Small manic laugh Is it bad I can't stop?! No?! Then I'm gonna keep going! WOO! Hope you all enjoy!
Optimus and the rest of the Autobots had arrived the night before, everyone following the Prime and Prowl as they raced through the port of Monaco, and up into the surrounding hills.
The human staff had been champions, quickly sorting out all the extra rooms that were needed for the unexpected arrivals.
Allowing for those who already had residence to try and deal with the mess that had unfolded.
Derrick was clinging onto Megatronus, with the former warlord practically carrying him around the bunker, nervously pacing the main area as Ratchet, Red Alert and Kia had sequestered themselves away in the Orichiono's shared room in the bunker.
Optimus' energy from the rush to the manor had all bled away now, leaving him to sit propped up against the opposite wall from the berthroom door,
They hadn't spoken, just been present close to each other.
Ironhide was upstairs in the Manor, trying to console Ira once Megatronus had managed to get Soundwave to let the devastated Harpy be, she needed space to process everything that had transpired.
Said TIC was now also in the bunker, but curled up near the lift, quietly conversing with his children, sans Frenzy, whom Kia had asked for Barricade and Bumblebee to bring over from Barcelona.
The youngling was still a few hours out though.
That was looking to be a rather awkward family reunion, but one few gave any attention to at the moment.
Megatrons was about to start another lap of pacing with Derrick when Optimus spoke. "Do you feel anything? Over the bond?" He asked, his helm remaining bowed.
None of them noticed the TIC and his small family looking over to listen as well.
Derrick was the one to speak after a few moments. "We don't… it's just… white noise…" He admitted.
Megatronus continued for him. "Whatever it was that Ira did… they're out of commission… They're still online… but…"
"We have no idea when they're going to wake up… Especially considering… what that… thing… did…" Derrick finished off.
"I… I'm so sorry…"
They all looked over to Soundwave, who was holding his younglings close. "I was… I was a fool… I should have realised returning and trying to find her… I fooled myself into believing she'd be happy to see me…"
Derrick looked up to his brother, and asked quietly to be set down.
After a few moments of hesitance, Megatronus did, setting him down on his own pedes, but that did not mean he let Derrick walk alone over to Soundwave.
With the Twins out of action, his protective urges were flaring sharply within his spark.
Derrick was going to just have to accept having a very intimidating shadow for a while.
Derrick lowered himself as far as his legs would allow that he could still get up from, he looked over Soundwave's younglings, who tried to tuck tighter to their sire, his expression softening. "Hey… love makes people do crazy things… I… have my reasons to be mad at you… but what's happened to my big sisters… I think we can all blame that on all the charged emotions." He explained gently. "I don't blame Ira for this either… this was all one big accident… please, don't beat yourself up for my sisters…"
Soundwave somehow managed to sag further. "I… I was too lost to the idea of… finally having a complete family… after… after we lost their carrier… I was… I was a fool…"
Derrick glanced again at the younglings. "They lost their mum?"
He nodded. "Shrike…"
"Shrike?" He parroted, then looking over to Optimus. "That name's ringing a bell?"
Optimus nodded. "She was one of the two Decepticons that stayed in the Reactor with Solar and Nebular… they were close friends before the war, along with the medic Dust, whom as you know…"
"Barricade's first and Bee's mum… right… wait… you said Bee was a sparkling when they all… you know?" He enquired, then looking back at the younglings. "How come he's an adult and they're still kids?"
Soundwave glanced at them for a moment before answering. "A Senator thought it would be… funny… that our younglings would never grow up… seeing how much I and Shrike had wanted a family…"
His protrusions rested flat against his helm at that. "Oh… I see…" He looked over to Optimus and Megatronus, who both nodded, corroborating the story. "I'm sorry for your… wait…" He glanced to Optimus and Megatronus again, then back to Soundwave. "Did you fall in love with Ira because of any similarities to Shrike?"
The mech went rigid for a moment, and that was all the tell Derrick needed. "Three out of four… maybe even four out of four, seeing as Barricade is dating Kia now… There's direct similarities between my sisters, and the two you two were closest with, whom you're now the closest with. And the same can now be said for both Kia, and Ira."
Even the younglings perked up at that, Ravage speaking up. "That… can't be a coincidence… can it?"
Derrick continued. "And we can all agree unknown forces have been causing certain things to happen, case in point, your possession." He remarked, gesturing to Megatronus, whom nodded, looking over to Soundwave who looked beyond perplexed.
"I will explain later, continue Derrick?"
The Peafowl mech began to pace. "Hmm… That can't be a coincidence… But at the same time… the voices haven't been aggressive with any of them so far… like how you described they were with Nebularburst?" He asked, earning another nod from Megatronus.
Soundwave tried to follow along, as did his younglings, Rumble was the one to speak up. "Voices? What voices?"
Derrick gave a small helm gesture to them, aimed at Megatronus, who took a moment to pull in a long vent. "Nebular and Solar at least, where accosted by voices… they became aggressive when Neb woke up from the attempt on her life… she tried to fight… something… she started to shout until it silenced her… when I reached out to touch her… the world went black… when I came to… vorns had passed… and my sisters in arms were long offline…"
The younglings all stared at him in horrified shock.
"Possession… You were… possessed when you tried to…" Soundwave muttered, feeling sick.
Megatronus had begun staring at his servos during his explanation. "End her…"
Optimus patted his shoulder. "That wasn't you… But it does suggest that… as far as whatever was controlling them at least… they're 'usefulness'… was up…"
Soundwave looked to his younglings, each exchanging their own expressions of horror and disbelief, before he let out a long vent and spoke again, voice quiet. "They've controlled me too…"
Helms snapped around to him at the admission.
Rumble broke the silence. "When?! How?! Why don't you tell us stuff like this Sire!"
The mechs helm shrunk back into his shoulder pauldrons at his own son's admonishment. "When… I was human…" He admitted. "They said I'd have three months… if I wasn't at the opening between the worlds on that day… if I was still there… with Ira in our home… they would have made me…" His frame shook as he tried to pull in another vent. "They would have made me kill her…" He admitted, his expression filled with a flood of grief as he reached up and grasped the sides of his helm. "The cycle I would have learned we were going to have a baby… that was the deadline… They said she would move on… that she'd find happiness again… I didn't know… I didn't realise that the love we shared… that it was potent enough it nearly… killed her anyway…"
Derrick looked around at those who stood before them, each of the adult mechs had each been affected, indirectly or not, by this malicious entity. "Well… shit… They were picked on purpose…"
No one liked that conclusion.
Just how much of their lives, up to this point, was all one big play, operated by something that seemed to practically revel in their misery.
In the Orichiono's room, Ratchet, Kia and Red Alert were all trying to make sense of what they were seeing.
Their spark chamber had been coaxed open, Red Alert had to take a moment to not freak out at their still beating hearts.
Or their completely greyed out sparks.
The sparks were still there, pulsing away, but they had no… well… spark.
Kia cursed, the tendrils of the Allspark refusing to even go near the two intertwined sparks. "Fucking damnit!" She cursed, pulling her wings back. "It won't do anything!" She snapped, glaring at her wings through her visor, a snarl etching her features, then she looked to the twins. "Wake up damnit!" She ordered.
The frame that was somewhat strewn haphazardly in the nest at her knees, didn't even twitch, not even a single flick from one of their protrusions.
Ratchet reached over and rubbed her shoulder pauldron. "It was a good attempt." He offered, they'd already tried to jumpstart them, that hadn't worked, and trying to reboot just came up with strings of error messages.
The frame was completely fine, operating as normal.
But quite simply, no one was home to use it.
It was like the twins had just… vanished.
That beam of light was suspect, had that been the twins? Being torn away from their physical form?
If the CMO was to be honest with himself, he'd admit he wouldn't be surprised if that really was the case.
And it was really starting to look like it was just that.
Red Alert spoke up. "Um… Carrier… what's this… weird sheen on the inside of their spark?" He asked, pointing to the relic.
Both Ratchet and Kia paused, and really paid attention to the relic.
How hadn't they noticed it was no longer imitating a deformed sea urchin?
"Are you…" Kia trailed off, staring at it. "It's inert…"
Ratchet nodded. "It seems that way…"
Kia scowled. "Whatever sentience was in there… doing all that shit to them… it's gone with them… I… do not like what that implies in the slightest."
Ratchet paled at the implication. "It nearly killed them on three seperate occasions now… Primus knows what it could be doing to them…"
Kia nodded, her features set in a firm neutrality. "This seems just like when it first got a hold of them… It won't give them back… until it's done with them… whatever it is…"
Red Alert looked between them both in alarm. "That's bad… isn't it?"
Ratchet looked over to his son with a look of sympathy. "My guess? Very bad."
Red Alert nodded. "I'm going to go find Inferno, he and Sire might need help with Ira…" With that he pushed himself up and walked out, absolutely expecting the bombardment of questions that came at him the moment the door closed behind him.
He raised a servo and they all quieted. "Kia and Ratchet have come to a rough conclusion." He announced.
Optimus had risen from where he was sitting, now mirroring Megatronus as Derrick looked over from where he was still beside Soundwave.
"The relic seems to have… taken their consciousness… We cannot resuscitate… the Allspark is recoiling from them…"
Megatronus blinked, then snarled, fists clenching. "It… has them?" He bit out.
Red Alert didn't flinch at all under the former warlords presence, even as the aura radiating from him became more and more murderous. "Yes. And we have no way of getting them back. We can only hope they will… in time be returned. In what state we do not know…"
Megatronus snarled, turned on the treads of his heel, and stormed away towards the room he'd been allocated. "Do not bother me." He snapped out.
Even Derrick flinched from the sheer weight of venom coming from the towering mech.
Optimus turned his attention back onto Red Alert. "Will you be setting them up on a spark support?"
Red Alert made a face. "That's the thing Prime… their sparks aren't even rotating, the… hearts are still beating, but whatever that relic is… it seems to be providing the support itself… That's why we think they'll come back, the relic is keeping the frame online for their return."
The Prime seemed to sag a bit with relief. "Good… good… What do you plan to do now?" He asked.
"Now? I'm going to go check on Inferno and Sire." Red Alert responded.
Optimus nodded. "Would you mind if I joined you? Holoforms remember."
Red Alert managed to let out a quite huff. "I understand Sir, and thank you."
They were soon in the main living area.
Ira's holoform was curled up in Ironhide's lap, her pale hands clutching to the fabric of the weapons specialist's jacket in a vice like grip.
Keeley was standing on the floor right next to them, having shoved her helm into Ira's lap as far as it could as she chirred quietly, trying to help soothe the Kite Harpy.
Inferno was in the kitchen, reading a cook book and following its instructions to the letter, the front of his holoform covered in flour.
Optimus stepped up to behind the sofa Ironhide, Ira and Keeley were on, carefully tapping his weapons specialists shoulder.
"Prime."
Ira's holoform twitched.
Optimus let out a quiet sigh. "How is she?" Really it was quite obvious how she was doing.
Ironhide rubbed her tense back. "Not good Prime…"
Optimus nodded, coming around the sofa now and sitting next to Ironhide. "Ira… am I allowed to hold you?" He asked.
Ironhide looked at him in surprise for a moment, before Ira's head gave a small bob.
She was carefully passed between them.
She was curled up in a ball, face pressed into her thighs as she clutched her shins.
Optimus settled her in place on his lap and began to rock her from side to side. "They're still online. They'll be awake again in time. No one is holding what happened to you."
After that he was quiet.
Red Alert went to his Sire's other side, silently requesting a hug which he promptly received.
It took a few minutes for her to finally respond. "You should…" She mumbled with a sniff.
He rubbed her back soothingly. "We won't, not now, not ever." He stated gently.
"Bull… shit…"
He knew she wasn't in the mood to think positive, she needed to work through this.
Kaon 138 million years ago, 1,662,650 vorns ago
Heavy pedes lumbered down a half paved street, the grime of a cycles labour sloughing off the giant frames that made their way from the latest construction project.
The group of mechs all had one place they wanted to be.
The spitting neon of a femme beckoning them from above the door led them into the one of the largest bars in the fledgling city.
Each one dropped into their seats, in their booth, one of the serving femmes flitting over to check they all wanted their usuals, each giving a gruff nod of approval.
The leader of the group growled. "You hear about the line they're making to Simfur? They finally cut a tunnel through the Manganese Mountains." He regaled, vocaliser low as his posse listened closer.
His second servo snorted. "Hard not to, the advertisements for the damn thing are all over the place. Only thing clean in this city. Hehe, not for long though…" He remarked sardonically.
The torque of the group had his attention. "Well… don't forget the exceptions~" He purred, watching as the lights of the bar dimmed lower, and two familiar frames strutted onto the stage, to the eager calls and horn blows of their fellow bar goers.
One stepped to the edge for the stage with a shake of her shoulder struts. "Hey there you big strong bastards!" She cheered, earning a roar from the bargoers, earning a denta filled laugh and grin. "You all made it another cycle! Congratulations! Me and my twin are gonna give you yah nightly show to celebrate!"
Another roar as the band, on a smaller secondary stage began to play.
The twin who'd stepped forwards stepped back to her twin as the two went back to back, looking to the crowd as they began to sing, making a show of gyrating their hips together.
My mech is reckless~
Everybot lives in fear~
But he gives me sweet, sweet loving~
And he's sure damn good to me~
Oh he's sure damn good to me~
They stepped apart, swinging on a pede each to face the crowd fully as they caressed their chassis, earning a cheer as the servos dipped low, teasingly down to their narrow waists.
He's the portrait of Unicron~
And I'm underneath his spell~
But he always comes back home to me when he's finished raising pits~
Their grins grew wide as their delighted viewing audience all jammed along, more than a few already fumbling for their panels.
Oh my mech can raise the pits~
Go ahead and judge me~
You better call the Primes~
Tell them there's Unicron inside of me~
They ran their servos right over their abdomen and modesty panelling, some of the less strong willed were already beating their poor spikes.
I don't care if you think I'm wrong or right~
He's a rebel and he's dangerous but he keeps me warm at night~
I'm in love, I'm in love with a bad, bad mech!~
I'm in love, I'm in love with a bad, bad mech!~
They swung around so their afts were to the crowd, swinging their hips in tandem with each other and the beat, the rabble of the crowd hitting another peak of excitement.
My mech is trouble but he's sexy and he's mine~
He can blow slag up yeah, all cycle long~
But I'll always stand by his side~
Yeah I'll stand right by his side~
They spun back around and pointed out into the crowd, landing on an eager mech each, who tried to rise right before those around them tried to replace their spots, two separate brawls breaking out in the crowd as they continued to sing.
Go ahead and judge me~
And tell me that I'm wrong~
Pray for me cause I'm not coming home~
I don't care if you think I'm wrong or right!~
He's a rebel and he's dangerous but he keeps me warm at night~
I'm in love, I'm in love with a bad, bad mech!~
They grabbed each other by the shoulder, a leg each kicking up high and flashing their modesty panelling.
And no, I don't care if you think I'm wrong or right~
He's a rebel and he's dangerous but he keeps me warm at night~
I'm in love, I'm in love with a bad, bad mech!~
I don't care if you think I'm wrong or right!~
One mech took a chance, trying to clamber up onto the stage, each smirked to the other, going down on their knees right in front of the mech, who froze in awe as each took a cheek, caressing the rough texture of his faceplates for that singular moment before those around dragged him back, but they'd both already gotten back up to finish the song.
He's a rebel and he's dangerous but he keeps me warm at night~
I'm in love, I'm in love with a bad, bad mech!~
I'm in love, I'm in love with a bad, bad mech!~
Three joors of performing later, and they were finally able to slip back behind the curtains.
The lighter coloured twin groaned, rubbing her aching throat cables as her vocaliser protested.
No matter how many times they performed, their endurance struggled to last much longer.
The darker twin grumbled in agreement as they trudged to the back of the building the bar took up the front of, then up three flights to stairs.
At least, they would have, had their 'Boss' not come out of his office right in front of them, that smarmy smirk on his face as he looked them both over. "Wonderful performance as always! You made me a killing tonight!" He declared holding up a sack that jingled with Copper Crowns, the only financial tender that anyone who laboured in Kaon earned.
Their optics traced that jingling sack for a moment before the darker twin spoke. "How much of that is going into our debt?"
He grinned. "Patron broke a table, so that's where your cut is going."
The lighter twin reached out across their bond to soothe the quickly rising fury in her twin's spark. "We understand Sir. Enjoy your… earnings." And with that she grabbed her twins wrist and pulled her past him and up the stairs.
The room to their door protested as it was slammed shut behind them.
"THAT RUSTED CRUD SPITTING-" The darker twin started, but her twin's sharp voice cut her off.
"SOL!" She barked, then pointed accusingly at their shared berth to her twin.
Said berth had a shaking mass on it, hidden under a tattered thermal blanket.
The audio finals on her twins helm dropped in immediate regret as she quickly made her way to the floor set berth, kneeling down next to it. "Storm…? Hey, I'm sorry sweetspark, can you come out please?" She asked, tone as soft as she could make it go as the blankets rustled.
A youngling's helm peered out from underneath, his dark blue and brown paint was peeling at the edges but that was hardly a bother for either of them as they jointly picked him up to hold him close. "He took your earnings again… didn't he?" Their little brother asked.
Little brother wasn't exactly accurate, but they'd spotted the youngling getting the wires beaten out of them in the alley behind the building one night.
They'd handled the slagger and been looking after Stormsurge ever since.
Much to their 'Boss's' chagrin, but when the first time he tried to boot Stormsurge back onto the streets, word reached the workers that frequented the bar and they held a boycott of the bar until it stung him in the profits.
He didn't try it a second time.
"He did… over a blasted table… I swear he buys the most brittle sla- tables." Solarstorm corrected herself after her twin shot her look to cut off her curse.
Stormsurge giggled and nuzzled into Nebularburst's chassis. "We'll get out of here eventually, right?"
They both smiled at him, such a youthful innocence, even after everything. "Of course we will. And we'll all find a new place for ourselves, somewhere we can earn a good life." Nebularburst agreed.
"With our own unit, and enough Crowns to our designations to send you to school… not just what we know." Solarstorm added.
A small happy noise left him. "And a Petrohound of our own? A big one? Like those big ones they have in the Mines?"
They both smiled. "Of course, we can get a young one and we can help you train it into a guard pet, and a lap pet." Nebularburst assured. "One with six legs or four?"
He smiled. "Six!"
They all laughed at that, each twin nuzzling his helm with theirs. "Six it will be then!" Nebular cheered.
Stormsurge yawned, and a small cube was offered to them, he pushed it away. "Nuh uh, you didn't top up this morning Sol. That's your ration."
Her gaze was soft as she kept it held to him. "Indeed, it is my ration. And as my ration, I decide who drinks it."
Stormsurge pouted. "Neb?" He tried, hoping to get some back up.
"You're growing fast kiddo. You need it more than we do. I can split my ration with Sol, we'll be okay."
Great, they were of one mind on this subject too.
There was no winning against them, so he relented, and took the cube, sipping it slowly, trying to trick his frame into thinking he was having more than he was, a trick they'd showed him.
It staved off the pains of an empty tank just a bit longer.
Once his systems had something to process, he quickly drifted off, not quite in recharge yet though.
He couldn't slip under just yet, this was his favourite part of the cycle.
When they sung just for him.
They'd started doing it to fend away the night terrors that hounded the back of his processor, and they worked, sometimes.
Nebularburst was the one to start, with Solarstorm humming along for the light background music, tapping out the notes she couldn't make with her vox on the thin armour she wore.
"You fought the good fight~"
"And you thought that you won all of the battles~
"That left you here~"
"The armour your wore~"
"And the shield you held up didn't matter~"
"You still live in fear~"
Nebularburst nuzzled the top of his helm for a moment.
"So where does this leave you?~"
"Where does this stop?~"
"Where do you go from here?~"
"Just look to tomorrow~"
He loved that little high note, it felt so nice on his audios.
"Look straight ahead~"
"Don't be discouraged, don't let them win~"
"There's no use in crying~"
"It's not the end~"
"Don't listen to those monsters in your helm~"
"Oh~"
"The darkness is setting in~"
"You're giving way to the voices~"
"Believing them now~"
"All of the goodness~"
"That once lived inside, now is haunted~"
"Can't find its way out~"
"So where does this leave you?~"
"Where does this stop?~"
"Where do you go from here?~"
"Just look to tomorrow~"
"Look straight ahead~"
"Don't be discouraged, don't let them win~"
"There's no use in crying~"
"It's not the end~"
"Don't listen to those monsters in your helm~"
"Don't listen, no~"
"Don't listen, no~"
"Don't listen, no~"
"Don't listen, no, oh~"
"Just look to tomorrow~"
"Look straight ahead~"
"Don't be discouraged, don't let them win~"
"There's no use in crying~"
"It's not the end~"
"Don't listen to those monsters in your helm~"
"Oh-oh, don't listen, no~"
"There's no use in crying~"
"It's not the end~"
"Don't listen to those monsters in your helm~"
Nebularburst sighed softly as Stormsurge slipped deeper and deeper into recharge.
Once she was sure he was under, she looked to Solarstorm, her expression pained. "I didn't get a cube… that was supposed to go between the three of us…"
Solarstorm nodded. "I know. He needs it more than we do."
Nebularburst reached over Stormsurge's lap and took her twins servo in her own, squeezing it gently. "We'll pay off that debt… eventually."
Solarstorm sighed. "We won't, we both know that. Even if we did, a ticket out of here costs more than a Vorns' wages, a Vorn we'd have to also be paying for lodging, fuel, any repairs... It's one way to Kaon for a reason… They don't want anyone to run away… Indebted forever…"
Nebularburst squeezed her servo a bit tighter. "Hey… We'll be okay… Maybe we'll never get out of here… but we're valuable enough to be kept… maybe some hot shot mine owner decides to buy us and use us a more direct moral boost for their workers in particular? Like what happened to Shimmer…"
"Shimmer snuffed in a mine collapse. Moment the ground started shaking no one thought to grab her…"
Nebularburst hissed inwards as quietly as she could. "Right… forgot about that…"
Solarstorm squeezed her servo back. "We have another busy cycle tomorrow, let's try and get some shut optic, yeah?"
Nebularburst settled into the berth a bit more. "Yeah… Night Sol."
"Night Neb…"
They barely got two joors of rest before a fist was hammering at their door. "Wake up you wastes of space!" The 'Boss' roared from the other side, no doubt waking every bot he owned the debts of.
They all jumped up, Stormsurge yelping quietly in fear as Nebularburst managed to get off the berth and to the door before their 'Boss' could smash the door down and add the cost of fixing it to their debt.
He'd done it twice before to them already.
She tried to plaster on a smile, but she knew full well it looked more like a grimace. "Yes Boss?"
The mech scowled. "My office. The lot of you." He snapped.
He stormed back towards the stairs before she had time to respond.
She looked back into the room where Solarstorm was hugging Stormsurge to her front, both looking worried.
She tried again at the smile, fake and wobbly was the result. "Best not to keep him waiting."
Everybot else on the floor had the sense not to look out their doors as they walked out.
The Office held quite a surprise.
There were two mechs, one three helms taller than the other.
Both were an unspeakably pristine white, barring the dust and grit that was already accumulating on their pedes.
They had wings too, both sets folded down against their backs.
You never saw Vosians in Kaon. Never.
Both turned to look at the Twins and their ward as they arrived.
The 'Boss' went to speak, but was interrupted by the larger of the two. "Well hello there, just the femmes we wanted to see!" He exclaimed. "My Designation is Trailforce. This is my travelling companion Valourwing." He introduced, gesturing to the other equally stark white mech, who just gave a small nod, his expression the definition of neutral.
Stormsurge looked up at the two mechs in awe. "Are you from Iacon?!" He asked, not even noticing how Solarstorm's servo tensed on his shoulder pauldron.
Trailforce answered with a laugh.
Nebularburst felt along her bond with her twin, that laugh, it felt… artificial.
Trailforce looked to Stormsurge and smiled. "Indeed we are. And you are their ward…" He trailed off, waiting for Stormsurge to answer for him.
"Stormsurge!"
"Stormsurge! Wonderful! So, which one is Nebularburst, and which one is Solarstorm?"
Nebularburst stepped forwards. "I'm Nebularburst."
Trailforce beamed. "Wonderful."
He reached into his subspace then, and pulled out a satchel that clinked and clanged with Primus only knew what.
It was dropped on the 'Boss's table, and an Iaconian Crown slipped out, resting innocently on the desk.
Their 'Boss' gawked at it as much as they did.
A single Iaconian Crown could buy the entire building they stood in, and the three on either side.
And this mech had just… dropped an entire bag on the desk like they were worth nothing.
Trailforce started talking. "That should be enough to purchase their debt, correct?"
Solarstorm tried to speak. "That's way too-"
"That's just enough! Pleasure doing business with you! They're all yours!" The 'Boss' interrupted, pulling out three pads from his subspace. "Their debts are right here. This should compensate me finding new performers worth what they are."
Trailforce wasn't even paying attention to the mech. "A pleasure doing business to you too. Come along now you little Kaonites, it's time we got moving. And don't worry, I'll have Valourwing collect anything from your residence. They will be dropped off at your new apartment in time." He stated, putting away their debts into his own subspace and shepherding them back out of the office with his arms.
They were all too stunned to even argue.
They'd all just been… sold…
For Iaconian Crowns.
Before they knew it they were at the train station.
Really their shock didn't wear off until Valourwing dropped the very same satchel onto the table in front of them, the bag now flecked with splattered energon.
They sat on one bench, the two mechs sat on the other facing them across the table as the train started to pull away from Kaon.
"Wonderful job my friend. Did you leave enough for the local constable?"
Valorwing just nodded.
"Wonderful."
Solarstorm gulped, then spoke. "Sir… where is that energon… from?"
Trailforce just grinned at her. "Why from your former debt owner. He made the mistake of tricking us into paying nearly four hundred times what your debt still carries. By law, such a scam is punishable by being snuffed. Valourwing took care of things so don't worry about your pretty little helms at all."
They were silent for a time before Nebular spoke. "Sir… why did you buy us?" She asked.
Trailforce smiled at her. "Quite simple really. We want you to take part in a study. You see, split spark twins are incredibly rare. But the Prime has just been blessed with split spark mechlings. He has ordered that a full understanding of your condition be obtained so that the future duo of Primes will have a long and healthy rule." He stated.
Solarstorm and Nebularburst looked at each other in surprise. "We hadn't heard about that."
Trailforce shrugged. "Kaon rarely gets any news at all, no one there with the crowns to pay for the service."
"Ah, right." Nebularburst conceded.
"Now, I'm no Scientist, I'm just one of the volunteers that have been sent out to collect split spark twins such as yourself. Valorwing is my body guard. He is very well trained in the dispatching of any aggressor, so worry not, you will be perfectly safe during our long journey back to Iacon." He stated.
A long journey indeed.
Luckily, it was catered.
Each was given cubes bigger than even the largest labourers received, something they expressed, their tanks simply weren't large enough to ingest all that was offered to them.
In the end, they were still each slowly sipping away at the cubes when the train stopped at the Hydrax plateau.
A Spaceport was being constructed here, where the height of the plateau made the stars just that easier to reach.
Stormsurge was clambered over Solarstorms legs to press his faceplates to the window. "They're huge!" He exclaimed, pointing to a truly gargantuan hull that was being constructed.
Trailforce laughed. "Indeed it is. Prime and Council alike are putting a lot of their personal treasuries into this new fleet. After that nasty war with the Undreki, our fleet has needed a substantial overhaul."
Valorwing got up then, as did Trailforce. "Come along now you three. The mech pulling us won't be leaving Hydrax until next cycle. I have a hotel booked not far away." He stated.
They followed him off the train, looking down to the massive mech who had been the forward locomotive, his frame being doused in coolant as his frame was cooled by station workers.
Solarstorm held Stormsurge's servo so he wasn't tempted to wander off while they followed Trailforce, having to use the wheels on their pedes to keep up with his much larger stride.
The hotel wasn't some glitzy place, but it was a staggering pole vault of a leap up from the building that had claimed to be a hotel two doors down from their own residence.
For one thing when they stepped through the sliding doors, a new novelty itself, they were blasted by a warm gust of scented air that threatened to make their optics lubricate.
The receptionist took one look at them, grimaced, and then looked to Trailforce, who was wiping the filth off of his pedes. "Good cycle Sir, do you have a booking?"
Trailforce sauntered over to the reception desk. "As a matter of fact I do~ Now tell me, what's a darling little femme like you doing stuck behind this tall thing?~" He enquired, showing off the data pad that had their apparent room booking on.
The femme giggled. "Well I'm doing my job~" She replied as she punched in the reference code. "Level three, rooms 302 and 304, they'll be right next to each other…" She then looked back at the twins and Stormsurge. "The hot solvent is on cycle round. I recommend a nice, long, soak."
Trailforce laughed. "Oh don't mind them, just bought them in Kaon. They'll behave themselves, I assure you of that~"
The femme giggled.
Solarstorm muted a groan.
Of course this high flyer from Iacon was going to flirt around.
If anything reached Kaon from Iacon, it was that it was rampant with indecency hidden behind closed doors.
Apparently there were some lesser known squares in the city with statues that were just plain pornographic.
Nebularburst walked up to the desk and grabbed one of the key cards, beckoning the other two to follow.
She looked back and paused, realising someone was missing. "Where's Valorwing?"
Trailforce seemed to ignore them entirely.
Seeing as they weren't going to get any answers, they headed for their room.
The moment the door to the room was closed behind them, Solarstorm and Nebularburst nudged Stormsurge into the wash racks, much to his complaint.
"Wash. You're covered in grit and grime." Solarstorm stated, leaving no wriggle room.
Stormsurge groaned but relented.
Once they heard the solvent flowing, the twins looked to each other. "This is insane…" Nebularburst hissed over the bond.
"I know. But we can't exactly go back. He owns us. Besides, being beggars in Iacon is surely better than being beggars in Kaon if we can't find employment after this study."
"Bah, I hate when you're right sometimes…"
Solarstorm patted her twins shoulder pauldron. "It's going to be okay… we'll figure this out."
"Yeah. Together. Three of us against Cybertron."
They exchanged a carefully hopeful smile and hugged quickly.
The world shattered, they were wrenching their helm back from the icy pool they were in, their frame recoiling away as they tried to hug themselves.
Their vents heaved as they tried to come to terms with what they had just witnessed… who they had just… been…
A booming voice came from behind them. "You're finally done? About time."
Before they can react, a vice grip is around their neck, squeezing.
It burned. The touch burned like a hot iron… they tried to scream, but nothing came out, their throat clamped shut.
Their optics go wide as they panic, they try and get free, their wings as useless as their kicking talons.
They were being dragged away from the pool.
They were too panicked to take in where they were…
Another voice bellowed from where they were being dragged to. "PRIMA! YOU BASTARD!"
The one dragging them scoffed. "Not now Solus. You can be emotional some other time. I am dealing with the vessel."
"Like the Pits you are!"
They couldn't see what happened until there was a clash of frames, the mech. Prima, dropping their throat to stop his helm from meeting the business end of a massive hammer.
Solus snarled up at him. "You have done enough damage! Every time! Every time we must convene with those that Primus chose, you ruin it! You make them hate us! Do you not realise the grief you cause?!"
They managed to get onto their knees, facing the conflict before them.
They were solid, mech and femme, the mech loomed over the femme, but it was evident that they matched each other in strength.
Prima scowled. "Every one of them has been a nightmare. They refuse orders. They bite, kick, scream, and try to resist us. I will not allow such folly from chosen vessels."
"Because every time they come here, you beat them! And you control them! You've become a monster! I will not stand to have you ruin these ones!"
Another voice spoke up then, a somehow even larger mech, with broad shoulders and horns reminiscent of a long horn cow adorning his helm. "She is not alone in this opinion brother."
"Be silent Liege. Your opinion is not needed."
A smaller mech stepped out behind the larger. "No Prima. We all came to an agreement. This is not your role anymore. We will not stand for it. Solus will handle these Vessels."
"Micronus, I swear, by our Sire…"
They are done just sitting and listening, onto unsteady pedes they rose, and kicked out the back of his leg.
He goes down with a startled noise, and Solus' hammer is suddenly held aloft, ready to slam down upon his helm.
She is not the only one with weapons drawn now.
Prima snarls, looking upon the brothers that are joining his sister in this sudden coup, after a moment he seems to make a decision. "Very well. I yield."
The weapons do not go away until he had stormed away.
Solus sagged, returning her hammer to its holster over her shoulders. "I'm so sorry you had to witness that…" She apologised, holding out her servos. "He won't hurt you. We'll keep you safe… as we should have with all the others…"
They looked at her in trepidation. "You have a lot of explaining to do…" Aria managed to mumble.
"We know. Come, there is a place we can sit and talk. You've been left in the dark long enough."
They all began to walk away, towards a massive structure, it looked… ancient, no surprise there.
After a moment of internal debate, they followed.
Hopefully they'd be able to explain why they were face down in that pool…
Being… them…
Both songs in this chap are by Kari Kimmel 'Bad Bad Man' and 'Monsters in your head' I have the whole album saved but those two are favourite because they fitted here.
Anyway, quite the developments here too!
Until next time!
Moon.
