CHAPTER 67

Up on the roof of a building, Fracture had witnessed the scene.

When he'd heard about the bounty who was wanted for murder and mutilation, Fracture had only thought about benefits he would gain from it. 1000 Shanix. It wasn't that much to Fracture yet during war times, any money was good to gain.

Unfortunately, he'd been too late. He'd went up to the roof, had lied down on the floor, had prepared his cannon to aim at the bot who was running through streets.

He'd entered into his field. But as he'd been about to pull the trigger, the bot had been knocked out. He'd been hit by two projectiles that had come from another direction.

Surprised, Fracture had lowered his cannon. Immediately afterward, he'd grabbed his binoculars to check and observe better what had been going on.

The bot was chased after. As soon as he noticed the buggy transforming, he clenched his fists. Ronins. As soon as he caught sight of the racoon, hatred and rage had taken over him, thinking back about their last meeting.

In one way, he should have expected it. Bounty robbers were still around, like vultures ready to aim at their prey. But this time, they'd gone too far. Fracture had planned everything to bring Rollbar back to the one who'd wanted his head…and Ronins had come from behind, taking the slightest opportunity to steal him from Fracture.

And as soon as he put his optics on an orange bot who transformed, Fracture's spark went faster.

His rage went stronger as soon as he recognized him.

Drift.

He should have expected it as well. His old cellmate. Oh yes…Fracture remembered their last talk. Fracture was cruel. Fracture delivered a bot who'd caused no harm to him, leaving him to his fate…

Drift had repeated that he'd no reason to help this bot…that it had been the right thing to do…

Remembering his words, Fracture tightened his grip onto the cannon. If he could, he would break it with his bare servos.

For one instant, Fracture had almost believed it. Almost. Drift had been a good actor. He could have played in a drama.

A Samaritan…as if they still existed on Cybertron…especially during war times.

No. Drift wasn't one. He was a bounty hunter…but he'd never thought he was actually working with Ronins.

No…Ronins had all adopted an animal alt-mode. Drift had been the first Ronin bot he'd ever met.

What a hypocrite. He'd acted like this to get to the bounty…

He'd mocked him and for this, he would pay. After all, Drift had admitted to be a robber. Oh yes, thief one day, thief always. Especially when it came to bounties.

So be it…

But Fracture owned something that they didn't have. Sophisticated gadgets.

Fracture pulled something out of his chassis. His mini-drones. They were similar to flies, but they could get useful. This way, he could watch everything, listening their conversations and knowing their intentions.

After he'd connected his drones to his Pad, Fracture pressed a button. Drones were released out to the group. Ronins had already collected the bot. The racoon had put him over his shoulder. As for Drift, it looked like he was waiting for something. Fracture caught sight of the projectiles that he'd deployed, projectiles that had fallen to the ground.

These projectiles transformed. Minicons. A black one and an orange one. They looked the same.

Fracture frowned. Had they been the ones that Drift searched for, during their prison time? And he'd found them?

The orange bot held his wrists out to them. The Minicons transformed to reattach themselves, as if it was something natural to them.

Fracture let out a sigh. He must admit he'd been slightly impressed. These two Minicons had knocked a bot out on their own.

He must admit…they were good tools.

He turned his devices on, listening. The racoon was talking to Drift.

"Did you already do it before?"

"About what?"

"Capturing bounties."

Drift shook his head. Fracture adjusted volume.

"Because…for a first time, it's quite good" The racoon recognized.

"Mister Drift became our Deployer only recently" One of Minicons explained.

The black one. The racoon approved.

"Good. They are good tools"

"They are not—"

Drift cut himself in. Fracture raised one eyebrow. What had he meant?

It didn't matter.

"…My debt is paid"

"Indeed"

A debt? Fracture thought, confused.

"But" The Ronin pointed. "I'll not lie…we need more members. Members a bit like you"

"What do you mean?"

So, it meant that Drift wasn't with them. Fracture let out a small smirk. Way more interesting.

"Well…there aren't many of us." The racoon explained. "And some of our members aren't even able to work any longer"

The camera focused on the third Ronin among them. The Ronin with a hyena alt-mode. Well, if he recalled, he'd met all of them at least once. This one looked a bit shocked. Because of the racoon's words?

The camera focused back on Drift. The latter looked quite stunned.

"I'm…I'm not sure. I didn't come for this"

"Why? Are you going for a specific destination?"

The orange bot didn't answer.

Fracture guessed. He'd nowhere to go.

"When someone captures a bounty for us Ronins, you can view yourself as one of us" The Ronin kept on, a smile on his face. "You're part of our team now"

"But…I thought it was a life debt"

"Hmm…I had never been interested in debts that didn't involve money"

Fracture admitted that the racoon and he had something in common.

"You've been useful to us. And…as I stated earlier, the society needs more of people like you"

It left Drift speechless.

Apparently, it had been the most beautiful compliment he'd ever received. Fracture remained tense, in alert.

The camera never left the samurai's face.

"In a way, bounties need us as well"

"Excuse me?"

"We protect them from Fracture"

Protecting them from Fracture…

What an irony. Were they viewing themselves as better than him?

The racoon's tone…Fracture knew it.

The tone used in order to get someone to do something. According to the orange bot's expression, it was seemingly working.

"Why protecting them from him?"

"We already told you. Fracture tortures his victims. He rarely spares them. He is just here for money."

"What about you?"

Good question, Drift.

"We capture them in order to give them a chance to explain their actions. We want to help them and give them a chance to make a fresh start."

"A fresh start?"

The racoon walked closer.

"Be sure your sin will find you out. I think you already learned about this. However, some crimes are unforgivable. Some others…not that much. Only sinners choose to change or not."

Fracture cracked up, nearly collapsing and falling from the roof. He was laughing that hard. That's completely absurd! Completely ironic!

They offered their bounties a chance to explain themselves while Fracture, the big bad, killed them mercilessly?

There was some truth in the racoon's words. Indeed, Fracture didn't spare his victims often. But this…it was just a joke! Of course they did it for money. Not for anything else!

Anyway, the racoon behaved much more manipulative than he'd expected.

The orange bot twitched.

"…A chance to make a fresh start?"

"Don't you wish to save these bots from Fracture?"

Drift looked down.

Fracture had his arms crossed, waiting for his answer with some curiosity.

It had been quicker than he'd expected.

"…Maybe"

"Good" The racoon nodded. "If that's so, you can just spend some days in our base. You'll make your decision later"

Drift looked satisfied with this offer. Fracture growled. In the end, he got his Pad disconnected. The drone had already vanished.

In the end, he left the roof.

Slowly, anger was coming back. He was enraged against Ronins. Twice. Twice they'd stolen bounties from him. Rollbar then that one. He didn't even remember about his name. He didn't care about it anyway.

Twice…and it had been because of Drift.

Fracture took a breath. Will he cause trouble, as well?

He'll need to neutralize that nuisance sooner or later…but now…he was just watching.

However, he realized something.

The group was bigger now. Drift and his tools had joined them.

It would be a problem later.

Fracture rolled his optics. There may be a way but he refused it. No way he'll bother himself with an associate. There were other bounty hunters on Cybertron. Some of them formed groups. But he wasn't part of it.

He'd his own business. And he would keep it.

But he couldn't stay like this, without doing anything.

As soon as he'd checked that the group had left, Fracture transformed.

He was better than them. The next bounty was already located on his Pad's screen.

The target in question was a bot wanted for treason. Fracture glanced back at the picture while his ship landed near Polyhex. He looked dumb. It shouldn't be that difficult.

As soon as his ship landed and engines were turned off, Fracture transformed in his motorcycle alt-mode, driving to the destination.

He found the price almost immediately.

As soon as the bot was in his field of vision, Fracture transformed back in his robot-mode. The bounty hadn't noticed anything. He was digging in. Probably in order to find some energon.

Good. Way easier than he'd expected.

He pulled his Taser out. As soon as the bot stood up, Fracture hit him from behind. A violent electric wave got him paralyzed, some sparks coming out of his bounty's body. He screamed. The purple bot wasn't satisfied with it. He jumped and kicked him back, sending him through a wall. It got him knocked out.

It had been too easy.

The bounty hunter was a bit disappointed. He pulled his Taser back and stepped ahead, ready to collect him.

And as soon as he was about to get to him, he jumped aside, dodging a laser passing above his head.

Fracture stood up, growling out of anger. He turned back to the responsible.

His optics narrowed at the sight of the latter.

"Xedgar" Fracture welcomed him, sarcastic.

What a stupid name. Just like the bot himself. A kind of golden and green oaf, an old acquaintance. An oaf, pretending to be a bounty hunter as well. Sometimes, they came across each other. And Xedgar hated him.

The bot stepped forward.

"Just seeing your face is enough to make me angry"

Only this.

"Seeing yours is enough for me. I almost wish to go to a femme for comfort" Fracture sneered.

"You shall get out" The numbskull warned him.

"Why should I? I was there first"

"That bounty isn't for you!"

Fracture put his servos over his hips, staring back at him.

"And who decided about this? You?"

"You already gained fifty!" The bot retorted.

"And because you only got two of them, I shall be nice toward you?"

Two for a bounty hunter? He could be ashamed. Definitely.

Xedgar pulled his laser-guns out. Fracture stretched his arms out, activating his blades.

"Come on, Xedgar. You already know it'll be useless"

"What for?"

"Because I'll win. I'll always win."

Any time they met, that moron had been put in his place. Fracture wanted to kill him but it would damage his blades. Blades he kept for bounties or competitors with a better level. Xedgar was a just a wreck who didn't understand anything about the game. The latter smirked.

"Not this time, Fracture"

"You sound self-confident"

"Because you aren't the only one using treachery"

"Really? Show me"

Xedgar stretched his arms out.

That's right at this instant that Fracture realized that something'd changed since their last meeting.

A new equipment…missiles put on his shoulderplates.

Fracture immediately moved back.

The next moment, Xedgar released them out. Missiles were deployed. Torpedoes. Fracture's optics narrowed. Two torpedoes forming circles in the sky. A purple one and another, with some red shades. Both of them lunged at him.

Fracture went faster and jumped backward to dodge them. However, one of them had managed to hit his elbow. He growled.

"You're really irritating"

Torpedoes transformed. Fracture looked down.

Minicons. Of course though with a particular design. One of them had an egg-head, big red optics and six legs. The other had a spiked armour, claws at the end of long arms that almost went to the ground.

Both of them looked back at him, a devious smirk on their faces.

Fracture smiled back.

"Are you kidding me, Xedgar?"

"What?"

"Seriously. Are you kidding me? Minicons? Is that your new secret weapon?"

"Wait"

He waited.

Both torpedoes attacked together. Fracture let them come at him. Before they could get to touch him, he kicked the egg-head one, who was sent to the ground. He barely turned around; the other one hanged himself to his arm. Fracture winced, the Minicon planting his long claws in his wrist.

Fracture grabbed him by neck to lift him up. As soon as he touched him, the Minicon clawed him more, fierce growls coming out of his mouth. Fracture hissed back and tore him off his arms, before punching him right into the face. The Minicon fell down on his paws while his cohort stood up again.

They didn't scare him. Fracture would get the upper hand. They were small and weak.

He didn't even blink; the two lunged at him again. This time, their attack had been way more vicious. Egg-head aimed at Fracture's face, covering his view. Fracture didn't waste any time and grabbed him with a strong grip off his face before throwing him off. However, he couldn't dodge the other torpedo who hit him from behind. Fracture lost his balance and fell as well.

"The bounty belongs to the boss!" Egg-head spat.

Fracture stood up.

Vicious. Vicious torpedoes. Interesting.

"Allow me to be terrified" Fracture said.

He then threw a memory stick at them. It went for Egg-head. A bomb.

He would explode in two minutes.

But Egg-head wasn't done with him. The stick was planted through his arm yet he kept fighting. He ran over to Fracture and threw himself at him, head first. Fracture had thought his plan was to make him fall backward, but instead he wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him tightly. He didn't let go. It got Fracture confused.

What was he waiting for?

Fracture strongly pushed him away.

Suddenly, he felt something in his back. A small thing.

He realized what it was.

Immediately afterward, he lowered down. With a sharp move, he tore the stick off before throwing it away, in Xedgar's direction. Xedgar screamed and tried to escape, but only a few seconds later, the bomb exploded in a cloud of smoke.

Both Minicons immediately stopped.

"Master!" Egg-head screamed.

Fracture took his blades out.

He'll deal with them right now.

"I'm waiting for you"

Both Minicons growled and immediately attacked him again. Fracture blocked the Egg-head's missile with a single blade, using all his strength. As for the other, claws up, he aimed for Fracture's neck. Fracture waited for him to get close enough and headbutted him.

They both stood up.

And attacked again.

Fracture couldn't help but smirk, taking a defensive stance.

It'll be long.

Oddly enough, he liked it.

"You call yourself a bounty hunter?"

It made Fracture laugh. The purple bot looked down upon his competitor, lying down at his pedes. Xedgar had survived to the explosion. He was lucky enough. That bomb had been strong enough. His opponent blinked, regaining consciousness. He was surrounded by his Minicons. Both of them were in a similar, if not worse, state. Oddly enough, these two beasts had lasted more than their Master. And their tenacity was quite surprising. Unfortunately for them, they had to realize it. These three weren't man enough against him. Fracture hated competitors. He wanted to kill them. Finishing them off. Especially Xedgar who'd been such a bother.

In the end, he pulled his weapons back before walking over to the price. These three had no interest. Then, Xedgar had just captured two poor and ridiculous bounties. He wouldn't survive against the other bounty hunters. As for the bounty, the ad wanted him alive. He was still unconscious. Good. He wouldn't whine during the trip. He grabbed him by the arm, dragging him down to the ship. He shall leave now.

But as he was about to leave the trio, he noticed Xedgar. The latter stood up. His Minicons as well. Fracture stopped, taking a defensive stance in case these three wanted another round.

However, their attention was no longer focused on Fracture. Despite Xedgar's heinous glare, he talked to his Minicons.

"That bounty was mine!" The dumbass cried out. "Mine!"

Not yours, Fracture thought.

Minicons jumped. Yet no surprise in their optics.

"…Master…we did our best…" The Minicon with long arms replied, looking down.

Xedgar's arm went up.

A slap noise came out. Fracture lowered his guard, feeling strangely intrigued by the scene. Even a bit concerned. The Minicon massaged his face. The other one cried, making gestures to calm his Master down, but instead he just received a kick.

Fracture's stare followed him down. That's off-putting.

"You're just Minicons! You are supposed to be useful! I can't believe you made me lose a price!"

To Fracture, Xedgar became much more pathetic than he'd already been. Not only because it was his price.

No. It was about something else.

"It'll never happen again, Master…" The Minicon with spider-legs spoke. The miniature shivered out of fear.

How could he be afraid of that idiot?

"Of course it'll not happen again! My greatest mistake had been our partnership!"

Minicons twitched. Fracture silently watched the scene.

He dropped the bounty. Was he putting an end to their collaboration? Even though Fracture knew little to nothing about Minicons, wasn't there a kind of special bond between a Deployer and his Minicons?

"Indeed! From now, you'll be on your own!"

"But we couldn't expect to meet Fracture!" The Minicon with long arms retorted, a panicked and almost hysterical tone in his voice.

So, had he a reputation? Even toward Minicons he'd never met before? Fracture smiled. Maybe he could become as famous as Lockdown.

"I don't care! You can find another Master or you can melt in acid, it isn't my business anymore! Get out of here!"

Xedgar gave a murderous glare at Fracture. The latter replied with a smug smirk. Yes. He'd won again. he could come back later. It irritated his competitor way more. He turned around and, with a heavy step, vanished a few moments later.

Only Minicons remained. Fracture stared at them. He wondered if he shouldn't leave them alone. After all, it wasn't his business. They were enemies. He'd no reason to care about their fate.

Yet they looked completely lost.

Fracture didn't hold a great knowledge about these creatures but from what he knew, Minicons were usually quite loyal to their Master. Even toward Xedgar who'd spat in their face. He wondered for which reason they'd joined him. Money definitely.

Oddly, he'd some hard time with them. Torpedoes had fought well. They'd attacked him in the back, in a treacherous yet organized manner. Fracture had almost been surprised many times. The one with long arms was definitely the cruellest out of the two yet the Egg-head one, that Fracture had underestimated first, had revealed himself as quite fierce as well. Against a bounty hunter amateur, they would have won hundred times.

Their Master had no value as a bounty hunter. Yet his torpedoes were a different story.

He thought back of Drift and his Minicons. Then he thought back of Ronins who'd stolen his bounties twice.

He must do something. Find a way.

Maybe he'd found it…he wouldn't have any colleague but…he would get subordinates instead.

Truth to be told, Fracture had never considered to become a Deployer one day. He'd never thought he would need Minicons one day. He'd always been alone. His only skills had always been enough.

In his processor, Fracture listed advantages and disadvantages.

Disadvantages would be other mouths to feed. No more tranquillity. Alone time would get wasted…

But if he'd get missiles…he would be invincible. Especially since Drift owned Minicons as well. It would be useful to get partners that would deal with Drift's beasts while Fracture took care of Drift or other Ronins. Then he would get the bounty.

Fracture thought…but his decision became more obvious.

Okay. He would deal with these mouths. That's an opportunity. The purple bot headed for the miniatures who'd kept an optic on the price. He stopped in front of them. Both of them got startled. Egg-head moved back, scared, while the one with long arms hissed back, ready to defend himself.

"…I'm not there to harm you" He declared, his arms up.

Why would he harm them if he wanted to recruit them?

"Whatever you say!"

"Look. I'm not the one who meddle in another's business. However, you two seem to be in trouble, don't you?"

He had many arguments. He touched the sensitive topic. Both of them looked down. Fracture decided to act straightforward.

"I can recruit you. You would join me. What about it?"

"What's the catch?" Egg-head asked.

He allowed a smile. He noticed an odd relief in the Minicons' optics.

"There isn't any catch. It would be the first time for me. It looks like you are already used to this kind of work. So, I wouldn't explain anything to you. However, I can show you what a real bounty hunter is."

It was true. He could show them why they should be proud of their profession…under the condition they follow his orders. What had Xedgar ever done to them?

"Don't make me laugh. Do you truly think this bot is a bounty hunter? I'm sure you'll enjoy to work for me. At least, more than for the fool who was called your Master. It's his loss. I'm not a nice person but I would treat you much better. The labourer is worthy of his hire. You'll be underlings. Not slaves."

Of course, he didn't like to share. But it was necessary to draw them in…And Xedgar, was not only a fool but he'd understood nothing. That's not that way a Deployer would keep his Minicons.

Fortunately, he'd said the 'hire' word. Both creatures were immediately interested. Fracture thought it was another victory. He'd won. He'd gained the bounty but furthermore, he'd taken Xedgar's Minicons. He would get any more reasons to hate him. He reached out to them.

"So…Will you join me?"

He didn't repeat himself.

Both Minicons exchanged a thrilled smile then they transformed in their torpedo-mode, before attaching themselves to Fracture's shoulders. It felt a bit heavy first…but in the end, it wasn't that unpleasant. He would get used to it.