Enjoy Your Accomodations

This is where our lives really begin. I mean, we remember everything before -- the foundry, the streets and all -- but it's vague by comparison. Almost like our whole lives were a dream before we woke up there, in the Pit.

For a few days we were alone in that little cell. No one else came to see us, not even Clench (not that we complained). We did have plenty of energon. One of the guards fed us through a slot in the door... gave us a little bowl too, so they could collect waste and throw it out. Humiliating, but not like we were gonna refuse. The place didn't have a receptacle.

Anyway, we slept a lot. Not much else to do, plus our bodies would repair faster that way. We didn't really have anything to talk about, so when we weren't in recharge we just held each other or sat staring into space and thinking. I fidgeted a lot, tried to scratch my name on the walls out of boredom. Spin wouldn't leave his dents alone. Kept trying to pop them out or rub off the scrapes. I told him it wouldn't do any good, and he just scowled at me. He'd always been vain, but seeing it like this, after everything we'd been through, sort of worried me. Like it was becoming a compulsion or something.

Must've been close to a decacycle 1 before we saw Clench again. I'm ashamed to admit, as soon as the door opened and we saw him standing there, we both freaked. Did a pretty good job not showing it though. But all he did was tell us to follow him...

- - - - -

The cuffs itched. They were electrified, same as the collars, and Sideswipe kept fidgeting with them even though he tried not to. The twins followed Clench at as much of a distance as he would allow. Spin-Out was watching him constantly, wary of an attack, or perhaps looking for an opportunity to try one himself. Sideswipe really hoped he wouldn't do something stupid. Keeping one optic on his brother and Clench, he tried to look around as they walked. There wasn't much to see, as the hallways were a brighter-lit version of the room they'd been living in. The lights looked recently installed, and the dingy floor and walls showed some signs of polishing and maintenance, unlike their cell. It looked like the place had been abandoned for some time, then taken over and turned into some kind of... lair was the only word that came to mind.

It did not reassure him. Still, any sight outside of the four walls they'd gotten used to was interesting at this point. Running away was out of the question with the collars and the thugs they glimpsed here and there acting as guards, but Sideswipe kept an eye out for possible escape routes anyway.

"So," he asked casually after a minute, bracing himself for another shock, "where are we going?"

Clench seemed to ignore him for a minute. Then he stopped at a door and keyed it open, gesturing inside. "In there. Move," he added as they hesitated.

Between facing that tone and facing the unknown door... the twins entered cautiously. The room they found themselves in was much larger than the one they had left, and filled with long tables arranged in rows under banks of harsh, directed lights. The tables gleamed dully, their surfaces worn and dull with either age or neglect, darkened here and there as if with oil stains that had never been scrubbed completely off. More stains patterned the floor if one looked closely enough, though it was probably best not to. One of the central tables was laid out with rows of tools, polished to an immaculate gleam, in contrast to everything around them. Their keen glittering edges, the omnipresent stains, the cruel lights, and the tables with their ominous-looking restraining devices gave the whole place a sinister feel. Sideswipe felt chilled just being here, as if coolant were seeping into his Core.

He looked at Spin nervously, but Spin was watching something else. A strange mech was coming toward them around the corner of a row of tables. He was short and wiry and studied the twins with a glowing yellow visor in place of optics, mouth quirked into a sort of amused sneer. Sideswipe's inner chill became an arctic blast when he glanced at the mech's hands -- they were long and articulated, almost claw-like, and stained in the same way the tables were, with what looked a lot like dried oil and droplets of spent energon. He quickly forced his optics away.

"These are your latest... acquisitions?" The mech spoke in an odd hissing tone, still smiling at the twins in that unsettling way as he directed the question at Clench. "Where did you find them, I wonder?"

"Picked 'em up off the streets. Hammerfall gave me the tip." Clench spoke brusquely, and it was obvious to the twins that even he didn't like this mech much. "He set a pretty price, too, so you'd better tell me they were worth it."

"Oh, I should think so, but we'd better be sure, hadn't we?" Chuckling, the little mech fished up some kind of battered handheld scanner and began waving it slowly around at the twins. Sideswipe shot a look at Clench.

"It's just a medical exam," the truck snapped. "Quit cowering and let Hacksaw do his job."

Medical? Sideswipe studied the smaller 'bot incredulously. He sure doesn't look like a medic.

He tried not to wince too noticeably as Hacksaw grabbed his arm. The oil-stained claws were surprisingly strong as they pinched, testing the metal. "Hm." The mech considered, his manner now professional. "A bit under-armored, but that is to be expected. Will need reinforcing." He was talking to Clench, ignoring Sideswipe completely; Sideswipe bristled at being treated like an object, but one look at Clench with his finger ready on the "shock button" made him grit his jaw and bear it.

Hacksaw moved on to his joints, twisting and bending them just shy of hurting, under close scrutiny. "Need to be cleaned... still, not gummed as bad as I usually see." He went on, wrenching at Sideswipe's armor plates to see how firmly they were attached, poking hard at some of his dents, then grabbing his head and pulling it forward to inspect the helm. Every instinct in the red twin's body was screaming at him to resist and he clenched his fists to keep the fidgeting to a minimum. He didn't look, but he knew his brother was watching like a hawk and just waiting for a cue to jump in. "They look a bit battered," Hacksaw continued after a moment, "but I don't see any lasting damage resulting from these dents. Your handiwork, Clench, I take it?"

The bigger 'bot snorted. "They needed some convincing. Temperamental kids. Especially the yellow one."

"Hm. Well, this one appears healthy enough given circumstances. Still recovering from long-term energon depletion -- I'd recommend giving them a little 'something' to kick-start their systems. I can supply you with a mix that will do the trick." Finished with manhandling one twin, he let him go and turned to his brother. "Now, this other one..."

Sideswipe felt Spin-Out's tension across their link like a strained cable, and silently willed him to keep still.

"This one's taken some heavier damage, though his armor seems to be a bit thicker. Same condition of energon depletion... they both show remarkable powers of recuperation. With training, those will improve." He moved from testing Spin-Out's armor strength to inspecting his helm, still talking to Clench. "They're a handsome pair, too. If anything, perhaps a bit too pretty... that won't last long, you know."

"It will as long as it pays," retorted Clench. "More 'bots come to see a mech that's easy on the optics."

"True, true." Noticing Spin-Out's healing leg injury, Hacksaw scanned it, then prodded it with a claw. "And a pair of attractive twins... well. I would say you got more worth than you paid for--"

Whether it was the subject of conversation and uneasy connotations it conjured up, or the sudden jabbing of a fuel-encrusted claw into his wound, Spin-Out's patience reached its limit. Sideswipe felt the coiled tension within his brother suddenly release. Spin's foot lashed out and sent the medic sprawling backward, while his hand shot out to grab the nearest available sharp object.

Clench reacted immediately, and Spin-Out crashed to the floor, convulsing, as the voltage coursed through him. Sideswipe was shocked too, and fell to his knees clutching at the agonizing collar. After a few seconds the current switched off and he found himself yanked back up. Clench twisted an arm behind his back at an angle that made damage sensors start screaming warnings at him, gripping his wrist so hard the metal buckled. Sideswipe arched and whimpered, unwilling to struggle lest he tear through the stressed arm joints.

"You try that again," Clench said coldly to Spin-Out as the yellow twin picked himself up, "and your brother's going to be in here awhile."

The threat was more effective than any shock or beating. Hacksaw picked up the dropped tool and went back to work on Spin-Out's leg, and the yellow mech endured him without so much as a cry, staring fixedly at his brother the whole time. Not until the medic announced that he was done did Clench let Sideswipe out of the excruciating hold.

"We're done here? Good. When can I bring them in for their upgrades?"

"Hmm... complete armor and sensory upgrade to start, I think... could take some time. I'll see you in, err, five cycles. I should have the necessary parts procured by then. And I'll mix up those fuel additives for you tomorrow. Meantime, my other clients are waiting."

"Fine, then get back to work." Clench gave Sideswipe a shove in the direction of the door and gestured for Spin-Out to follow them.

As soon as they were back in the hallway, he sent both twins a jolt that knocked them to the floor, then grabbed the yellow twin. "It seems you're in need of another lesson," he growled, and raised his fist.

. . . . .

When they were returned to their cell, Spin-Out curled up in a corner and refused to talk. Sideswipe paced for a while, rubbing his arm, trying to get rid of the sensation that Clench was still gripping it. Then he stopped and stared for a long time at his brother. Finally he reached into a gap in his torso plating, where he'd hidden a little something he swiped from the repair bay.

Head down, optics shut, Spin tensed when he felt something soft brush over the sensors on his helm. Then a gentle pressure, causing him to look up and see his brother kneeling next to him. Sideswipe was holding a clean cloth in his hand and using it to polish his twin's dull plating.

"Sides?" Too surprised and tired to say any more.

"Shhh." A small smear of oil was wiped off his cheek. "Just hold still, bro. I'll handle this."

Diligently he went to work over every ding and dent and scrape Clench's latest teaching had left, folding the cloth over and over as he rubbed until a faint gleam returned. It wasn't very visible in their dim environment, but it satisfied Sideswipe and he knew it would make his brother feel better. The soft rhythmic stroking was also helping to soothe the sensors that still throbbed dully from the beating. He did it all with one hand, since the other arm was still twinging, but it was worth it. Totally worth it. When a hint of spark returned to his brother's tired optics and his face relaxed in contentment, Sideswipe almost purred.

Eventually the filth on the rag made it useless, and so the red twin let it drop, but kept moving his hand over Spin-Out's body in light stroking circles. Suddenly a yellow arm reached out and wrapped around him, pulling him into a snug embrace. Spin-Out would accept hugs, but he hadn't initiated one in a long time, that Sideswipe could remember. It was a real sign of how their situation was getting to him.

"Thanks." Spin nudged Sideswipe's helm with his own. "You didn't use the other arm. Is it okay?"

A twinge of pain accompanied the question, faint, a memory. "It's fine. Just stressed."

"I'm going to kill him for hurting you."

Sideswipe froze. The words were spoken so calmly that he wasn't sure he'd heard right. Then he said, "Spin, don't try anything. Please. You can't take him, and I don't want to lose y--"

"Sides. Be quiet." His brother rested a finger on his lips, then spoke to him on their private frequency. "I won't do anything yet. I'm just going to watch him. He has to make a mistake sooner or later. I'll be waiting." He settled down, preparing for recharge, still twined with his twin. "We're going to get out of here, Sides. Trust me. You'll see."

Doubt worried at his mind, but Sideswipe allowed himself to trust. He rested his head on Spin-Out's chest and let his optics darken.

We're going to get out of here.

- - - - -

1 A cycle is a planetary rotational cycle -- in other words, a day. Cybertron's days are a tad shorter than ours (the planet is small, but rotates slowly). A decacycle is a ten-day, the closest measurement they have to a week. I know these probably don't match any of the canon explanations, but they make a heck of a lot more sense to me, so there you go.

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