barracks
Located in the southeast section.
Where everyone rests when off-duty, with the exception of Shockwave.
Ammo added: Shockwave's refusal
Shockwave refused to bring in an investigator, requiring Flatline to get the warden for permission.
"So, do you think this could be inside job or that Perceptor escaped by himself?" Onslaught asked him.
"I wouldn't request you if I knew that," Flatline stated to him. "Either way, I was in my med lab the entire time. The door sensors should verify that."
"Right, I don't imagine if Perceptor had an accomplice like you, you would do your best to make sure I was hired on," the Combaticon stated to him. "I can reasonably assume you're innocent."
"Glad you see it that way," Flatline remarked with a nod to him. "I brought you here so that we can find the truth about all of this."
"Right, want to show me around the cell block some more before I head out to interrogate everyone else?" Onslaught asked him.
"It's not my job to patrol the area, but I know enough to show you around," Flatline agreed to him. "Not much to say about it, it has a fairly simple design. Cameras are on each entrance and the center of the cellblock, so everyone is bound to be recorded."
"One would hope so," Onslaught agreed as before humming as he looked at the doorway of the southernmost side. "What about that one?"
"That one doesn't have one cause it's unnecessary. Let me show you," Flatlien beckoned him as he walked over there, Onslaught following behind. Once the reach the area, they stepped outside to a balcony area that was not connected to the rest of the prison, only to the cell block. "As you can see, there's no way for anyone to enter from here. Neither sides of the catwalk are connected to the central area and there's no ladder to the rooftop either."
"Hmm… I can see so," Onslaught stated as he looked around the area. The balcony was a simple one with a one with a railing that went as high as Onslaught's chest and no way to scale the walls. "So it would be impossible for anyone to enter here."
"Of course not. That's why we don't have a camera here," the black-and-red mech informed him briskly. "Most guards use this as a break area to rest and smoke their cygars, if they're not using the actual rest area back on the second floor of the front side."
"Hmm… and the lava makes for a convenient way of disposing of them," Onlsaught as he looked down at the lava below. The molten rock glowed brightly from down below and Onslaught imagined that it could burn anything that fell inside it or near it pretty efficiently.
"Indeed. From cygars to dead bodies, we toss anything over the railing. I had to come here once to pronounce a prisoner dead and they just tossed the body over the railing. They are quite cold individuals. Didn't even harvest the rest of his body for scrap, just disposed of it," Flatline informed him.
"This is rather odd, but I'm not surprised. It's the easiest way of disposing of them," Onslaught remarked with a sigh. "Especially with an interrogator as vicious as Vortex is. He is not easy with the people he interrogates."
"No, he is not. I've seen the wounds firsthand," Flatline stated with a sigh as the two entered the cell block again.
Ammo added: Cell Block Balcony
The balcony of the cell block, located on the southernmost side of the prison. It is not connected to the rest if the prison and no ladders go down to it.
"Well, guess I'll check out the rest of the prison while you finish your work on Runabout's body," Onslaught stated to him.
"Right, it'll hopefully be quick. I wish you luck on the rest of your investigation, Onslaught," Flatline said to him.
"I appreciate the support," the Combaticon leader said to him with a nod as he proceeded to head for the center exit, taking a look around at the cameras in the area. As Flatline said, there was one at each entrance and at certain points to main overwatch of the area. 'Looks like it's all normal… wait." He paused as he noticed the camera on the east doorway. Something seemed off about it to him. He headed over there quickly and looked at it, before noticing something wrong with it. 'The camera looks to be slightly askew… going by the angle of it, if a person ducks, they could avoid it while entering or exiting the area, provided they were small enough and the kibble on their backs isn't too large,' Onslaught determined as he looked at it. 'And going off memory, Perceptor doesn't have any significant kibble on his back, so he could duck through here potentially,' he determined. 'I guess I've found the chink in Bitmaster's security system.'
The blue mech hummed before wondering if a similar flaw exists on the entrance into the main building, not just the cell block. The mech quickly went to the main section and looked around. To his relief, the camera on the east entrance inside the building did not have its view askew, but when he checked the west entrance, a similar flaw was observed, giving the person just enough room to escape unseen if they duck low enough. 'This is disturbing… why is the camera on the west building entrance and east cell block entrance askew? I'm sure an error like this shouldn't exist, no matter how small it is…' Onslaught felt nervous as he gazed around the area quickly before noting this error.
Ammo Added: Askew Cameras
The cameras of the east cell block entrance and west cell block building entrance were askew, giving someone potentially enough room to crawl under.
The mech sighed before exiting the building. Uncovering a flaw in the system like that brought him discomfort, but he didn't know how it occurred, so he had to investigate these irregularities. More importantly, he still had to figure out where Perceptor went in this closed environment. He had no chance to escape so far. All they had to do was flush him out.