CHAPTER 66

They were gone for five hours now.

In her room, Lyzak was waiting. Who? No one in particular. It was just a calm and serene moment. One of these moments that'd become more and more rare and that she could have a taste whenever she was alone in the Ronin base. Her optics giving off an empty look, she felt more and more in pain. There were days where she was able to accomplish her duties and being useful. To Ronin cause. To bounty hunting, to their prisoners' treatment…The other Ronins thought it was just a glitch and that she would go back to her pedes.

But some days…she couldn't even get up. She was forced to stay in her berth, having a lot of trouble to breath or even swallow energon. In these times, she felt weak. She felt helpless. Forager, Autoclave or any other Ronin didn't hesitate to give her some remarks about it whenever she was alone and whenever he wasn't around to support her. She was supposed to be a warrior. A formidable Ronin. Yes. She had been this. Forager had taken her in after an intense fight between she and a bounty they were hunting after. Forager's behaviour toward the orange bot had reminded her of her first days in this team.

Yet, even though it had been around fifty years since the day she'd started to work with them, she was no longer the person she had been proud of.

Lyzak wondered how long it would last. Not too long, she had been hoping. Even though Forager had other Ronins he could rely on to hunt, she didn't know if the racoon would keep her. And if he would follow her…

She let out another sigh. Suddenly, she heard doors being unlocked, and the newcomer stepped in the room.

She didn't need to turn around. She felt him walking closer and his muzzle stuck in her neck to give her a kiss.

"How does my wife feel today?"

She let him do. He was in good mood. She felt it. However, she was always reserved toward him. In the end, she turned around and he put his servo over her forehelm.

"Wow. You don't look any better. That's more serious than what I thought"

She didn't answer. Foxtrot stared at her, curiosity filled with some concern though he definitely displayed more the first emotion.

"We need a medic. You can't remain like that"

"They'll never work for us" Lyzak softly said, tired of hearing the same words over and over.

"Well they'll obey. If I shall hunt one, I'll do it without any hesitation. That's their job. Else they'll be useless"

"Forager will never want it"

And Foxtrot was able to kill anyone before they could get useful to them.

"…How had been the hunt?" She asked, trying to move on to another topic.

Her husband's smile appeared again. He and Stilts had been sent in order to retrieve a bounty that had been located on Aquatron. The hunt had lasted many days and now, they'd just come back from it. Apparently, it had turned out well…

For him. Not for the bounty.

"He tried to get us divided by attacking us, one after one." Foxtrot sneered. "He failed. He played, he lost. At the same time, how could we get the upper hand against us?"

Saying these words, his servo touched the cannon on his back. A very large, orange cannon that he loved using. Oh yes. It's his baby.

Before, she'd loved listening to him talking about his day, fascinated by each of his words…today, not that much. Interest had vanished, and it had turned into disdain. Yet he was her husband…she'd accepted him the way he was. The other Ronins, beside Forager, had never dared criticize her whenever he was around.

But these last times, it went more and more difficult. Not because of what she'd got, but because she felt this tiredness growing stronger.

She simply nodded, not convinced.

"Ha. I brought a gift for you"

His servo went for behind his back. He pulled it out, holding something shiny.

A necklace, made with Cybertronian metal that had become rare since the beginning of the conflict. Lyzak stared at it. It was red, shining at the lanterns' light. Foxtrot walked closer to her and handed it over.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"Yes…very"

It was beautiful. Yet, Lyzak wasn't happy. Before, she would have jumped in joy. She would have kissed Foxtrot passionately. After all, she'd always liked things of value. That's the reason why she had joined the Ronin. Their cause could bring her anything.

But today…everything seemed so superficial. Nevertheless, she kissed Foxtrot in order to show her gratefulness. Foxtrot wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. Once they pulled apart, Foxtrot grabbed the bag that he'd tied to his waist. He pulled out the hunted bot's head from it. Lights off, he displayed a horrified face. Probably his last expression before Foxtrot's cannon hit him.

"What can I do with it? Do I take it back?"

Lyzak slightly shivered at the sight. As Foxtrot walked away, she called him back.

"…Forager recruited a potential member today"

"Really?"

Foxtrot stopped. The head still in his arms, he stared back at her with curiosity.

"He's a warrior" she explained. "He uses katana and sword. Forager thinks he would be useful"

"What is his animal alt-mode?"

The usual question whenever a new individual joined Ronin.

"A tiger? A snake?"

"He doesn't have any animal alt-mode" She replied, an emotionless tone.

Foxtrot's expression changed.

His mood swings were always violent. Immediately afterward, he became more hostile, more aggressive. Not toward her. But toward Forager.

"How is it possible? Do you mean he's a normal bot?"

He'd always hated bots without any animal alt-mode. For a reason that'd happened at the beginning of the conflict. Bots with animal alt-mode were poorly-viewed. As much as by Autobots than Decepticons. Both Optimus and Megatron treated them with contempt. And Foxtrot had suffered out from hard and merciless discrimination. Today, he viewed his role in Ronins as a way to get revenge. He could hunt, kill these people with happiness, saying that he'd got what they deserved. Yet Lyzak knew it wasn't the only reason.

Foxtrot needed to kill. That's like a pulsion he needed to satisfy.

And that's why he'd got the nickname of "Trigger-Happy Terror" among Ronins. Each of them got a nickname. Lyzak's had been "The Red Night". But whenever Ronins were mentioned, the Trigger-Happy Terror remained the most well-known.

"…Forager thinks he has some potential. Especially since he'd helped us to steal a bounty from Fracture"

"Don't dare talk about that scum!"

He pressed the head into his servos. His rage came back. Usually, he took his anger out on items nearby.

And to other people as well…though he'd never once hit Lyzak.

This attitude brought her back to nightmares she'd got every night.

"…A normal bot…among Ronins…Forager repeated over and over that it would never HAPPEN!"

Lyzak bit her lips.

The thing she was about to add wouldn't calm him down.

Quite the contrary…

"…He believes we are different from Fracture"

"What do you mean?"

His rage went colder.

"…He thinks about lessening the number of bounties killed to convince him to join us."

Foxtrot let out a deadly roar.

Despite her, Lyzak moved back.

He pressed the head in his servos so hard that the latter ended up exploding in energon, covering the floor and walls around him. He threw its remains off against the wall, before rushing outside in an enraged stance.

Lyzak was alone again. Yet she wasn't serene. Her ears lowered down, as at any time she was scared.

She put one servo on her stomach. In a way to get her reassured…

The bot was fast, even though he wasn't using his alt-mode.

Yet Ronins were much faster. They sped up, Drift and Autoclave being at each side to surround him, while Forager remained at the middle.

While he was driving, Drift tried not to answer to Jetstorm and Slipstream's questions. They were focused. However, he felt their confusion. They were lost about the situation.

A question that always came back.

"Why are we chasing after him?"

In his mind, Drift tried to find a good reason.

He thought back of his last talk with Wing. For one moment, he'd wanted to return to the Circle of Light.

Wing had confessed his love. He loved him.

Such a confession had struck him…but at the same time, he'd felt so much wellness. An emotion he'd only felt around the white bot and that he'd found back with this only talk.

Wing loved him.

He'd desired his mentor…and it had been reciprocal.

He should have answered back.

Yes. I love you too. I should have confessed much earlier.

But despite his hatred toward Shadow Raker, he couldn't help but remember this latter's words whenever it came to survival.

"Concern for others is folly…and often fatale"

Today, survival became an essential topic to him. It had always been. However, he'd managed to forget it during his days in the Circle of Light.

Love and survival…were they compatible?

He sped up.

He should have answered back to his confession…but maybe it would have been foolish. His own survival shouldn't come after his feelings…

Yet…Wing…

He wouldn't approve what he was currently doing.

Now the bounty was trapped in a cul-de-sac. Yet Ronins were still far. Drift looked up. The bounty could just climb off the wall.

And he'd time to do. Right now, the bot was already escaping.

Nearby, Forager growled.

Drift stared at the bot.

There was a price on his head. He would be delivered to the customer.

What will the customer do with him?

He didn't dare imagine. For one moment, Drift wondered if he shouldn't slow down. If he shouldn't let him escape…pretending that he'd been too slow to catch him up.

He thought back of Forager's words.

The bot had mutilated and murdered people…all crimes were equal in that conflict. But these ones were particularly monstrous…

And he had a debt to pay…Not a life debt…but it remained a debt.

What would happen if he didn't pay it?

"He will escape!" Autoclave cried out.

Drift noticed it. He was up onto the wall. They wouldn't make it in time.

Yet…

Drift transformed in his robot mode.

He heard a tyre squeal behind him. Forager suddenly stopped, almost falling.

"Primus! What are you doing?"

Drift ignored him.

He reached out.

"Jetstorm…Slipstream…"

They wouldn't be able to confront him.

But if they could…

Both Minicons obeyed without any other word.

At this moment, Drift blamed himself.

They had no choice.

In one move, he deployed them.

Both disks were released out, flying into the sky, cutting air. A red disk and a black disk. Both of them flying in the same direction…

Toward the same goal…

Before the bot could disappear behind the wall, both disks hit the back of his helm.

In a scream of pain, the bot fell backward and collapsed. Forager and Autoclave rushed over to him. Drift kept his arms out, waiting for Jetstorm and Slipstream to reattach themselves.

Each by an arm, Forager and Autoclave dragged the bot to the floor. The racoon turned back to Drift.

"…You use Minicons?"

Drift nodded. There was some gratefulness in the racoon's optics. A smile appeared on his face.

"They are useful. Just like you"

"…Excuse me?"

He was about to ask if his debt was paid. In the end, he didn't ask anything.

"Three for one" Forager kept on. "We need more people like you, these days"

At these words, Drift froze.

Had he already heard these words one day?

That's the very first time someone said he was useful to the society.