A/N: The fifth rewritten chapter of Vocantem Ventis.
In this chapter we see what has been happening to both the Trux before shifting over to see what D-Structs and his followers have been up to since chapter three.
Enjoy.
As night came and went, the group were rested and ready for the next part of their journey. The flats extended for some distance before drawing into a small forest with the river on the other side. Crossing the river, Troy had said, would be hard but not impossible. The current flowed strongly in the centre of the water but closer to the banks it was next to nothing, so it wouldn't be hard to find a place to start off from.
"Of course, the main ones who are going to have trouble are the Tools and smaller Trux such as the Gluphs. They're going to have a tough time of it," he had said to Ty, Revvit, Rusty and Banger as the group went on. "That'll be reassuring for them won't it," said Banger sarcastically. "At least it's not a raging rapid, which would make it difficult or even dangerous for us larger Trux," Rusty interjected. "I suppose so," the Slamtool grumbled.
"Speaking of danger and such like, what happened to your friendly neighbourhood enemy D-Structs?" Troy asked Ty. "He was probably too stubborn to even think about leaving "his" crater," said Skya, putting emphasis on the second to last word. "Well it's no one's crater now," the red T-Trux replied flatly. "Can't argue with that," agreed Rusty. "I know I probably shouldn't be saying this, but you don't think he was, you know?" ventured Troy, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"Even D-Structs doesn't deserve that, no matter what. After all, despite what he's like and what he's done, he's still a Dinotrux like we are," said Ty deliberately. "I can see why you're the leader of our merry little band Ty, you've got the best qualities," Rusty commented cheerfully. Said T-Trux laughed, "I'm sure there are many other Trux out there with just as much skill as me," he replied modestly.
"Skill maybe, but not in courage, resourcefulness or trust in working with other Trux or Reptools," Skya put in. "Okay, okay you got me there," came the reply. The group continued on their way until they found themselves with a large cliff wall on their left. and a large forest someway in front of them. "The river's not far now," said Troy. "It should be just beyond those trees over there."
"Alright gang, you heard him. Let's do this," said Ty determinedly and they rolled forward, starting towards the tree line, when something caught Ronto's eye and he stopped. "Hey, what's that?" he asked. "What is what Ronto?" Revvit inquired as the others stopped as well. "There's something in the entrance of that canyon over there. I can't be certain from here but, it looks like tread prints."
"Tread prints? Who'd be out here in the middle of nowhere?" asked Split. "Besides us I mean," he added quickly. "Maybe it's more Trux from the crater?" suggested Ton-Ton. "Don't think so, I've heard there's a Scaptor nest in there," said Luna. "And it's rumoured that something else lives close to there too. Something even more dangerous." "What could be more dangerous than a Scaptor is what I'd like to know?" asked Splot.
"You are going to wish you hadn't said that," said Splat in a deadpan tone, glaring at his brother. "I think this calls for a closer look," suggested Ty. It didn't take them long to find what Ronto had seen. There were indeed treads prints leading out of the canyon along with several small footprints in similar size to that of the Reptools, especially Revvit and Click-Clack. They meant nothing to the new Trux but the gang knew them well.
"Looks like D-Structs survived after all," said Skya as she stared down at the tracks. "Yeah, as well as Skrap-It and the other three," added Waldo. "Oh joy," said Scorcher sarcastically, rolling his eyes at the mention of his brother. "I wonder where the five of them went after they got out of the canyon?" asked Blue Diamond looking around. "Make that six," chipped in Rolley from where he was.
"There's another set here. Someone else was with them," agreed Rose, who was beside the Rollodon. Revvit stared hard at the tracks with his bits spinning. "Something wrong Rev?" Ty asked. He knew full well that, when his friend stared at the ground and spun his bits, it meant something was wrong. "I have seen tracks like these before but I cannot precisely remember where or importantly when," the Reptool replied.
"I'd like to know what they were doing here in the first place," said Troy, coming up beside Ty. "From what you've told us, D-Structs may be all brawn, but he does have a fair portion of brain. So even he wouldn't go tramping into a Scaptor's nest alone." "You can say that again," agreed Dozer. Suddenly Split, who had been examining some of the tracks by a rock, cried out to the others. "These are the same!"
"What are the same?" Blue Diamond asked. "These tread prints belong to the same T-Trux who took our ore!" Rusty moved forward and nodded. "He's right, these are identical to the ones we found when I first met the Gluphs," the male Cranesaur announced. "So the T-Trux that took you ore, and has been following you lot may very well be one and the same," Locker concluded. "That's one point figured out," said Ace.
"But it still doesn't explain why D-Structs and the Scraptools were here," said Waldo in a matter of fact voice. "Waldo is right," Revvit said agreeingly. "And," he continued, "I would like to know who's footprints these are." "And I don't think it's Maul or whoever is working with him," said Troy. "I think, until recently, you were being followed by three T-Trux." "Three T-Trux?" said Scorcher intrigued. "Somebody warned Ty," explained Troy.
"And in regard to your point Locker, let's be practical." "What do you mean?" the Junktool asked. "I have already told you that the fire was set deliberately to take you out." "Yes," said Shade. "Well, if these tracks are anything to go by, D-Structs wasn't even in the same area at the time. Heck, for all we know he was probably still in, or at the very least, near the crater whilst this was taking place," answered the Edozeratops. "That answers one question," said Ronto.
"But three of them still remain," said Rusty. "We still don't know who's working alongside Maul. Furthermore, who did D-Structs and the Scraptools meet? And who helped them escape from the Scraptor's nest?" Silence fell as the Trux and Tools all looked at each other before they once again turned their gaze back to the tread prints. Unknown to them, a figure was watching from behind the rocks that were grouped around the canyon entrance.
And that figure slowly started to chuckle.
To answer Ronto's last question we have to go back to yesterday afternoon, at the time when the Trux and Tools were resting by the rocks before the final leg of their journey to the river and were being told Maul's name and origins by Troy and Luna. D-Structs and the Scraptools had been on the move since recovering their strength by the sandback where they, and D-Molish, had landed. The quintet were aiming to put as much distance between them and the crater.
Well, the Scraptools didn't really have a say in the matter, but they weren't going to argue. Chiefly because the other T-Trux they had met was long gone and their master was the only thing protecting them from any form of danger. Speaking of which, the white and black T-Trux had been oddly quiet over the time that they had been traveling, only stopping for meals, water and rest before going on.
Even though that was nothing new, arguments had broken out between Break-Itt and Smash-Itt only to be put down by Skrap-It and Lloyd but none of these had received a response from D-Structs at all like they normally would. It was on the evening of their fifth day of traveling that it happened. The Scraptools were off looking for ore, leaving the white and black T-Trux to think in peace, which was exactly what he was and had been doing ever since they had started.
A couple of days earlier he had seen smoke rising from the other side of the flats they had been passing through and instantly knew it was a fire. However, D-Structs hadn't paid it much mind. As it wasn't near him it wasn't his concern. Right now he had something more pressing to consider. During the journey, he felt like he and the Scraptools were being watched. Over the past few days this feeling had swept over him.
It had mainly occurred when they were looking for food or shelter or getting a drink of water. He was so busy thinking about this, that he didn't notice a small shape appear from the rocks behind him, creep stealthily towards him, jump onto his claw, shinny up the chain and start examining his tail. D-Structs was still in deep thought and it took a few minutes for his brain to register what was happening. He felt something on his tail.
Something like small metal feet.
In an instant his anger came to the surface at this disturbance of his private peace. "Skrap-It! Get off me this instant!" he growled, immediately thinking it was the twitching Scraptool who was trying something while he thought D-Structs was distracted. He shook himself furiously. But whoever or whatever was on his tail held firm and he stopped after a few seconds. "If you would not attempt to throw me off, I can show myself," came an unknown voice.
Of course this heightened his curiosity. "Do it!" he growled in reply. Next he heard feet against metal, then a small clump, followed by the pitter-patter of those same feet as the stranger came round to face him. The white and black T-Trux was surprised to see that the Tool in front of him was not a Scraptool at all. He looked like a Reptool but yet unlike. He was a dark cinder grey, with crimson red parts and had a pale cream collar around his neck.
He had claw-like appenditures on his feet unlike the normal flat toes on a Reptool or Scraptool. His tail had leaf-like plates covering it, small spikes on either side of his head and on the underside of lower jaw. In his forehead, he had a flathead screwdriver bit while on his back he had a range of different ones. There were two drills, one thin and the other broad, along with a cutlass-like hook and, surprisingly, a small pipe which bore some resemblance to a Scraptool's blowtorch.
"Who, and more importantly, what are you?" asked D-Structs, narrowing his eyes. "I am Scrapper, and as to what I am, I am a Screptool." The Tool spoke with a calm collected voice, and his relaxed posture clearly showed that he wasn't afraid to stand in front of the large T-Trux. There was also an aura of underlining coldness in his tone. "Screptool?" D-Structs echoed, clearly confused for he had never seen nor heard of this kind of Tool before.
"Yes, that is because I can scrap and repair. Hence my variety of different bits," Scrapper said in answer to his thoughts, gesturing to said objects on his back. "Hmm. Interesting, you say you can do the job of both a Scraptool and a Reptool?" the T-Trux ventured. "I can, and to prove it I can sort out some of your problems," Scrapper answered. "How?" With that said, Scrapper moved forward and climbed up onto the T-Trux's tail once again.
Once there, he switched out the bit in his forehead for the pipe and the hook one appeared in his tail socket. "Wait and you shall receive," he replied coolly. A small blue flame appeared out of the pipe, which proved that it was in fact a blowtorch, and he set to work. D-Structs waited in silence, with his curiosity raised considerably more than his impatience, as Scrapper went about his business.
Five minutes had gone past was since the Screptool's appearance and it was then that Skrap-It, Lloyd, Break It and Smash It arrived back. They were rolling a few small pieces of ore in front of them, barely bigger than themselves. It was all that the quartet had been able to find in the surrounding area. They instantly noticed Scrapper on their master's side panel, having finished with his tail and was now working away on his engine.
Almost at once their eyes widened at the fact that he was letting this happen let alone even allowing a Tool to climb on him. Something that they were never allowed to do unless with the white and black T-Trux's extreme permission. "Woah! Who's that?" asked Smash It in awe. "I don't kkkkt know?" answered Skrap-It his gaze fixed on the Screptool. "But I'm going to find out," and he moved forwards, rolling the piece of ore.
The others were quick to follow his example. Scrapper happened to glance up from his work and saw them coming. "It appears your followers have returned," he said to D-Structs, "and with food no less." Broken out of his quiet stupor, said T-Trux looked up at this. As expected, he immediately frowned at the sight of the pitiful pieces of ore that the four had brought back with them "Is that it?" he asked, eyes narrowed.
"It's all we could kkkkkt find," Skrap-It protested meekly. "There's not much out here." The white and black T-Trux growled and was about to send the four of them flying every which way, when Scrapper spoke up again. "I think I can help with that," he said, jumping down to the ground. "How?" Skrap-It asked. "Follow me," said the Screptool, "but first..." He turned to the Scraptools master, "see how you feel with the improvements I made."
With this cue given, D-Structs revved his engine and at once it sounded out with a loud roar that made all the Tools, except for Scrapper, who knew it would happen, jump as the sound echoed around the area. Said T-Trux was amazed. He gave an experimental swing with his tail and he found it to respond better than it had done in ages. "How did you do that?" he asked. "Like I said, I scrap and repair," came the simple reply.
"Now this way. If you'd please."
With that Scrapper set off towards some a rock wall nearby and soon stopped in front of an oblong orange shape that was protruding out of the ground. He turned to the quintet behind him. "If you would do the honors," the Screptool said to D-Structs, gesturing at the object with one of his claws. Summoning his strength, the white and black T-Trux swung himself round and smashed his claw into the rock surrounding their find.
As expected, fragments flew apart in all directions from the force of the impact. The Scraptools darted in all directions to avoid the flying debris. Scrapper, meanwhile, simply sat where he was, watching the whole thing with cool efficiency. After the dust cleared the object in the rock was now visible for all to see. It was ore. But not just any regular ore. D-Structs advanced forward and sniffed deeply before staring at it.
"Is this?" he asked, almost disbelievingly while his eyes went wide. "Volcanic Ore?" "Yes. It is," replied Scrapper calmly. Now recovering from their initial shock, the Scraptools also came forward to stare in awe at the large chunk of rare ore in front of them. Volcanic Ore wasn't the kind of ore that you just found lying around. It was only found in the most extreme of places, such as in a cliff wall, a Desert Scraptor trap or near a volcano.
D-Structs knew this also. He turned his head to look down at Scrapper. "You've done well, Scrapper. I'm impressed." The Tool simply smiled at the praise. "I'll take that as a compliment," he replied. Then his voice turned hard and he growled. "Unlike that ungrateful Reptool." This heightened the curiosity of the other five. Break-Itt was the first to speak. "What ungrateful Reptool?" he asked. Scrapper looked at them.
"I shouldn't expect lot to understand my personal grudges," he replied, "but if you must know the truth, here it is. I lived in the Reptool Ravine once, in the crater where you lot came from." This revelation threw all of them through a loop. "How come I never saw you?" said D-Structs, demanding an answer. "It was before you came to the crater. Back when I was friends!" The Screptool spat the last word with barely contained scorn.
"With that miserable traitor, Revvit!" he finished with a snarl. Both T-Trux and Tools stared at him with curiosity. D-Structs was both curious and interested. Somehow this Tool had known and befriended Revvit before he had met Ty. If that was the case, then he could be harbouring some very useful information. Information he could use against the Trux and Tools. "How did you and Ty's bug know each other?" he asked. Scrapper looked at him.
"Well, since you've asked, you might as well have your own way. It is not a long story, truth be told, but it is one worth telling." "As I have told you, I lived in the ravine a long time ago. Even before you came to the Crater," he said looking at D-Structs. "My kind were special, as you know, in the fact that we could both perform repairs and scrap useless ones. Some of the Reptools were slightly skeptical, and jealous of us, which was understandable as we could do things they couldn't.
"I took no notice of it at first and neither did Revvit. Speaking of which, he and I were only young adults when we first met, but we quickly became the best of friends. We shared ideas, stories, plans and always came up with things no other Tool had ever thought of before. After he was caught in a Rolldon stampede whilst he was out exploring, this happened two weeks or so after we first met, he spent the majority of his time recovering from the shock he received.
It was then that I, and several other Screptools began to notice that a tension seemed to have set in amongst the inhabitants of the ravine. There was a watchful, nervous look on everyone's face as time went on. There were whisperings and mumblings and mutterings in corners. I myself could easily see that a cloud of dark rumour was gathering, and casting its shadow over the place I once called home.
As time went on, I didn't think much of it and began to accept it as part of the daily routine. I was gravely wrong. It was a day like any other, I had gone out that morning to find ore for me and Revvit to break our fast on. When I got back, I found the ravine in an uproar. I don't know the exact details of what happened, but I learned from one of my fellow Screptools that, apparently, one of our own, Fixer, had assaulted a female Reptool.
Of course I knew this to be absolute rubbish. I had known Fixer personally since we were small and that the whole thing was most definitely a complete fabrication of the truth and that someone had deliberately started the rumour because they held an immense dislike to our kind. Unfortunately, the majority of the Reptools had already taken the side of the female Tool and were ganging up on us.
Before we could say or do anything... they attacked us..." The Screptool trailed off as memories of his past came flooding back to him. He remained this way for a minute or two before continuing with his story. "We tried to defend ourselves, but we were outnumbered and overwhelmed. They drove us out with the ferocity of Scraptors, never giving us a moment, never letting up. Then... I saw him."
His voice once again became a growl and he scraped his claws against the earth beneath him, gouging out marks in it as he did so. "Revvit was watching the whole thing. I called out for him to help me. No. I begged for him to help me, but he just stood there, watching as myself and my kind were driven away like vermin. We had no chance of standing and fighting, so we fled the ravine.
None of us stopped until we were out of the crater entirely. We were outcasts in an already prejudiced world. Alone, cast off. Whilst I was working out where we would go and what we would do, I noticed something. I was shaking. Until then, I had never experienced fear before. That day, I gave up my own unsightly fate. And I let go of the old me, the one that was so weak, so that I could become stronger."
Scrapper's voice began to harden. "And then, at last... I obtained the power. The power to make all yield to my will. I... was... REBORN!" His sudden outburst caught the Scraptools by complete surprise and all four of them jumped back and crashed into each other. D-Structs was also taken aback by the sharpness and ferocity of the Tool's voice, it reminded him of his own to D-Molish but he did his best not to show it.
The cinder grey, dark red and black Screptool had begun breathing heavily in an attempt to regain his composure. Once he had done so, he spoke again. "That is my tale," he said. "And you can judge for yourselves." Neither Skrap-It, Lloyd, Break-Itt, and Smash-Itt said anything in response, they just looked at each other with what can best be described as nervousness apparent in their eyes.
"Now that I have told you my tale, I think it would be in your best interests for you to tell me what has happened to you," Scrapper continued. D-Structs was silent for a moment, weighing his options, before telling him about his conflict with Ty, Revvit and their friends, how he had battled them on multiple occasions and finally told him about the volcano's eruption and how it had destroyed the crater.
As he told this story, the Screptool listened with interest. When the white and black T-Trux finished, he spoke. "I believe we understand each other now. And that we could be of great use to each other." "Help me against Ty and his friends," replied D-Structs, "and you will be greatly rewarded." A chilling smile appeared on Scrapper's face. "You have a deal." The Scraptools immediately began cheering at their new ally joining them.
D-Structs let out a long and loud laugh that echoed around the area. Suddenly a loud screech from above interrupted them and they all looked up to see a trio of Scrapadactyl's diving straight at them. The five Tools immediately made for cover to allow their master to deal with their attackers. The white and black T-Trux smashed the first flier to the ground with his head before knocking the second away with this tail.
But the third one, however, flew in through the gap between his and his claw, as he turned back around to confront it, and landed directly on his back. D-Structs let out a series of grunts as he struggled to get his foe off of him before its companions recovered. Whilst he was doing this, he didn't notice Scrapper charge out from behind the rocks he and the Scraptools were hiding behind and grab onto his tread before rapidly climbing up him.
While he did so, the cutlass blade bit on his back disappeared before reappearing out of the end of his tail while the flathead screwdriver one was replaced by the thin drill one. Scrapper did not hesitate and fearlessly jumped straight onto the Scrapadactyl. It let out a loud screech as the Screptool landed on its back and moved up to its head. D-Structs could see what was happening and was beyond amazed at what he was witnessing.
The Scraptools were likewise, their mouths agape as they watched their new ally swing himself around and drive the point of the blade bit in his tail straight into the flier's left eye. Exactly how much force was put into that swing quickly became known as a loud crack sounded out, followed by a loud pain-filled screech from the Scrapadactyl. As Scrapper pulled his tail back, pieces of glass fell onto the ground.
Where the eye had once been was now a dark lifeless ball. Not giving his larger opponent a moment's respite, which, incidentally, wasn't difficult as it was now flailing around wildly in reaction to pain from its injury, the Screptool drove the drill bit in his forehead straight into, and through its neck. Like before, this action made the flying menace let out a screech of pain, only this one was much louder than the first one.
D-Structs had not stopped moving about the whole time and, following its loss of sight, the Scrapadactyl was flung off of the white and black T-Trux and landed heavily on the ground. Without missing a beat, he grabbed hold of it in his jaws and sent it crashing into the others, who had been watching the whole incident with the same shock as the Scraptools. Seeing that their comrade was now gravely injured, however,made them fly into a frenzy.
Both of them launched themselves at him with loud fury-filled screeches. Anticipating this, he swung his tail at them in an attempt to knock the pair out. Unfortunately, his two attackers had grown wise to this and drew back sharply, easily missing the strike. Instead, it carried on and slammed into the wall behind him. "Just try and scrap me!" the T-Trux growled defiantly. No sooner had he said this, there came a loud rumbling.
"Woah! What's happening?" asked Break-Itt. "I'll tell you what's happening!" yelled Scrapper, who was still on D-Structs's back, he had not moved since injuring the Scrapadactyl in the eye and the neck. "The ground is starting to give way!" This last word became a loud yell as the ground beneath the group of six collapsed and they disappeared from sight. In the nest instant the sextet found themselves sliding down a twisting, turning tunnel.
"I've always wanted to go on a trip with you!" Skrap-It shouted over the noise made by his master as he collided with the wall, whilst the Scraptools and Scrapper clung on tightly to whatever they could. "But not this way!" Scrapper was holding on to one of the white and black T-Trux's back spikes, Lloyd was holding on to one of his frames and Break-Itt and Smash-Itt were clinging onto his mudflap for dear life.
The tunnel continued on for a few more seconds before they all shot out of the end and over the edge of a cliff, taking a few rocks with them, before landing heavily on the ground below in a cloud of dust and surrounded by said rocks and, as they saw, piles of scrap. Skrap-It, still on D-Struct's head, groaned. "Where- kkkt Where are we?" he asked as he stood up. His master let out a grunt as he got up and let out another one after he shook the Scraptool off of his head.
Skrap-It let out a yelp as this happened and another as he landed on the ground with a clank. Scrapper, leapt off of the white and black T-Trux's back, followed by the three other Scraptools. A small screech followed by the clanking of gears got their attention and they all turned to see around fifteen Desert Scraptors appear in front of them. "A Desert Scraptor nest from the looks of things," said Scrapper.
"And a particularly large one at that." As he spoke the creatures began to move forwards. "We'll let you handle this," said Skrap-It, letting out a series of grunts as he and Scrapper rapidly climbed up some nearby rocks to safety, followed by Lloyd, Break-Itt and Smash-Itt. They had barely gotten clear before two of the Scraptors launched themselves at D-Structs only to be sent flying by a single swipe of his tail.
A third one jumped onto his back from a ledge behind and above him, hoping to catch the T-Trux off guard, only for him to slam into a nearby wall. D-Structs barely had enough time to recover before he was jumped by two more, while a third copied its fellow attacker, only from a higher ledge. "There's too many of them!" Skrap-It called from the ledge where he and the others were, just their master trounced all three of the Desert Scraptors, sending all three into the walls of the nest.
"Good thing you're too strong for them," called Skrap-It as the white and black T-Trux sent two more of the metal menaces flying. It was a fleeting victory as another jumped onto his tail and began biting down at where the chain pulley began as before another one landed squarely on his face just as he opened his mouth. "You know you really should have watched where you were swinging your tail," the lead Scraptool continued.
That got him a clout from Scrapper. "I suggest you keep your mouth shut, junkbrain!" the Screptool hissed. "Unless you want to join him." Before any of them could say anything else, it happened. D-Structs swung himself around in an attempt to get the Scraptor that was on his tail off, only for his claw and the chain, loosened by said creature, to fly right out, collide with the ledge the four Tools were on, before finally falling into the jaws of a waiting Scraptor.
"Aah! Your claw!" yelled Skrap-It as the white and black T-Trux, still struggling furiously, with two attackers on his back and a third on his right arm, fell forwards onto the ground." Aah! Your tread! Aah! Your other tread!" the Scraptool cried as one Scraptors pulled out a screw from one of the middle wheels on his right tread while another pulled out one from the rear wheel of his left tread.
"But don't worry. They can never take your dignity," Lloyd called down as their master righted himself. "At least not until tomorrow kkt" said Skrap-It. Whilst the melee had been going on, none of those involved had noticed the sun sink behind the cliffs overlooking the nest. As soon as it did so, the Scraptors immediately returned to their respective piles, the one who had D-Structs's claw lying down while still holding on to it.
"Don't scrap at night remember," said the Scraptool in a side tone before letting out a chuckle. His master was far from amused and raised his tread up to see that, while it was indeed loose, it was, thankfully, still in place. He looked up at the five Tools. "Get my parts back!" he demanded. "Us?" said Break-Itt, looking at the others beside him. "Kkt we can't lift our claw all by ourselves. And what if those things wake up? Four of us are scrappers, not fighters.
"Scrapper." The Screptool simply shook his head. "They're right," he replied. "There's not much chance of us getting your tail fixed without risking those things waking up. And even if we repaired your treads and got you moving so you could pick it up it wouldn't be long before the Scraptors remove them and more. Then we'd be right back where we started." Skrap-It jumped onto another ledge nearby, followed by Scrapper.
"Look, I think me and Scrapper can make it out of here. We'll get help." "I don't need help," D-Structs shot back. He then made the foolish, yet somewhat brave attempt to move forwards by trying to walk on his broken treads. "Oh, I really think you do," said Skrap-It, before he turned to look behind him and Scrapper to see what kind of terrain they were dealing with. "I see a valley. Kkkkttt" he called out.
"Ooh, ooh! And a mountain! A really dark mountain," the Scraptool continued, looking at the looming pinnacle of rock in the distance, black against the sky as a mist wreathed around the rocks. "I think there's also some trees. Kkkkt But they could be really slow Craneosaurs," he added. At the mention of the first landmark, however, D-Structs became interested. If it was what he thought it was, then maybe this situation wasn't as bad as he thought it was.
"Did you say, "a dark mountain"?" he asked. "Yeah, super dark," Skrap-It replied, "and scary! Scary, very scary- You know I think I'll try the trees first," the Scraptool replied. He turned back to the white and black T-Trux, waiting for an answer. Said Trux thought for a moment, clearly weighing his options. He also stared at the Scraptor that was sleeping with his claw. "No," he replied firmly. "Go to the mountain. There's a cave there. Inside, you'll find a T-Trux," he instructed.
"Great! I'll go get him and..." D-Struct's words suddenly sunk in. "Wait, you know another T-Trux! Besides D-Molish?" he asked, scampering back. "Wait, do you mean-?" "Let's just move," Scrapper broke in. "What about us?" Smash-Itt asked. The cinder grey and dark red Screptool glanced at the three remaining Scraptools. "You three stay here and keep watch," he ordered. "Keep watch? Keep watch on what?" Break-Itt questioned with his usual absentmindedness.
"He means keep watch on D-Structs scraphead!" Lloyd barked before ramming the former into the latter.
Scrapper rolled his eyes before he and Skrap-It set off on their mission.
Sometime later the pair were trekking through the trees that Skrap-It had spotted earlier. Scrapper was leading the way with his usual air of calm confidence whilst the latter followed on behind, talking to himself as he did so. "Go find this T-Trux I know" he said," said the Scraptool, doing an imitation of D-Structs's voice. Neither of them noticed a Shockarachnid slide down towards them, silhouetted by the moon as it shone down from above.
"Of course," I said." muttered Skrap-It to himself before seeing the shadow of the eight legged creature. He let out a yell and raced forwards, past Scrapper who, after glancing back once followed after him. "But no one we'd have to travel through nightmare valley!" the Scraptool cried as they darted this way and that to avoid being pinned down by their attacker's multiple legs, the latter screaming as they did so.
They darted under a fallen tree branch only to see another Shockarachnid coming straight at them. The two Tools skidded to a top to avoid the front legs that came down to grab them before racing off to the left. Two pairs of red laser beams came down as a duo of Stealth Scrapadactlys swooped down to join in the fray. It was as they were darting under tree roots and racing around rocks that Skrap-It spotted their exit, a set of fallen trees and rocks
Putting on all the speed that they could muster, the duo shot forwards and leapt through the small space, Skrap-It narrowly avoiding the jaws of one of the Stealth Scrapadactlys as it got stuck. Fortunately, their pursuers were now more engrossed in scrapping each other rather than the Tools, if the screechs and buzzing they heard was anything to go by. Skrap-It held his head up and let out a "Heh?" followed by an "Uh-huh! in triumph.
He turned to the left to move on but only ended up slamming his head into a rock that was right next to him. Scrapper simply rolled his eyes. Further along the pair soon found what they were looking for. "Eh, let's see a scary cave, inside a dark mountain that pretty much screams, "Stay out!" Eh, this must be the place," Skrap-It muttered as he summarized what he had been told before the pair walked inside.
"Uh, hello?" called Skrap-It. "Kkktt Any T-Trux in here?" he asked as they climbed over some of the rocks strewn about the cave. All they got in response was a quartet of Gearwigs moving across the ceiling above them. Whilst Skrap-It was watching them, Scrapper cast his eyes further into the darkness. The clanking of treads, followed by a growl got their attention as the shadow of a large Trux loomed over them.
"Yaargh!"
The Scraptool's yell sounded out through the cave as the pair dove for cover, only for the former to trip over a rock and slam into the nearby wall. Scrapper, being more agile on his feet, easily landed beside him. Just as they moved forward something scraped across the rock over their heads. A loud whirring filled the air and both Tools looked to see a mass of drills moving towards them, their owner having the clear intent to turn them into scrap.
"Aah! Wait! D-Structs sent us!" Skrap-It pleaded, before cowering against the wall and shutting his eyes tight, awaiting his end. Hearing this plea, the drills stopped and as a large T-Trux, even larger than D-Structs, turned around and emerged into a ray of moonlight that was shining through a hole in the cave roof. "D-Structs?" He asked. His voice was smooth yet it only seemed to heighten his overall aura of menace.
He had silver grey and black paint with large spiked horns on his head that pointed upwards, one of which was broken while a crack-like scar ran down the right side of his face. His tail had a wrecking ball that was built more like a grinding flail with five spiky drills six forward-curved spikes on his neck and two curved spikes on each section of his tail, slightly longer arms and multi-treaded feet with retractable blades that were clearly for flipping other Dinotrux over.
"He's in trouble and said you could help, kkkt" said Skrap-It, eager to explain the object of their mission. "Well, actually I said someone else could help, but he then suggested you and..." The Scraptool broke off as the T-Trux let out a chuckle. "Uh..." Skrap-It chuckled nervously. "Yeah, I guess that could be funny, depending on your sense of humour," he said as the Trux above him and Scrapper narrowed his eyes.
"So, what kind of tangle has D-Structs gotten himself into now?"
Nice long chapter for you all. For those of you who have watched Dinotrux, you will know what episode I am covering in this chapter and the next one will see the events in this one finished and the river crossing.