"'Course they attack a race! It's always the fraggin' races!"


Look and Listen Book 1

There's a Reason

Chapter 5: Off Track

Rating: PG-13 (violence/gore, physical disabilities, light language)

Major Characters: Wheelie, Daniel, Jazz, Tracks, Surprise Guest(s)

POV: Wheelie

Teams: Wheelie + Daniel. Hound + Rocksteady. Tracks + Raoul. Jazz + Poplock. Bumblebee + Spike. Arcee + Carly. Bluestreak + Chip.


*Hound and Rocksteady, Tracks and Raoul, and Jazz and Poplock are making their way toward the Slope!* Chip narrates over the comm. links as he and Bluestreak struggle to stay ahead of Arcee and Bumblebee.

Daniel grinds his teeth and grips the wheel tight enough to make Wheelie uncomfortable. A few little jerks of it from the Mini-Bot and the organic loosens his grip, only to tighten it again after a few seconds of staring down Jazz's taillights. Eventually, Wheelie just decides to deal with it; Danny was stubborn just like his old man. And considering the grumbling and curses from Bumblebee heard over the comm.s, as well as the occasional 'Would you loosen your fraggin' hands?!', that's where Danny'd also gotten his grip from.

The orange-plated Mini-Bot feels his wheels shifting as Daniel steers him up the steep Slope- they pass both Tracks and Jazz, who look like they're having trouble going up it and slide backward a little with every few feet they progress. Their alts definitely weren't made for the sand. But Hound's Jeep mode and Wheelie's Quintessonian car-mode weren't having much trouble at all. Wheelie also had the advantage of having lived in a desert for...how long...? A couple Earth-years at least.

"Floor it Wheelie!" Daniel shouts- only to get words thrown back at him over the Mini-Bot's dash-screen.

'Frag no. Are you stupid?'

"I...- Hey! Come on! You wanna win this or not?!"

'Lived in a desert long enough to know you can't just 'floor it' going up a dune.'

"...Oh yeah. Right...sorry buddy."

If it wasn't for the size of Wheelie's engine, it would've been giving an impressive growl as he tore up the sand on his way up the dune, his tires spraying it back at a severely annoyed Tracks and Jazz who were still struggling. Over Wheelie's comm., the Mini-Bot and his passenger can hear a mixture of laughing, muttering, and cursing from different racers as they fall behind the two best built for the sand: Hound and Wheelie.

*The kids're beatin' all of you!* the old mech laughs over the comm.s, Rocksteady and Daniel joining in. Wheelie just honks.

*Zip it!*

*Shut up, Hound!*

*Shut up,

all of you!*

Daniel rolls his eyes and just keeps steering his partner until they reach the top of the dune, then he takes a sharp left. ...Only to have Hound throw up a bunch of sand at the much smaller 'bot. Danny accidentally swerves the wheel and Wheelie tries to catch himself before they ended up sliding to the bottom of the dune. "Agh... Sorry buddy!"

'Just get us in the right direction frag it!'

"Uh...hasn't Kup been tryin' to get you to stop cussi-..."

'Blurr.' The mech's dash-screen beats the human before he's able to finish with a correction. 'Kup gave up years ago.'

"Oh. Right."

Awkward silence ensues, filled only by the Mini-Bot's engine.

Chip's voice over the comm.s also penetrates the quiet after a while. *Hound's keeping stubborn hold of the lead with Wheelie in a distant second and Jazz quickly catching up! This's gonna end up a close-... Wait...what's that? Wait! Wait! Racers, get off the frickin' track!*

Daniel doesn't move his hands, so Wheelie instinctively takes control and swerves right before a barrage of fire can meet him head-on. The Mini-Bot does a one-eighty and takes off in the opposite direction- it looks like he's ready for a collision course with the racers who'd been behind him. He honks his horn frantically and feels Danny's hands tightening uncomfortably on his wheel in panic- nothing he can do about it unfortunately.

The others get the mute mech's message and all make tight turns so they can head in the opposite direction- then they scatter. Each Autobot takes full control of their steering and shifting as they split from each other to make it harder for their attackers to take them all out. Over the comm.s, they can hear a transformation sequence, then Jazz's voice and clanging metal. *'Course they attack a race! It's always the fraggin' races!* That immediately tells them who their attackers were- as if they didn't at least have a hunch before. Decepticons. Frag... *Get the humans somewhere outta the...argh...the battle. NOW!* the SIC orders, growling as he tussles with whatever 'con he'd met up with.

Multiple answers of affirmative answer from 'bots and organics alike. Engines roar and blaster fire rings out. The well-trained 'bots remain at least somewhat calm- with the exception of Bluestreak shouting and yelping as he tries to drive to a good spot he could snipe from and also keep Chip safe and Bumblebee cursing and driving in donuts of varying sizes.

Over the comm.s, the others can hear what sounds like a crash and then a groan from Rocksteady. *Dammit!* Jazz shouts- again they hear the SIC transforming, but this time into his alt. mode, and he takes off- probably in the direction of Hound if Wheelie was to guess.

The first thought that keeps replaying in the Mini-Bot's processors are that he needs to get Danny away from the track, and then he needs to come back after that to help his fellow Autobots. Hound was already down and Jazz wouldn't be available until he at least got the older mech a field patch until First Aid was able to-... Wheelie slams his brakes and starts sliding a little ways just at Tracks, in his vehicle mode, flips over Wheelie's hood- just barely missing landing on top of the Mini-Bot as he's thrown to the side and bounces in the sand after he lands because of the force that'd been used. The orange Quint-car backs up as quickly as he's able to when he catches sight of Astrotrain in his root mode, making a B-line straight for Tracks- who's currently stuck upside down and still in his vehicle mode. His driver's side window is cracked, Wheelie notes. His thoughts immediately drift to whether Raoul was still in there or not. Tracks' communications were out, so he couldn't hear whether the human was still there or not.

The triple-changer Decepticon Astrotrain picks up the flight-capable car, servo gripping Tracks' hood hard enough for his digits to start denting it and making the mech cry out as his hood's crushed. Daniel shouts from in Wheelie's cab when Astrotrain digs his digits into the older mech's driver's side door and wrenches it of. It earns another cry, and also reveals the mech's unconscious passenger Tracks holds into the seat stubbornly with the seat belt. The 'con sneers and tosses the mech so that he hits the ground hard for the second time- this time around, Raoul's thrown out and doesn't move when he hits the sand.

Wheelie's frozen in place at the sight, not knowing whether to try helping or to get Danny to safety first- he only moves because Daniel takes control of his wheel and pedals and steers him toward Bluestreak and Chip's location. 'Announce over the fragging comm.s that Tracks needs help immediately!' the Mini-Bot orders over his dash-screen at his partner after regaining his thought-process.

"You got it, buddy! Jazz? Bee? Arcee? Tracks really needs help right now! Raoul was just thrown out and Tracks' hood's partly crushed and driver's side door was pulled off. Don't know their current situation- headed toward Bluestreak now."

Arcee answers the call right away. *I'm on it!*

Wheelie races across the sand, taking full control again. He needed to get Danny to safety, then he needed to come right back here and help out as much as he could. Agh...where'd Bluestreak gone? Wheelie swore he jus-... A large hand grabs his hood and flips the Mini-Bot. The survivalist is in the air before he even realizes what had happened. He feels himself turning, spinning, through the air; feels Daniel holding his wheel in a death-grip and trying to stay in his seat even when gravity tries to pull him out of it and toward Wheelie's canopy. The Mini-Bot tightens his harness around Danny's chest at the last possible second, and then he hits the sand on his right side. Daniel groans when he hits his head on the dash, and then he just hangs in his seat after being taken by unconsciousness.

Wheelie starts honking frantically to try getting another 'bot's attention. He couldn't transform with Danny strapped into his cab unconscious, and he couldn't right himself while on his side in the fragging sand either.

He hears an engine and starts revving his own until Bumblebee comes into view. His fellow Mini-Bot speeds his way, then transforms and slides through the sand- stopping right before he reaches the Quint-car. The yellow buggy grunts and turns Wheelie over back onto his wheels, then Wheelie's hatch pops open and harness releases Daniel. Bee blinks a second, then carefully scoops the human out- finally letting the survivalist transform and ready his slingshot. Bumblebee runs with the injured human before Wheelie can even lift his free hand to sign something- the slightly smaller orange Mini-Bot doesn't move for a second until he's sure Danny'd be safe, then he lets his engine growl and takes off in the direction of the closest blaster fire.

His run doesn't last long before the ground starts to shake under his pedes. The sand shifts all around him and Wheelie nearly falls back on his aft before digging his toes into the ground beneath him. His engine growls again and arms virtually windmill so he can keep his balance.

An earthquake? Now of all ti-...

Oh.

Wait.

...That isn't good.

He hears it. The ground starts splitting, groaning, the sand sounding like rain as it falls, falls, falls- devoured by the gaping mouth in the ground that grows larger with each second. The Mini-Bot bares his chipped dentia and loses his balance so that he falls forward and lands on his knees. He spreads his digits out and keeps flat palms to the ground, cringing a little as sand gets into the sensitive seams.

Bright, crystal colored optics look up and follow the line that is the crack in the ground until they meet the bloody red eyes of a bluish armored Mini-Bot. The 'con smirks and then finally lifts his arms to stop the ground's quaking- pile-drivers transforming back into arms. The mech takes one of his blasters off his back and starts firing in Wheelie's direction- the orange mech just growls and throws himself into a somersault to avoid being hit.

He'd been shot once. It wasn't going to happen again.

Wheelie hits his knees when he finishes his roll- as soon as he does, he's got a pellet ready and fitted into his weapon. He barely aims for more than five seconds before releasing the pellet and immediately fitting another into the pouch just as the 'con yelps and grabs his left arm.

"Hey Auto-brat! Come an' fight me like a real mech!" the Mini-Con taunts after brushing some energon off his arm where the pellet had hit.

Rumble. Always such a cocky little hellion...

The petite warrior narrows his optics and rises to his pedes slowly, keeping his slingshot at the ready. He and Rumble start taking slow steps toward each other, both aiming their weapons at vital points on the other's frames: Wheelie at Rumble's exposed neck, and Rumble at Wheelie's head. One step. A second. A third. The survivalist sees the other Mini-Bot's trigger-finger twitch. His optics narrow, and then he dives right before the Decepticon pulls the trigger and shoots the spot he'd been standing just a few seconds ago.

Rumble cusses while the Autobot (naturally) stays quiet. The Quint-car's expression is hard to read- even in his narrowed optics. Wheelie'd always been good at suppressing his emotions when he wanted to- alarminglygood at it sometimes. He simply glares down his opponent without so much as twitching. He'd gotten pretty good at that on Quintessa, too. Sharkticons had more trouble noticing something that wasn't moving after all.

The orange armored mech waits... He waits... And then he jolts forward like a sudden storm, barreling into the Mini-Con with a roar from his engine and a loud clanging of metal. Both mechs find themselves hitting the sand and tumbling away from the gaping crevice in the earth's surface as they grapple, trying to get hold of each other's weapons. They claw at optics, reach for throats, and batter dents into each other with fist and pede.

Wheelie's right hand finds his opponent's left shoulder, so he forces his digits under the thick plating there until he's able to feel wiring. He starts pulling at it, which causes sparking and makes energon and oil start running down the 'con's arm- a cry splits Rumble's vocoder as a response. The blue mech throws his head forward, and as soon as their foreheads meet Wheelie sees stars. The younger mech falls back into the sand, dizzied by the blow from the more thickly armored Decepticon. The Mini-Cassette only sneers and moves over the 'bot, wrapping his surprisingly strong hands around Wheelie's neck. Rumble's thumbs press into the old scars on the Mini-Bot's throat, where a vocoder used to set, and Wheelie huffs out a choked vent as the grip gradually starts tightening to cut off the energonflow to his head. The 'bot lifts his chin and grabs Rumble's wrists, trying to pry the 'con's hands off his neck with no such luck.

When he keeps struggling, the blue armored mech knees him roughly in the abdomen. The action almost makes Wheelie purge, but the digits around his neck stop him from actually being able to get anything up. The orange mech bares his dentia in a silent snarl at his opponent when he's able to regain his senses, and he tightens his own hands on the 'con's wrists until the gears start creaking from tension.

Rumble growls and releases Wheelie's neck before his wrists could be broken- but he doesn't fully get up until after throwing a hard punch at the left side of the younger mech's jaw so that it cracks. The Mini-Cassette backs up a few steps, now holding his injured shoulder with a cold glint in his red optics.

Wheelie staggers to his own pedes the second he's able to, rubbing at his neck with one hand and his misaligned jaw with the other.

Even though the 'con stands with his arms pulled against himself so that he can cradle his injured one (because apparently squeezing another mech's neck strained the shoulder) it's still clear in his stance that he's ready to continue fighting. "Come on puny mech! What are ya? A sparkling?! Ha! Why don't ya go an' cry back to your carrier."

Wheelie rolls his optics and makes a 'blah-blah-blah' motion with his hand that anyone could recognize- it immediately makes the short fuse of a 'con upset. He aims his white blaster at the survivalist again while holding his left arm against his chest- Wheelie flips his slingshot around so that he's no longer holding the handle that was also the barrel of his gun. He aims it at Rumble, lowering his hand that had still been on his jaw. For now he wouldn't be able to open his mouth until First Aid was able to fix it.

*Autobots: fall back!* Jazz orders over the comm.s right before grunting in pain and then transforming.

The Mini-Bot blinks. Already? Hadn't it just started?

Never mind that. It was a direct order from his superior for them to get outta there.

Wheelie gets ready to transform and race away from his opponent- but then he hears Tracks and it distracts his attention. He glances back over his shoulder to see the mech now in his primary mode, battered and beaten, but dueling with Astrotrain alongside Arcee. One of his optics is offline, chest-panel partially caved in, one arm almost completely stripped of its armor, and one of his wings broken and laying off to the side of where they fight. He looks furious, however, and doesn't seem to want to back down to get out of the fight as ordered by the SIC. The young soldier grimaces as Astrotrain's fist meets the older mech's already battered chest, knocking Tracks to the ground and out cold.

"Wheelie!" He blinks when he hears Bluestreak call his name. He turns toward the voice...

...And immediately sees Rumble's pile-driver leveled with his head. Wheelie's optics widen and the 'con just smirks.

He doesn't even have time to flinch before it's lights out.