Ch. 198

Breakdown scowled to himself as he stumbled, his ped caught up in a tangling cluster of tree roots and vines. He attempted to kick the plant life off from his limb, hopping around unceremoniously, and was not surprised when his actions sent him crashing into the cave forest floor. He grumbled.

"Hey!" he shouted ahead, sitting up and tugging the roots and vines off, "We've been walking for over an hour! You sure you saw something, Smokey?"

The white mech nodded, "I know I did. I'm not sure what it was, but it is there. This jungle's just... causing more problems than I thought."

Optimus stopped Knockout and Smokescreen from journeying further, giving Breakdown the opportunity to catch up once he could stand, "Agreed, Smokescreen. The organic life down here has adapted to spread and climb as rapidly as possible in search of light. It is no wonder we have been struggling to reach our destination."

Knockout huffed quietly, "If it's even there..."

"Are you doubting me?" Smokescreen growled.

The medic glared back, "I'm thinking that I'm exhausted and underutilized on this search party. So yes, I'm doubting you."

Optimus stepped forward to block the two mech's gazes before Smokescreen could retort, his voice gentle but firm, "We are close to the far wall of this cave," he announced, "and whether or not there is something there for us to investigate, this mission will be deemed complete after we have thoroughly traversed this cavern. I understand that we have been away from the Harbinger and the rest of our team but we must press on."

Knockout wordlessly walked passed the Prime to 'press on'. He was only continuing on the slim chance that the white bot was right. On that slim chance that this would eventually become something that would help them get Starscream back. He missed the seeker, mostly the little fights they would have, but he also liked teasing him and just generally making sure Megatron didn't have him. That was probably a big part of it...

The medic could hear his fellow travelers behind him, probably giving him some distance as a courtesy... or maybe they just weren't as agile as he was. The red mech was looking ahead as far as his optics would allow him in what little light they already had. And the sun would be going down soon. Then they would be in this stupid cave in the dark.

"Hey, got a sec?"

Knockout rolled his optics, sighing, "Breakdown, I'm really not in the mood."

The larger mech smirked, "Yeah, seems none of us are. But we're not gonna give up, ok? Even if this one doesn't work out. Smokescreen saw something though, right? That's the important bit. Whether or not we can use it becomes the hard part. Ok?"

Knockout couldn't hold back a small smile. Leave it to his favorite bot to make him feel better.

He shrugged, "Alright, Breakie, point taken. Even so, I might need you to carry me once we make it to the cave wall. I'm tired."

Breakdown chuckled, "Sure, doc, I always got you."

"Well..." Smokescreen sighed heavily, "here we are... the wall..."

The rest of the group tiredly responded back with soft grumbles, Optimus the only one to speak, "Our trek is not yet over. We must still inspect the rock for any signs of unnatural activity."

Knockout was quick to hold in a negative comment. He instead took out his shock prod and sparked it to life, holding it over his helm for light in the near pitch black as the sun's rays quickly began to dissipate into the dusk. The red mech was concentrating on his intakes as he began inspecting the rock before him to search for any signs of abnormality. The only reason why he was stopping himself from whining or griping any further was because of his very small internal flutter of hope; hope that this would be the end of their long search and hope that it would lead to their ultimate next step: saving Starscream.

He felt a presence following behind him but was somewhat surprised when it wasn't the mech's voice he was expecting, "I know how you feel..." came Smokecreen's quiet murmur, his optics scanning the wall alongside the medic, "Optimus and I, we waited under the Nemesis for a long time thinking maybe we could storm the ship ourselves to save him. We were right there... but it wasn't the right time. We would've just been two less in this war... so... I get it. You're exhausted, frustrated, I'm gonna guess as scared and put off by whatever the future holds ahead and this seems like a waste of time..."

Knockout hummed back gently, "Yes. To all of that."

"Which is why I wouldn't have said anything if I hadn't seen something," Smokescreen assured him, "I swear, I know something is here. Whether it helps or not is another story..."

Knockout sighed heavily as he let his arm fall back down to his side, his shock prod illuminating the ground. He felt a well of emotions surge from his spark to his optics and struggled to keep the obvious forming tears from falling. He'd hardly had the time to process everything they'd gone through in the past week and half. No one had had the time. So to pause even now felt like he was wasting the closing window of opportunity that the rest of his team was working so hard to exploit.

Smokescreen must have picked up on Knockout's distress because he began to reach out when the red mech suddenly gasped in shock. The scout backed away with the medic, Knockout's form shaking as his prod moved quickly back and forth to light the ground. Whatever he was seeing Smokescreen knew he was missing.

Breakdown was suddenly behind them, his servos outstretched to catch Knockout when his trembling legs could no longer support him.

"Oh holy Primus," he whimpered, his optics wide and bright, "Oh holy Primus, oh holy fragging Primus..." he kept murmuring.

Optimus came up next and looked upwards with a hard squint; after what felt like an eternity, the Prime whispered slowly and quietly, "... Knockout... is it safe to enter... where it is exposed...?"

The medic was panting slowly and heavily to calm himself, "Y-yes... I think I can lead us in..."