Another orn, another victim.
Or so it would have been, if the mech could find any victims. Right now, he was far too busy contemplating his bleak future to get up and search for one.
The mech sprawled across a heap of scrap metal, but he barely noticed the sharp edges abrading his heavily scratched wings. He had five orns to find thirty-nine cubes or Chopper would send guards to scrap him. The greedy parts dealer had set him up to fail, knowing full well that it was impossible for any Empty to find that many energon cubes in so short a time.
His tanks were not even full enough to last five orns; even if he could find enough cubes, he would have to consume at least a few or drain another mech before the deadline to avoid falling into stasis lock.
Impossible as Chopper's request seemed, the mech also knew he had to try his best. The alternative was certain deactivation, and he still very much liked being online. He was a survivor. One way or another, he would find a way of repaying Chopper. If he failed, it would only be because he had exhausted all other options, not because he simply gave up.
The mech wearily pushed himself to his pedes, mentally plotting a course to a new area beneath Iacon. Most Empties around here knew about his harvesting profession and were too cautious to easily scrap. When he appeared, they took one look at his surgical lasers and scurried in every direction, forcing him to chase them as they desperately tried to outpace him.
If he could find a place with slower or less cautious Empties, the energon flowing through their lines would make up for any he burned while traveling.
He walked past poorly maintained roads, heaps of debris and shattered frames that had fallen from the city far above, and the rusting remnants of frames already picked clean by scavengers. At one point, he came across a small cluster of scraplets chewing a hole in the city's foundations. They did not react to his presence, but he backtracked anyway.
One could never be too careful around scraplets.
The mech eventually finally found a promising new area below an unfamiliar section of the city. Empties here sprawled carelessly across the streets or remained far closer to each other than common sense would dictate. One tiny local even waved to him as he passed. He contemplated scrapping the minibot, but he decided to search for bigger prey first.
Yes, this was definitely the place—the bots here were so unsuspecting of his true intentions that scrapping them would be easy.
"Your kind isn't welcome here, Seeker," a hostile four-wheeled mech spat. "But I bet someone will pay a fine price for those wings after we scrap you."
The dark red mech was surrounded by three rust-covered grounders who paid no heed to the soft whine of his small lasers or the high-pitched buzz of the sonic knife clenched in one servo. The bot who had spoken held the only real weapon: a blaster, most likely stolen from some Enforcer. The other two looked as though they had already been scrapped for parts but somehow survived.
Nevertheless, they advanced, backing him down the alley.
He had to fight them off, but doing so would likely drain his energon levels. On the bright side—if there could ever be a bright side in such absolute darkness—the bot holding the blaster looked like he had never handled a weapon before. Plus, the mech could probably sell it to a weapons dealer for a decent price.
"Get him, mechs," growled the one on the left, limping forward. One pede looked partially severed.
The three Empties all attacked, but the dark red mech was ready. Although his standard-issue battle computer was just as offline as it had been for the last few megavorns, its input was unnecessary. Not that it would have helped much anyway; since he had been a medic, the bulk of its functions focused on finding ways to fix bots in chaotic situations, rather than actively scrapping them. The few inactive fighting protocols that it did possess were all focused on aerial combat, with the primary emphasis on evasion and defensive maneuvers. During the mech's time below Iacon, he had learned the hard way to fight—and survive—servo-to-servo combat with larger, stronger grounders.
It was all about finding the weak points in their armor.
The attackers made plenty of noise while charging, but all the mech had to do was sidestep the first's blaster shot, push another, and slash the third's motor relays with his new sonic knife. His lasers activated while he ducked another shot.
Deep gashes appeared in the two remaining Empties' corroding armor as the dark red mech attempted to terminate them without overly damaging the valuable internal circuitry. There were other scrap dealers around, though none so reliable or wealthy as Chopper; they might be willing to buy the parts.
The mech wasted no time in separating the spark chambers, t-cogs, and other valuable parts from the rusty frames. The gun was unfortunately damaged, but Chopper's apprentice enjoyed side projects. He would gladly fix it if the mech asked—provided, of course, that the mech could find enough energon cubes to return to Chopper's good graces within five orns.
After his recent encounter with the Enforcer, the mech was wary of selling easily recognizable scraps. However, weapons were always in high demand by Iacon's underground fighting rings; the gun would probably be quite valuable to an arena boss. The only issue would be finding one—they spent most of their time overseeing the games, and the gladiatorial arenas were impossible to enter without paying an unreasonably high entrance fee.
Hearing the unmistakable roar of a six-wheeled Enforcer's altmode engine, the mech subspaced as many parts as he could hold, deactivated his lasers and knife, and dove under a pile of scrap metal.
Several tense moments later, the Enforcer had rolled past. The mech waited until he could no longer hear the rumble of the six-wheeler's engine before unburying himself from the heap.
Just as he was about to continue dissecting the three Empties' frames, he spotted two polished dark green wings glinting in the darkness. His red optics widened in shock as he recognized the bot passing along the road. Chopper's apprentice had no business walking around here, showing off his shiny wings and perfect paint!
However, he might be carrying some energon...
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
"Wha—" The dark green flier jumped and spun around, a startled burst of static escaping his vocalizer. He clearly had not been expecting to meet anyone familiar in the lower level.
Sensing the green medic's discomfort, the mech decided to try another strategy.
"Ah, what does it matter. Always good to see a friendly face." The mech knew Chopper occasionally sent his underlings to scrap Empties with especially valuable frames.
The dark green flier looked relieved at not having to explain himself.
"I've got a great deal for you! These parts for a cube," he shouted, waving a fuel pump at Chopper's apprentice as he unsubspaced a heap of other parts from the three Empties. The mech knew how good of a deal that was for the parts dealer's apprentice, but he needed the energon to pay Chopper.
"What, all this for just a cube? I'm not Chopper, you know. I'll give you three for these."
Three cubes. Great—now he only needed thirty-six more. The mech hoped he could get a good deal for the blaster, or he would never have enough cubes to repay his debt.
"I also found this on one of the Empties. Maybe you could fix it?" He passed the gun to Chopper's apprentice.
"Sure, I'll take a look." The green flier hummed thoughtfully as he turned the weapon over in his servos. "This is the newest model of blaster I've seen down here. I think I saw it earlier on some Enforcer who was snooping around the Market earlier. Wait, don't tell me… you attacked the Enforcer?"
"No, that was another mech." He waved towards the pile of parts. "He's deactivated now."
"I'm glad to see that Enforcer gone. He was threatening to bring a team and search Chopper's shop." The dark red mech felt some hidden glee at Chopper's predicament, but quickly quashed it. If Chopper's business was disturbed, a lot of bots were going to go offline. More importantly, he was going to go offline if Chopper suspected he was in any way related to the sudden appearance of a law-abiding Enforcer in the Market.
The dark green flier suddenly ducked into a corner. "Hide, quick!"
The dark red mech knew something big was coming, but he also knew he was in no state to fight it. He readied his sonic knife. The Enforcer that had passed by earlier was driving around the corner quickly, probably because he had noticed the small group of scavengers stalking him.
There was nowhere to run, so the dark red mech slouched against a wall. He carefully tucked his wings close to keep them out of sight and tried to look as weak and pathetic as possible. He hoped the Enforcer would be stalled for long enough for the dark green flier to repair and use the blaster.
"Another Empty. These things are everywhere here. You! Were you following me?" The Enforcer transformed in an overly showy manner, landing in a somersault. He turned a cruel gaze on the dark red mech slumped at his pedes.
"Pitiful scrap. You couldn't even see me well enough to follow me." The Enforcer lifted a huge pede.
"What's that you said? I… I need energon!" The mech modulated his voice into a static-laced whine. "EeeeeeeeeEEEeenergooooon?"
The Enforcer put down the pede and grinned menacingly.
"Everyone says that. You think I care?" The Enforcer pulled out a saw and powered it on.
"Eh, no." The mech dropped his pathetic pretense, springing to his pedes when he noticed the green flier step out from behind the corner. "But you will give me that energon."
A blaster bolt sizzled into existence and melted through the Enforcer's torso plating. The large bot collapsed with a resounding crash, a glowing hole in his dorsal armor.
"I killed him!" The apprentice sounded faint as he leaned against the wall for support. His blue optics were unusually wide, and his servos were trembling around the blaster.
"Well, yes," the mech agreed, circling the downed frame. "You did just shoot him..."
"But he's really offline... I really killed him."
The mech noticed a flicker of light as the Enforcer tried to reset one optic.
"He's actually still online," the mech corrected, powering up his lasers. Even though they consumed his own energon, they were far less damaging to internal systems than the blaster. He needed the Enforcer's frame to remain intact enough to fetch a good price on the Market. "Now he's offline."
"A real, live bot," the dark green flier whispered softly, "extinguished. Just like that."
The mech sent his companion an odd look. So the Enforcer was offline... so what? That just meant more parts to sell for energon. Really, it was a good thing for both of them. There was no logical reason for the dark green flier's incomprehensible mumbling; the Enforcer had died quickly and relatively painlessly. Just another collection of scrap waiting to be harvested.
"Yes, yes, I get it, he's offline. Will you shut up already?" He was quickly becoming annoyed at the dark green flier's shocked muttering. Maybe the medic would snap out of it if he had something to do. "Here, help me scan the frame."
The mech crouched over the Enforcer, calculating the best places to cut the thick armor without seriously reducing its value. When his companion stopped mumbling and activated a medical scanner, a sudden thought struck him. Chopper knew he had only one reliable skill set, and the dark green flier's presence here, now, so soon after the dealer's get-energon-or-die ultimatum, was far too convenient to be coincidental...
"If you didn't come down here to scrap someone," the mech wondered, focusing suspicious crimson optics on Chopper's apprentice, "why are you here?"
"No reason," the dark green flier replied nonchalantly.
"No, really. Why are you here? A bot like you could go anywhere in Iacon," the mech pointed out. "Why come to the dark-zone? No one here but Empties like me."
"Eh, it's not so bad."
"That's a lie and you know it." The mech instantly froze, consumed by fear. "Did Chopper send you to steal my scrap? Spy on me?"
"Of course n—"
"It all makes sense now! That's what the mumbling was about earlier," the mech cried, pointing an accusing digit at the medic. "You weren't shocked, you were just talking to him on comms!"
"No, no, no! Let me explain," the dark green flier finally cried out. "Yes, I'm here because of Chopper… but not in the way you think."
"Then how?" The mech relaxed slightly, though he was still ready to attack or bolt at any moment.
"Business has been hard lately with the Enforcers snooping around. Just yesterorn, Chopper went to meet with a wealthy client who wanted Seeker parts. Only problem is, she wanted two sets of Seeker parts right away, and… well… you know Chopper." The dark green flier's wings drooped sadly.
The mech nodded. Yes, he knew Chopper all too well.
"He loves his payment, and I guess he thought it was worth more than an apprentice. When he ordered his guards to grab me, I knew it was time to jet out of there. I took all the energon I could carry and decided to lay low for a while." He absently fiddled with an optic from one of the three deactivated Empties. "Maybe I'll go find a new boss in a few decaorns. Someone who won't try to scrap me for some wealthy customer."
As the mech listened, his crimson optics widened in horror. If Chopper was greedy enough to try and scrap his own apprentice, the mech was definitely doomed. Energon cubes or no, it sounded like Chopper was still going to scrap him.
Both mechs gathered up the rest of the important salvage, only to drop everything and spin around when a chuckle boomed behind them.
"Did you really think you could run from us?"
Chopper's guards had them surrounded.
Some units:
orn - day
decaorn - 10 orns / 1 week
vorn - year
megavorn - 1,000,000 years
Chapter co-written by VoidShard, who doesn't have an account on here... yet.
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~VoidStarFire and VoidShard.