Else where, miles from the village, Alpha Trion was having some difficulty leading Philleep through the dark woods. But the strange thing was that he could have sworn it was still day out but now it was night.
"The woods are lovely. I only wish I recognized them." the elder mech muttered to himself as he glanced up at the sky but couldn't see stars or the moon. Nothing but black.
He was use to taking this trail they were on, but with the darkness and shadows, everything seemed to be quite different.
"Do you know where we are, Philippe? Because I don't." Looking around nervously, he tried to find something to help him see where exactly on the trail he was or if it even was the trail at all. But unfortunately his poor old, tired eyes could hardly see through the darkness.
Suddenly a loud snapping echoed through the trail ahead of them which startled the horse and its master who quickly pulled on the reins to stop when an old tee growing on the side of the trail seem to decide to give way from under it's own weight and fall. Philippe neighed and reared back as it came crashing down directly into their path, blocking it.
"It's all right. It's all right, Philippe." Alpha Trion reassured once things settled and calmed his started steed, fortunet neither of them were harmed in the sudden scare.
But now their way was blocked. The old mech feared hey may be forced to turn around and go back but on further inspection on where the tree had fallen from he noticed the woods there was clear and seemed to be the perfect rout to take to get around.
"Hmm. Yes, we can go this way. Go on. To the right. That's it. Steady! One path closes... another one opens." Mindlessly he ordered Philippe to trot forward onto this new but familiar color matted over the ground.
The traveled for a good couple miles until again he was taken by surprise when he noticed their path was now changing from grass and dirt to fresh white snow. Philippe tossed his head to the change and stumbled some from dry hard ground to cold and slick.
"It's all right, boy. It's just a bit of snow."
Alpha Trion gazed behind him at all the tracks his tamed horse had made in the four inch thick layer of, "In June." he whispered in wonder while studying the freshly fallen material that made cotton like beds on his path. It was a practical winter wonder land full of frozen tear drops from happy optics making a soft landing on the sleet.
Alpha Trion was so lost in the glowing beauty around him that he did not hear footsteps of predictable danger stalking behind. The icy chilling breeze tickled his armor but did not bother him so much. He did have a tarp over his shoulders which was enough to keep the snow from touching him for the time being.
But a chill did run down his back strut soon when a deep growl sounded from behind them. Jerking around in fear, Alpha Trion search for what had made the sound until his optics found a pair of black monsterous silhouettes with glowing yellow optics trailing behind him. Instantly his spark sank. "Scrap, go Philleep." Without hesitation he snapped the Pistonhorse's reins to eager him to run.
The dark forms from behind took off and began chasing after them, snarling and growling like monsters. Alpha Trion managed a curious look over his stuttering shoulder and gasped when he saw the two sets of scolding emerald rose flares. "Faster Philleep, faster!" he chanted with a voice of worry and fear melting confidence.
Five nasty and revolting, tank twisting predacons' flashed their rusted blood fangs from behind. Getting closer. They ran lopsided sometimes when on ice or running on the side of a hill. Growling disturbing warnings of predatory reclusive barks.
Alpha Trion clutched onto the rope he held as if it were a life line, his spark a beating phobia. But as it looked like they maybe getting around the old wagon, Alpha Trion begun to shake violently as the rough ride took it's toll of the worn and rickety wood and metal until finally it had to give out right when it's front wheels caught a raised tree root.
The wagon lost balance and teetered to the side, dumping the elder mech and its contents out onto the ground. Philleep neighed and whined as he fought to break free from his own tangled harness attached to the grounded wagon. With a good strong placed kick he got it free and ran at the sounds of danger from predators closed in.
Without his Pistonhorse, speed and power were just a dead priority for Alpha Trion. Plus being so old and defenseless caused this unworthy fate to bloom its own specs of doom. Alpha Trion gasped, looking behind him to see the horrid and frightening looking beasts.
There were two predacons ahead of the pack making their prey wonder if they were head of command. Which they were. The faster one had silver scratched horns and wide nostrils just flaring steam of determination. The other was just a tad bit slower but that was because it was much more massive. Both the predacons' teeth dripped blue glowing energon that stained the snow in reminders of who the real beasts were around here.
Alpha Trion tried running faster when he seen his horse not too far ahead. His body was caving in on the inside like a castle of bricks. The faster predacon made a practical cliff jump and landed in front of the desired prey. Alpha Trion yelped and tried turning around but slipped on betraying ice thus falling to his unstable legs. Then the bigger predacon appeared, his growls shaking the cybertron layers like some evil acid storm. His jaws were like the deepest terror filled cavern in the world.
Alpha Trion panted heavy, exhausted from the short run and fear that gripped him, but he didn't let it cripple him. He maybe old but he wasn't going to be one to go down without a fight.
Reaching around to his back he pulled his cane from his holster. He didn't use it often, only on days when he was tired from a day out in the village and trying to return home. Today it was going to help him once again. "Get back you beasts!" The old mech shouted and swung the cane at the closest predacon who tried to come closer, successfully catching it's snout.
The predacon with the star reflecting horns growled as if it thought his actions were senseless. Alpha Trion's optics looked like energon injected holes of pooling fear. "Get back!" the old mech hollered in his best managed voice, swinging his cane courageously through the space. "Back! I-I don't want to hurt you."
The saliva dripping predacon huffed stupidly, his pacing growing slower and more dangerous. His armor was covered in pink rust from unfortunately spilled energon in past victorys and his yellow face was still leaking with blue liquid. Alpha Trion tried swinging his cane faster around in meaningless circles, his body groaning from exhaustion. He didn't want to hurt the beasts but... He didn't want to be hurt either.
Swinging his cane once again, one of the predacons got tired of his mindless raking and caught the measly cane in its jaws. Before Alpha Trion could process what happened, his only weapon was snatched from his hands and he could do nothing more than watch helplessly as it was crushed between sharp fangs and strong jaws, snapping and shattering apart like a twig.
Now defenseless, the predacon's stalked closer as the old mech backed away, but for every step back that followed, his back met a hard and rough surface. Gasping, he turned around and found he had unknowingly backed himself into a rock cliff ledge leaning out of the steep hill.
"Ugh... Eh, uh-oh," Alpha Trion stuttered, feeling his final moments already chew on him with invisible fear rousing fangs. The two predacons slowly creeped forward, their fangs sharp and dripping with energon.
Their fangs were so sharp that any time they closed their mouths tightly they would cause themselves to bleed. Gums leaking painless dribbles of signatures for their new prey who would die right here and now.
Alpha Trion cowered lowly, his body backed up as far as it would go against the rock. The faithless night sent a rival on all fours as a savor for the defenseless mech. "Philleep!" Alpha Trion whispered in hope.
The strong pistonhorse cried as he galloped back to where he had left his master. Finding him cornered and looking deathbed in the face. Without hesitation Philleep ran and barreled through the predacons who were taken by surprise by the sudden charge and then dazed when the pistonhorse kicked at their faces, making them back up to keep from being hit.
Now with room, Alpha Trion ran to Philleep and climbed onto his bare back. Once secure, gripping into Philleep's mane, he ordered him to go. With a whine the pistonhorse reared up, swinging his hooves at the predacon's to make them back up when they tried to come too close.
The beasts backed off once again, giving them an opening which Philleep took without hesitation, breaking off into a run down the trail. "Go, old boy, go!"
The Pistonhorse huffed and reared upward before jumping forward, escaping the double grasp of dripping jaws. Philleep, being so scared himself, ran and ran, his gallops like rendering beats of hopelessness scowled at by dreadful enemies.
Alpha Trion made a few immense sounds of discomfort as he clutched onto the horse. He only managed a small glance over his shoulder. The deathly predacons were gaining up on them, sometimes taking a chance on jumping forward to attack. Gasping, Alpha Trion looked up ahead at the path and spotted snowy bar gates and yelled, "There Philleep! Go there!"
The horse staggered and turned viciously, his hooves digging through all the snow into the dirt. His instincts bragged and yelped at him to run and keep running. The gates had invisible ghostly hands that motioned the horse closer for protection. Alpha Trion grinned openly as the gate was now only three gallops away but that grin diminished. A predacon shoved into Philleep's side from behind, knocking the mech off his back.
Alpha Trion staggered to get up, a pained groan rumbling past his lips as he moved. The landing had been rough, forceful and almost cruel. His left shoulder armor was dented in and his tanks felt dizzy as if he were about to purge.
Being cornered and so mercilessly pinned, Alpha Trion was forced to watch his Pistonhorse gallop away. Snow was killing the old spring breeze with helplessness leaving this cold stick to do nothing more than shiver in the defenseless mech's servo. Grim and lethal predacons' stared at the stuck mech with glazed optics of aggression.
Alpha Trion tried pointing the stick at the beasts' as he stood to his wobbly feet. He looked like he had Guillain-Barré syndrome starting to indulge his body. "Uhhh, err... umm?" he stuttered nonsense to himself.
Then the smaller predacon jumped forward, claws all glistening in the snowy atmosphere space, and jaws open. The world of black caverns coming to engulf the poor mech into nothingness. Alpha Trion yelled, his servo unknowingly reaching behind him feeling the bars of the golden gate. He found a lever and pushed it the same time the predacon's body landed on him. Fear pact optics went backwards therefore turning pained and almost vulnerable. Alpha Trion gazed up after landing cruelly on his back and screamed when the beast tried biting his face off.
Looking around, the old mech seen that the more massive predacon was trying to climb the overly tall gate instead of just wandering around it. Smiling hopefully, Alpha Trion vastly lifted his servos up and pushed the lashing predacon down a little ways before bringing his legs up and swinging them downward.
The scrawny predacon yelped from surprise and pain as it was tossed back in the air a few feet, roughly landing on its side. Alpha Trion stood quickly, tripping to lock the gate in place. Now breathing heavily, the old mech sighed and turned around once he thought it was safe enough.
He gasped and jumped away from the gate when the predacon's made one last effort to take a bite out of him yet the gate held fast and kept them at bay. Seeing they could not get in, Alpha Trion sighed a heavy sigh of relief and started to track his way through the cold snow towards the tall, dark and lonely castle he had not noticed.
"They will have to go and find their meal somewhere else," the old mech happily said to himself, leaving the gate behind. At first glance he would have dubbed the castle abandoned by how silent and lifeless it appeared until he looked up and spotted a light up in one lone window in one of the towers.
"Ah, someone is home." Making his way through the frozen shubs and dead plant life he reached the castle and smiled when he noticed Philleep there waiting for him, happily munching on crystal grass and hay where it looked like someone had left it out for him purposely.
And as beautiful as the castle might have seemed, it was as deserted and empty as a rusted glass container. Alpha Trion looked up at all the fine and gear chilling statues sticking out from the side of the castle wall and wowed its stunning magnificence. Such an amazing sight and yet depressing that it isn't truly as enchanting as it would seem.
Alpha Trion spotted a door not too far to his right and quickly made way for it, looking back once more to check on Philleep. After being reassured that his noble horse would not escape, Alpha Trion wobbled up ten slippery steps to the stainless steel door that shined a dark and gloomy green. Wiping any snow or dirt off his armor, Alpha Trion balled up his courage and knocked on the big door. "Hello?" he hollered.
A second later the large door swung open, it's old hinges creaking loudly. Quickly, Alpha Trion stepped in, leaning around the door as he searched for who opened it. "Thank...you?" his voice died in his throat when saw that no one was there.
Looking around, he searched for whoever must have answered the door but couldn't see nor hear anyone. "Hello? Is...is anyone here?" he called out softly as he turned around to close the door and shut the cold out.
Alpha Trion shivered and brought his frozen servos up to his mouth and blew warm breath on his quivering digits. It felt like he had been stuck in a freezer for molina and now needed a furnace to snuggle up to.
Speaking of such warmth, Alpha Trion felt his dry eyes water at the bright sight of flickering fire from deep inside a chimney laying in the far room on the left. Moving quickly, he hollered out to see if anyone would possibly answer but there was only the enticing sound of that warmth giving furnace.
Peeking his head inside the door, Alpha Trion studied his new surroundings with caution. "Hello?" he shyly pushed the door the rest of the way open, "Is anyone there?"
"Hello?" He called out once again, looking up towards the vast stairs that led further up into the castle, but Alpha Trion knew better then to venture up there. "Sorry to intrude. I'm just a traveler... seeking shelter from the storm. Sorry to disturb you. Anyone home? Anyone awake?"
Off to the side of the room in a far off corner a crystal lit candelabra named Wheeljack became enlightened as he took in the sight of the poor frozen mech. Finally someone new to the castle.
"Hey... check it out Ratchet, he must have lost his way in the woods," Wheeljack whispered to the fancy old mantel clock next to him.
But instead of being impressed the clock growled and hushed him. "Shut up, you idiot!"
But as quiet as they had tried to be, their voices didn't go unnoticed by the mech who turned around, facing them, looking around curiously as he searched for who spoke. "Excuse me?" Alpha Trion walked over to the table the candelabra and clock sat upon and breathed in astonishment as he gently picked up the silver candelabra with blue crystals.
"Hmm. Beautiful," Setting the candelabra down and reaching towards the clock to lightly run his finger tips across the mastery of craftsmanship in the work. "Extraordinary."
But as amazing as the pieces were, the sounds of someone else in the other room drew him away. "A man of taste," Wheeljack hummed and puffed up in pride.
"He was talking about me," Ratchet snorted and rolled his optics.
The stranger moved along when a different noise had caught his attention like fish on a barb. He stowed away, head turning in more interest as the beautiful sound grew louder. Alpha Trion wasn't good at guessing instruments with his old audios but he could never forget the sound of a keyboard playing.
Maybe there was someone in there who could help him? Given confidence, Alpha Trion waltzed right into room just in time to see the lantern flicker off like a set of wings halting, and the music stopped. Ok umm... Creepy.
Alpha Trion looked around with wide and freaked optics before quickly stowing away. In an instant the furnace became the true priority and he made way towards it. "Whoever you are," he slightly shouted, trying to capture attention or not be rude, "I'm just going to warm myself by the fire."
As he entered the room where the fire burned in the fire place, Alpha Trion coughed a couple times from the bitter cold that still lingered as an icy sting in his lungs. He stood close to the warm glow and sighed in content as he held his hands out and rubbed them to help spread the warmth. "That's better. Oh, much better." He moaned and turned around to warm his back.
Suddenly, distant sounds of dishes clanking together caught his attention and curiosity made him leave the fire to go investigate. The door was open so he peeked in and instantly his optics landed on a beautiful spread on an overly large table. Without hesitation, Alpha Trion entered and went straight for the rich and expensive food and energon set out. Seeming like a gracious mech didn't want to be seen but felt the need to feed him, and he wasn't going to turn down such generosity.
"Ooh. Thank you." He said out loud in hopes that whoever was about may hear him as he sat down and began to eat, being sure to remember his table manners no matter how hungry he was.
The old starved mech instantly reached for the copper bread and took a chunk of it into his mouth, the rich and flavorful taste just now beginning to lighten up the numbness of his glossa. He made a noise of enjoyment and satisfaction before swallowing. Then the sparkle of golden ham caught his attention and he reached for it.
While the elder mech continued to fill himself with different varieties of food, he was clueless to the sound of quiet communication coming from far behind the big stack of food. It was just a click before the soft sound of metal scraping over marble drifted in the air and interrupted Alpha Trion who was now taking notice to the stuffing.
Having not known what that noise was or even processing to have heard it, Alpha Trion was shocked to near death when he gazed down and spotted the sudden tea cup that had not been there few moments ago. Alpha Trion blinked and shook his helm in case he was hallucinating. When he looked back at the cup he nearly jumped from his chair when it slid across the table even closer to him.
What in Primus name?
With a shaking servo he gently pushed the cup away and sat back to see if it would move again. This time Alpha Trion could of sworn he heard it make an, almost, protest chirp and moved back to the spot where he moved it from. The old mech scooted his chair back away from the table because the fright he felt from the very strange object.
Then he suddenly felt something moving under his servo and quickly jerked back. With a shocked expression, he looked down at the silverware in which seemed to have grown tiny limbs and faces of their own.
Alpha Trion tilted his helm like the commonsense and front part of his mind weren't working before he finally let it process. The poor, old mech gasped and scooted back in his chair as if he had just seen a Arachnid and stood to attention. Faces, smiles, eyes and little mouths on each one of the pieces of silverware were looking at him.
"Oh..." Alpha Trion said in a sudden carlsess voice, stuck in the eye of attention. He waited a moment or two before quickly turning tail and running away.
All the plates and silverware frowned from both disappointment and confusion while watching the new comer fly away like a rodent. They just wanted to comfort and entertain him, not make him leak transfluid through his old gears.
Alpha Trion turned slightly whilst continuing down the hall, his fear and flustered attitude not quite getting the best of him. "Whoever you are... I can't thank you enough for your hospitality and... Goodnight!" he said in the nicest voice he could manage before barging out the doors.
"Come on, Philippe!" The old mech shouted as he ran out of the castle, constantly checking over his shoulder like he might be being chased as he ran to the horse and mounted. "Go. GO!"
He hated to pull the horse from his hat but they must leave. This place was not safe and Alpha Trion would rather take his chances with the wolves. He was pleased with the horses loyalty and obedience on doing as he's told and not putting up much of a fuss, carrying his master away from the dark castle. They rode through the vast maze of hedges that surrounded the castle and came to a part that caught Alpha Trion's optic and made him forget all about fleeing right away.
Although they were covered by thick snow he realized they had come upon an area that looked to be of nothing but crystal roses.
"No, wait, wait, wait!" Alpha Tron gently pulled on Phillippe's reins to make him stop before they could pass them. Once the horse came to a stop, the mech jumped off, hardly taking his optics off of the crystal roses.
"Roses. I nearly forgot. I promised Orion a rose." Alpha Trion walked through the snow, his warm peds making a crunching sound in the many layers of fluffy white blankets in which covered everything. He studied all the crystals, trying to decide which one was the biggest, most beautiful and lovely for his dear son.
With his spark so absent-mindedly pulling ahead of himself, the old mech was clueless to the piercing and cold red stare oozing beyond the snow behind his back. Hot puffs of aggressive and rough intakes weren't so easily heard in the bitter wind leaving the old mech totally vulnerable.
Alpha Trion finally made up his mind and reached for the biggest red crystal he seen. But the sharpness of the glass poked his numb digits and he pulled away slightly to examine the harm. Unaware of warningful growls behind him. The sounds of Phillippe whining and pawing at the snow behind him didn't seem to alarm him. But if he had turned he would have seen the horses distress and would have become concerned. But Alpha Trion was determined to get the crystal so again he reached for it but this time a little further to where it was growing from the tree and gently pulled until it plucked and came free.
Phillippe grunted and huffed louder as he tried to get his master's attention to the obvious danger, but when the hidden threat jumped from the shadows and landed within the garden with a mighty roar did the old mech whip around and gasp in horror to what his old optics saw. A massive beast like creature snarled and glared at him before stomping towards him. Trying to back away from the approaching monster, Alpha Trion tripped over a snow embankment and fell on his back.
Philippe cried and neighed loudly in alarm as he pulled his reins' free from where they had been tied and galloped away as fast as his hooves could carry him...