Not one, but two chapters in one day? Yep. I'm kinda trying to focus on this story and move it along so I can have one of my many ongoing stories finished.. In addition, for those that want to read them in chronological timeline order, it's kinda hard if this one isn't finished.. :P

Anyways, enough of my rambling.

Hope you enjoy!


Chapter Seven - New Additions

The two miners rushed forwards; their weapons ready to swing at their opponent.

Roadrage waited where he was until the pair were almost upon him. Then, he whipped out a large war hammer from his subspace and dodged.

Crusher ran past him, but Roadrage swung his hammer and hit the mech square in the backplates, knocking him forward to his knees.

By the time Roadrage had straightened, Ransack was on him. The red and black ducked under the larger mech's hammer and swung his own towards his opponent's tank.

The blue and green let out a grunt, but recovered quickly, taking only a couple steps backwards before advancing once more.

Behind Roadrage, Crusher got up and with a war cry, ran towards the other two mechs in the ring.

The red and black smirked as he deflected a hit from Ransack and dodged the incoming mech, letting him collide with his supposed-to-be teammate.

"Crusher!" bellowed Ransack, shoving the other mech away. "Hit him, not me!"

"I was aiming for him!" Crusher snarled back, whirling towards Roadrage. "But he won't stay still."

"Staying still in a fight means you're offline," remarked Roadrage, standing several paces away watching them. "If I wanted to kill you, your argument would've given me a good opportunity."

With another roar, Crusher ran at him, red optics blazing with anger. Ransack held back, prowling to the one side, waiting for their opponent to dodge again.

Roadrage noted this however, and dodged Crusher in the opposite direction of Ransack.

"Stay still!" Crusher bellowed, turning to deflect another hammer swing.

Not bothering to answer, Roadrage swung his hammer again and again, making Crusher defend himself. Ransack moved around behind him, closing Roadrage in between himself and Crusher.

Nitro watched this; optics narrowed. He was certain that Roadrage had noticed him, but why hadn't he moved to acknowledge?

Then, suddenly, as Ransack raised his hammer to deal a blow to Roadrage's helm, the red and black whirled, meeting the other mech's swing halfway with his own hammer.

The force of the impact caused the two mechs to be blown backwards, with Roadrage practically tripping and tripping over Crusher.

Using the aftershock effect to his advantage, Roadrage rolled to his pedes and punched Crusher in the faceplate, making the mech who'd been getting up, collapse back to the ground.

Ransack tackled him from the side then, the two rolling away from Crusher, who dazedly sat up, obviously seeing stars.

The other two shoved each other away and got to their pedes. Both mechs had lost their hammers when Ransack tackled Roadrage, but they didn't bother picking them up.

Roadrage crouched, fists ready, watching the bigger mech warily. Ransack wiped his mouth where the other mech had hit him, glancing at the energon his hand came away with with no concern.

Then, with speed surprising for a mech of his size, darted in close to Roadrage, fists ready.

Roadrage deflected the punch and lowering himself further, drove his shoulder into the other mech's tank. Ransack went over him helm first in surprise, hitting the sand with a thud.

Crusher staggered to his pedes, blinking and shaking his helm.

He didn't get very far before Roadrage met him with a hit to his tank, having recovered not only his own hammer, but also Ransack's.

The grey and black stumbled backwards with a grunt, lifting his axe to deflect the second hammer.

But he couldn't deflect both hammers at once.

Swinging them in sync, Roadrage soon overwhelmed Crusher, leaving the mech to forget to watch his pedes. Leaving an opening for the red and black.

One kick to the miner's kneejoint sent him to the ground. Roadrage flipped Ransack's hammer around in his hand to hold it in a reverse grip, hovering it over the fallen mech's helm.

"I yield," growled Crusher darkly, optics narrowed. He dropped his axe on the ground beside him and raised his hands in surrender.

Roadrage gave a curt nod and spun, throwing his own hammer at Ransack, who'd thought he was successfully creeping up behind him.

The blue and green's optics widened just before a hammer hit him in the chest. He hit the ground with a loud groan.

"I'm done too."

Roadrage straightened, rotating his shoulder as he looked over at Thundercloud.

The large triplechanger nodded once towards him. Then, cast a neutral look towards the two others who were slowly getting back to their pedes.

"I believe all three of you have further proved yourselves," he rumbled. "Let's go."

Taser quirked an optic ridge, her doorwings flicking. "That's it?"

Thundercloud didn't reply as he climbed up the hill and passed the trio of youngsters.

"I guess so," said Dagger, turning to follow the giant. His sister gave the three mechs in the valley one more look before following him.

"Seems a bit anticlimactic ta me, but whatever," she said with a shrug. "Now where we goin'?"

Roadrage handed Ransack his hammer back and gave him a curt nod. "You fight well for a former miner."

The bigger mech's faceplate split into something that was half smile, half grimace. He scooped up Roadrage's hammer from where it lay on the ground and tossed it to him.

"You're not so bad yourself."

Crusher stomped over, glaring darkly at Roadrage. "He got lucky, Ransack. That's all. Let's go."

The other two exchanged a glance as the grey and black stalked up the side of the shallow valley, still muttering under his breath.

"Sore loser?" Roadrage asked dryly, crossing his servos.

"You have no idea," replied Ransack lowly.

They both started up the hill, the shorter one noting that Thundercloud was by now, out of hearing range.

"You two get bullied into joining him too," Roadrage stated in question, jerking his helm towards the towering triplechanger.

Ransack lifted an optic ridge, but shook his helm. "No. He asked and we agreed."

Roadrage frowned. "Where'd he find you two."

"North of Kaon."

"You Kaonian?"

"I am. So are you?"

"Yes."

The blue and green nodded. "It's been awhile since I've met a fellow Kaonian."

"Why's that?"

"We worked in a mine near Kaon," Ransack replied. "I've worked there most of my life, Crusher came from Protihex as a transfer a few vorns back. We escaped." He paused, shrugging his broad shoulders. "Figured it'd be best to stay out of the region for awhile."

"Off' your master?"

"Crusher did."

"Figured that."

Ransack gave him a side look. "How do you know the ways of the mines? I can tell you're not a miner."

Roadrage kept walking, his stoic expression present on his faceplate. "I knew mecha who were former miners. And I don't know about Kaon anymore, but it's common talk in Slaughter City."

The blue and green gave a sober nod. "I also knew mecha from the mines. Many offline. Not many escape."

"Lucky you two. What'd you decide to join Big Pede for."

"A new life."

Roadrage let out a harsh laugh. "Helms up, mech. It's going to be miserable."

"At least it's not a mine," countered Ransack pointedly.

The red and black had to admit, he had a point. "True. But don't expect the life of a thief to be pleasant or anything."

"I won't. You sound like you speak from experience."

"Worked for a crime boss in Slaughter City for many vorns. Left cause I was tired of him and the jobs."

"The two-wheeler as well?"

"You're sharp, I'll give you that."

Ransack grinned. "I've lived this long, haven't I?"

"You could use combat training, but your size and what you know helps you I suppose."

"Are you offering more pointers?"

"I guess. It seems like we'll be stuck together for a while anyways."

Nitro had slowly fell back in the line of mecha walking until he was now just in front of the two.

"This is Nitro," Roadrage said, gesturing to the mechling with a hand.

"Ransack," the blue and green said.

Glancing over his shoulder, the grey and blue mechling nodded. "Do you know where he is taking us?" he inquired of the big mech.

Ransack shook his helm. "Not really, mechling. Said something about Polyhex."

"What's in Polyhex?" snorted Roadrage. "This better not be a world tour of Big Pede selecting and beating up mecha to join his merry gathering to present to his Towers boss."

"Our new boss is a Towers mech?" questioned Ransack, frowning.

"Yes. Apparently," Roadrage grumbled.

"How many mecha does he need? And what does a Towers need us for?"

"Most nobles don't like getting their own hands dirty," Nitro replied sullenly, falling in step beside Roadrage. "We're probably just a group he can give jobs to under the table while his reputation stays the same."

Roadrage eyed the taller mech. "How do you feel about the job now?"

Ransack frowned, but after a few kliks of silence nodded once.

"It is still a new start. And still better than the mines, I can guarantee."


Many breems of driving later, not to mention traveling by pede through a particularly rough region of the Badlands, Thundercloud called for everyone to stop for the offcycle.

After one mecha had made a fire and others drank some of their energon they'd brought with them in their journeys, the group settled down in smaller groups.

Roadrage and Nitro strayed off to sit a distance away from the fire, sitting in silence as they cleaned their weapons.

Crusher and Ransack sat away from the fire on the opposite side, the former still greatly annoyed at the outcome of the early orn's fight. Not to mention, neither were very social mecha to begin with.

Dagger sat halfway between Roadrage and Nitro and the fire, sharpening one of his knives. Taser was muttering something to him that he was most likely ignoring.

Thundercloud sat by the fire, staring into it contentedly while keeping an optic on the rest. He was pleased with the silence, until it was interrupted by a certain femmeling who wandered over from pestering her brother.

"So. Where do ya come from?"

Thundercloud glanced to the side where the young femmeling sat, crosspeded in front of the fire.

With a grunt, he looked away again, ignoring her question.

The doorwinger flicked the appendages on her back and huffed. "Not much of a talker, huh? Your sort of mecha are boring."

Crossing her arms, Taser continued.

"Ya know, Ah used ta know this mechling, super handsome. But he never hardly said a word. I mean, how could you just sit there and never say anything? We used ta be friends and Ah thought we might, ya know, become something more. But it's really hard ta get ta know somebody ya like if they don't talk ta ya. So I dumped him."

Thundercloud could imagine why the mechling never talked to Taser. He probably couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Or was simply annoyed to death by her.

"Anyways," Taser rambled on, "that was back in Polyhex. But who cares about that?"

By now, the femmeling had an audience that contained the rest of the group, willing or not.

"We thought running away ta Kaon would be great cause me and Dagger had always heard stuff bout there. But, wow did it suck! I don't think those dumb storytellers knew what they were talking about. I bet they'd actually never been there."

The giant mech sat silent, glaring at the dancing flames in front of him. His mouth turned down in a frown.

This femmeling was starting to get on his nerves.

From the grumbling nearby, she was getting on Crusher's nerves too.

"Did you know that me and Dagger are only one vorn apart? But he acts like he's much older than me. I mean, who died and put him in charge, huh? Bossing me around and telling me what to do sometimes. Ugh, I hate it when he does that. Usually he lets me do all the talking, but then he acts like I don't know what I'm doing when we talk ta mecha he thinks are important. And then he never shuts up."

Dagger sent her a cold look over his shoulder, flicking a doorwing. Then, he rolled his optics and with a low huff, went back to sharpening his knife. A little more aggressively than before.

Thundercloud turned his helm and glared down at Taser, who didn't even seem to notice.

"Don't you hate it when mecha never shut up?" she asked, still going on.

"Yesss, I doooo," growled the triplechanger, leaning over her.

She glanced up at him and frowned. "Have ya never learned about personal space, mech? Back off."

"You're so infuriating!" Thundercloud snapped. "Go find your brother. It's his turn to listen to you yammer on."

Dagger stealthily got up and moved farther away from the fire, finding a rock to sit behind.

Taser stood up, very offended. "Fine. Since ya have ta be so rude about it. Dagger's much better than ya anyways."

With that, the femmeling stomped off into the dark, muttering under her breath the whole while. And swiveling her helm around, looking for her sibling.

"Finally, some peace and quiet," hissed Thundercloud, settling down again.

A quiet scraping noise nearby caught his attention.

The small form of Nitro sat across the fire from him, sharpening one of his many knives.

Thundercloud groaned. "I lose one pest and immediately gain another one?"

Nitro sent him an impassive glance, then returned focus to his work.

"It got quieter over here, and the lighting is better." He jerked his helm towards where he had been sitting before. "You sent her that way, so I came this way."

A grunt was the only response.

The pair sat in silence for several kliks, only the sound of the crackling fire and metal being sharpened breaking it.

"At least you don't talk much," muttered Thundercloud.

Nitro sent him a narrowed glare, then went back to pretending he wasn't there again.


When I began this story, I didn't really think this was going to happen, but apparently Roadrage and Ransack are going to be sort of friends. I mean, as much as Roadrage has friends.

Although, he doesn't win the the-mecha-who-don't-like-other-mecha award anymore in this group. I'm pretty sure Crusher's arrival stole it from him since he likes other mecha even less.

Thanks for reading! Stay safe everyone!