Starscream was getting his morning energon with the other Seekers when Opulentus barged into the barn not looking happy.
"Nebula!" He barked.
"Yes, master?" Nebula walked over, her vocalizer and body calm despite how angry Opulentus sounded.
"Did one of these Seekers aid my son in escaping last night?"
"Which son?"
"You know which one. Knock Out!"
"I am not sure." Nebula then turned to the other Seekers who were all watching. "Which one of you aided Knock Out to escape? If any, that is."
Starscream started to tremble, his wings rattling against his backplates. Nebula noticed and perked her wings.
"Starscream, did you help Knock Out?" She asked.
Coolant pooled in his optics, terrified of being punished. "I-I just f-followed his ord-ders."
"No reason to be scared, Starscream. If you were obeying a master you did what was expected of you." She spoke reassuringly, walking over to him and taking his shaking servos in hers.
"I am not mad at you, Seeker." Opulentus grunted. "You obeyed him as is expected. I'm mad at my son for disobeying me. Where did he go?"
"I-I don't know. H-he had me take him t-to Reckless and th-they flew away."
Opulentus rolled his optics. "He must have removed the collar…. For now on, if any of you see Knock Out trying to sneak out his window or leave the premise at night, inform me immediately. I'll reward you."
"Snitches get stiches!" Someone shouted.
Opulentus glared at the Seekers. "You watch too much TV… I mean it! Tell me if he tries to run away again and you'll get something in return. Nebula, pass it on to whoever isn't here."
"I will, sir." Nebula nodded, gently hugging Starscream now.
Opulentus walked out of the barn.
Starscream looked up at Nebula. "I-I'm not in trouble?"
"No, you're not. You're not the first one Knock Out has tricked into disobeying Opulentus. Sit down and relax, Starscream. Take a break before going to the stables."
Starscream nodded, sitting on the couch with his energon. He did start to calm down after a while, feeling a little better with Nebula doting on him.
Eventually, he joined the other Seekers as they all went to the race stables to do their daily work. It was that evening when Starscream was with the other Seekers relaxing at the pond when one Seeker came running over to them.
"Guys! Guys!" The Seeker shouted. "Get to the front! The cops are here!"
Starscream wasn't sure what that meant, but all the Seekers immediately got up and ran to the front of the mansion, perking their wings as they watched a police vehicle park beside the trailers, and two massive Seekers, similar to the Blazer breed, stand by. On each of the Seeker mounts was a speedster, the speedsters in obvious police colors, and their Seekers with lights and sirens built into the large saddles they had, which also did the L shape thing. Another officer, a truck, walked out of the vehicle.
Opulentus, Pulchra, Grit, and a couple of others from the mansion stood nearby.
The vehicle was opened by one of the police speedsters, and out they pulled a kicking and struggling Knock Out who had his wrists cuffed behind his back. From the back of the vehicle, Reckless was led out, the Seeker looking very confused as he was led over.
"Where was he?" Opulentus demanded one of the officers.
"Downtown with his friends." The police speedster answered, holding Knock Out by the arm.
"Let me go!" Knock Out kicked at the officer.
"Do you want to be arrested for assault on an officer?" The police speedster snapped.
"You're taking me back to an abusive aft! LET ME GO!"
"I'll take him." Pulchra said as she approached her son.
The cuffs were removed and Knock Out quickly jumped to his carrier who hugged him possessively.
"Knock Out, don't ever scare me like that again!" Pulchra chastised him. "I was so worried about you!"
"I was fine. Safer out there than with this bastard!" Knock Out pointed a claw at his sire.
"You ungrateful brat!" Opulentus shouted as he was handed the reins of Reckless. "I give you everything and you reward me by running away! You're damn lucky you weren't abducted and sold into trafficking!"
Grit laughed. "Any abductor would dump Knockers fast! All his glitching and whining … No one wants to deal with that!"
"Eat slag." Knock Out snapped, still being squeezed by his carrier who was kissing him all over his faceplates.
Opulentus eyed Reckless. "You're also in trouble."
Reckless snorted, pressing his face into Opulentus' chestplates.
"If these officers hadn't found you before I had you wouldn't be walking for orns!" An older speedster Starscream had seen around the mansion angrily pointed a digit in Knock Out's faceplates.
"I don't care, grandsire." Knock Out rolled his optics. "Why haven't you died yet?"
"Hey! That is no way to speak to your grandsire!" Opulentus shouted.
"What?! He's ancient! Roll over and expire already!"
"You miserable, little-"
"Opulentus, be nice!" Pulchra snapped. "Our sweet, little mechling had a long, terrifying night all on his own! He is lucky to be alive!"
Knock Out nodded, pressing himself more into his pampering carrier's protective embrace. "So much danger. Reckless protected me, as well as my friends."
"I'll have Stardust make you a cake, and you and I will watch something in the home theater room, and you need a hot bath." Pulchra took her youngest's servo and led him away, not noticing a rude gesture he waved at the rest of his family.
Opulentus glared after his mate before turning back to Reckless. "Are you okay?"
Reckless nodded.
"If everything is good here we'll head out." The officer said as he mounted his Seeker.
"Yes, everything is fine. Thank you, officer. I'll… Call you when he decides to do this again…" Opulentus grumbled.
"Take care and call us if you need us. Let's go!"
The massive police Seekers leaped up, transformed, and took off, their thrusters so loud as their engines screamed. The truck hopped into the police vehicle and drove off as well.
Opulentus unsubspaced the collar Knock Out had removed from Reckless and started to try and put it back on the Seeker.
"I got him." Grit said, taking Reckless' reins and holding him in place.
"Thank you. At least you behave…" Opulentus grunted, unsubspacing a small welder.
Grit chuckled. "It's because I'm the smart son."
Reckless shook his helm.
"You being smart?" Grit glared at the Seeker.
"Ignore him. Who knows what Knock Out has told him…" Opulentus grunted, getting the collar welded back on. He then took the reins. "Get the saddle for me."
Grit reached up and removed the saddle from Reckless, then Opulentus gently removed the bridle. He gave Reckless a pat on the helm before walking away from the massive creature. Reckless snorted, straitening himself back out.
"Bring the saddle inside. We'll hide it somewhere."
"He'll just grab someone else's saddle…" Grit grunted.
"We can at least slow him down should he try this again."
"Just put a tracking device in the saddle." The grandsire grunted.
"Now, that's a good idea."
"Put a tracking device in Knock Out." Grit proposed.
"That's also a good idea…"
Starscream did not understand any of this family drama slag. But it seemed to be something all the other grunts were invested in.
Starscream held onto the lead as Shamelessly Rich bobbed his helm, loudly snorting through his intakes. He kneaded the air with his claws as they were manacled before him, anticipating what was about to happen.
They were in the breeding barn with some other studs all being held by grunt Seekers, but there were no brood Seekers.
"For those who haven't done nanite collection…" Grit pointed at Starscream as he walked by carrying a large, cylinder shaped item. "It's just like breeding with a brood Seeker, but instead of a Seeker, the studs hump a dummy," He patted a larger cylinder shaped object, like a punching bag, that was on a stand at an angle. "And we use this," He held up the thing he held. "As a fake valve. The top here has the fake valve, their spike goes inside, and when they cum that gets collected on the inside. The nanites are collected so we can sell them to breeders in other cities or planets. Live coverage is the best way to breed, and some registries only allow racers who were conceived via live coverage, but on other planets they pay big bucks for the nanites of champion racers. It's also good to always have some champion nanites kept in storage should something happen to said champion."
Starscream wasn't sure what could happen to these champions. They were always being cared for and seeing the vet a lot.
"There is also a sparkbond extractor. It collects the unique energy of the spark energy released during bonding. That is the thing tied here near the top of the dummy. You don't need to mess with it. Once it's turned on it does all the work. You just need to keep the stud on the dummy, keep his spike in the artificial valve, and make sure he squirts as much as he can out. Every drop is worth thousands." He paused to look at the Seekers. "Questions? No? Alright, let's collect their nanites."
The other Seekers who had done this before went to work, bringing the studs they had closer to the multiple dummies lined up. There were two grunt Seekers to each racer stud, one holding the racer, and one grabbing the artificial valve. The one holding the fake valve got the race Seeker to open their codpiece and began to stroke their spike. The other Seeker removed the manacles, while some of the speedsters were checking over the sparkbond extractors.
Starscream swallowed, nervous about this.
"Get his codpiece open." Grit instructed, taking the lead from Starscream.
"I-I don't know how…"
"Don't be nervous. Here, watch me. See these seams? If you get the tips of your claws in here, just give it a pull up and it pops off. See how it folded away on its own? Just needs a little encouragement. Give me your servo."
Starscream held it out and Grit took it and pressed it against Shamelessly Rich's spike cover. He then made Starscream rub it until the spike folded out. Grit pulled Starscream's servo back, wrapped it around the spike, and helped show him how to pump it.
"Don't be afraid to really stroke it. Give it some squeezes."
"I don't want to hurt him."
Grit chuckled. "You won't. Keep going. Feel it hardening? That's good, keep pumping."
Grit then removed the manacles from the race Seeker as the massive creature began to make pleased groaning sounds and snort loudly.
"He's liking what you're giving!" Grit laughed.
Starscream swallowed as he heard the sounds of the other studs already mounting their dummies and going at it. He felt so uncomfortable doing this. He didn't even get a chance to ask Shamelessly Rich if he was okay about him touching him…
The racer made an awful shrieking sound and stomped his ped as his wings fluttered.
"He's ready!" Grit gestured for Starscream to cease the stroking. "I'm going to lead him to the dummy, and you are going to put his spike into that artificial valve and hold it there. He's going to be humping hard so really hold onto it tight! You ready?"
"Hold it to the side?"
"Try to get it as much between his legs as possible, but if his spike has to bend to the side some that's fine. Ready?"
Starscream nodded, holding up the fake valve tube.
"Okay, mounting… Now!" He then quickly led the screaming stud to the dummy.
Without any hesitation, Shamelessly Rich latched onto the dummy, wrapping his arms around it as he madly began to hump. Starscream did his best to grab the throbbing phallus, shove it into the artificial valve, and hold it in place best he could despite the powerful thrusts. He hated being so close to that thing…And touching it.
Shamelessly Rich kept thrusting, stomping a ped down and fluttering his wings. He snorted, made awful neigh like sounds, and groaned throughout it. Grit held the lead firmly, pulling some on Shamelessly Rich's face, ensuring he couldn't dismount from the dummy. Shamelessly Rich was losing himself to his primal programming, biting on the dummy and trying to hump as hard as he could, but it just felt off due to it not being an actual Seeker he was on. This frustrated him as he felt so close to it being perfect for him, but just not quite. He snorted and growled, trying to really push himself to get that satisfaction, but it just wasn't coming the way he wanted it to. It felt great, just not wonderful.
"How you doing?" Grit asked Starscream.
"I'm holding up." Starscream replied with such strain in his vocalizer, clearly not doing all to well trying to keep the artificial valve in place.
Grit laughed. "It gets easier the more you do it. Just make sure you keep it there until he dismounts fully otherwise he might squirt you-AH!"
Grit cried out when Shamelessly Rich suddenly bit down hard on the speedster's wrist. Grit punched the racer in the faceplates, but he didn't let up. He managed to grab his riding whip and lash the massive jet on the faceplates, which finally got him to release the smaller being.
"What happened?" One of the other speedsters frantically asked as he ran over.
"Fragging glitch bit me!" Grit shouted as he inspected the wound, seeing a few deep punctures where energon was leaking out. "Slagging pile of-" He raised his arm to lash Shamelessly Rich again but the other speedster stopped him.
"Hey, hey! Not while he's doing this. We need him to finish. He probably mistook you for a femme." He laughed.
"Not funny." Grit growled.
"Need medical?"
"I've had worse."
"I'll take over Shameless. You want to monitor the others?"
"No, I can handle this glitch." He grabbed the lead again. "He'll just get a lot of lashes during his workout tomorrow." He glared at Shamelessly Rich. "How about twice the allotted number? Hmm? Want 60 lashes?"
Shamelessly Rich snorted at him and flicked his wings.
"You're too stupid to even know what I'm saying. Stupid Seeker… When you retire, I'm sending you off to be made into scrap metal. And I'm getting a front row seat to watch them put the bullet in your head, you fragging, stupid beast."
Starscream wasn't sure what that meant. Bullet? Why would they kill someone who made them rich? If he was so important, they needed to collect his nanites than he was too important to kill. Grit must just be talking slag because he was pissed off…
Shamelessly Rich only snorted and returned to focusing on his humping. Grit pushed the stud chain back against the upper gums and held the lead taunt, so it was pressing painfully into his gums. Shamelessly Rich tried to ignore it but began to whine as Grit kept making the lead tighter and tighter. He tried pulling his helm back, but that hurt even more. He whined loudly, pausing his thrusting to reach up and try and push the lead down, but Grit gave it a nasty yank, eliciting a horrible scream from the racer.
"Why are you tormenting my champion?" Opulentus grunted as he walked into the barn leading a racer who looked barely older than 10 stellar cycles.
"Slagheap bit me." Grit grumbled.
"Stop hurting him. I need his nanites, not him cowering because you can't control yourself for a breem. Here." He handed the lead of the very young racer to his son. "Take a break and do some tack training."
"This one is…?"
"Censored. He's the one we just separated from his dam."
"Oh, right. Your carrier is still crying over you…."
"He's taking the bit well, but still fighting over the saddle. Go work on that."
"He better not fight me." Grit grabbed his whip before leading the very young, and scared, Seekerlet away.
Starscream swallowed watching the young jet walk off, his wrists cuffed before him, anxious optics darting every which way searching for his carrier, and his already large wings folded over his back. He knew that fear at such a young age.
Opulentus took Shamelessly Rich's lead and stroked the racer's helm. "You need to keep going. I have clients impatiently waiting to insert your nanites into their brood Seekers. Make me richer, like the good race Seeker that you are."
Shamelessly Rich snorted, flicking his wings. At least Grit was away so he could get himself back in the mood. He continued his humping, but wasn't able to be as passionate as he was before. He finally overloaded, his spark energy being absorbed by the device in front of his open chest plates as a panicking Starscream did his best to keep the artificial valve in place as unholy things began to happen down there.
"Good job." Opulentus patted Shamelessly Rich. "Let's do it again. Another round for the rest of them! We'll stop when they have nothing left to give."
Starscream already felt exhausted and he just held a stupid tube in place. How greedy were these people over this stuff?!
"Starscream!"
The named Seeker skidded to a stop and spun around to face the one who had spoken it. "Yes?"
Nebula handed him a bouquet of crystal flowers. "Take this inside. Mistress Pulchra asked me to pick some for her."
"Why can't you give them to her?" Starscream asked as he took them.
"Aura is being fussy. I need to stay with her. You know the way inside the mansion. You're fine. Go on, shoo." She gently pushed him out the barn door.
Starscream looked at the flowers then walked over to the mansion's side door. He walked inside, his wings perked as he got to see the inside of this place again. He wasn't sure where Pulchra would be so he started up the back staircase to the second level. He walked down the hallway past Knock Out's room, pretty sure this must be where all the berthrooms were. But as he kept going he felt more and more uncertain.
He was glancing in the open doorways, hoping to spot his femme owner, but then he stopped when he saw someone he did not expect. He wasn't even sure what it was at first.
Cleaning the floor was a grunt Seeker… Or was it? This Seeker had wings, yes, but the peds were… large, and the body was too thick, and were there…. There were wheels on this Seeker-like being. Besides the wings, the servos, facial shape, and the fact there was a visible thruster, made it clear this being was meant for flight, but the wheels…
Starscream's optics widened realizing who this being was: Nacreous.
"Um…. Hey." Starscream gave a small wave.
Nacreous looked up at him, and Starscream was surprised at just how young he was. He was around his age, maybe younger, and looking so defeated. "Hey." He replied softly.
"I-I'm Starscream." He perked his wings as he offered a friendly smile. "You're Nacreous, right? I-I heard about you. It's nice to meet you."
"I'm sure everyone told you what a freak I am…. I don't want to hear it… Who are you looking for?"
"I'm looking for Mistress Pulchra, but no, no one told me you were a freak."
"How many have you spoken to about me?"
"Um… Just Nebula… And Silverstorm has mentioned you."
"Yeah, well, the rest think I'm a freak. So do the masters. Pulchra is in her room. It's the hallway on the otherside, third door on the right."
"Could you show me?"
"Kinda busy cleaning. Can't you see?" He gestured to his bucket of soapy water and the sponge in his servo.
"Well, yeah, I see that. But… I probably will get lost without help."
Nacreous vented an exasperated sigh as he tossed the sponge in the soapy water. "Yeah, you definitely are the kind to get lost easily…"
He got up and walked out of the room. Starscream glanced into the room noticing a desk, bookcases, and….. Seeker wings hanging from the wall. He stopped, stepping inside, his optics widening as he saw not just Seeker wings on the walls, from a variety of Seeker breeds, but other parts of Seeker bodies. The skeletal structure of race Seekers and some mount breeds were set up on displays, the full dental and claws on these "skeletons." There were entire servos in displays showing off the massive claws, Seeker denta in other glass display cases, Seeker optics, and… An entire race Seeker in jet mode hanging from the ceiling.
He swallowed, his wings low as he walked deeper into the room, ignoring an annoyed Nacreous who was watching him from behind. Some of the glass display cases were filled with a yellowish liquid with deformed Seeker protoforms inside. All of the Seeker parts and protoforms were racers, fight breeds, or mount breeds, minus one set of wings he knew had to have come from a grunt Seeker.
"W-what is this…?" Starscream swallowed, beginning to tremble.
"It's master Opulentus' study. He didn't put these here. They were collected over the vorns by his family." Nacreous explained, not amused.
"W-why does he have this…?" He finally looked back at Nacreous.
The hybrid shrugged. "Macabre decorations… Anatomy studies. Beats me. There's more scattered throughout the mansion. The race Seeker on the ceiling, the full one," He pointed. "That's Rain's first son. He was like some big time champion so when he died they stuffed him. The wings over there are from another one of her direct offspring. And you know the mounts who wander the estate? They were all bred from these two who were gifted to the master's family a long time ago. Those original two are these." He pointed to two of the "skeletons" on mounts. "No idea what they did with the plates, but some of their organs are in these jars on these shelves."
Starscream was trembling with a mixture of shock, horror, and sadness. Coolant leaked from his optics.
"W-why…? Why stuff Rain's sparkling?"
"I mean, he wasn't a sparkling when he died. I was told he died during a race so they wanted to preserve his final moments or whatever. So that's why he's in jet mode. Grit said the brain module is still inside." He pointed at the body hanging above. "There's a graveyard on the property, you know? Not everyone gets stuffed or melted for parts."
"I-I-I don't understand why anyone w-would want… Dead people around them."
Nacreous shrugged. "Better than being melted down and turned into something no one cares about. You know how much time I have to spend in here cleaning these guys? They're more loved than I am… Grit says I'll be joining them when I die because I'm… well, you know why. Not many like me."
Starscream looked at him. "I-is that why they bought you? T-to stuff you?"
"No, it's not." He flicked his wings. "You don't know slag about me or what Opulentus has done for me. Maybe they bought you to stuff."
"I-I didn't mean to insult you…"
"Mhmm… You want to see Pulchra or not?"
Starscream nodded as he quickly exited the room, not wanting to be there anymore. As he followed Nacreous he paid more attention to the walls and decorations… And Nacreous was right. There was more.
More wings from race Seekers adorned the walls. Some of the light fixtures were supported by the claws of Seekers. He saw more portions of the skeletal structures of Seekers in glass cases hanging from the wall, but then he saw… mounted busts of race Seekers. Their faces always roaring to reveal their sharp denta and flicking glossas, and their lifeless optics narrowed. There were these busts of the race Seekers and mount breeds on so many of the walls in the hallways, in rooms they passed, all different, all unique, all real.
The main room where the front staircases were, where the front doors opened to, had the real stuffed bodies of several race Seekers hanging from the ceiling just above the chandelier, as if they were racing, while a few were posed to look like they were perched along the walls near the ceiling. Stuffed mounts, the same breed as Reckless, stood in intimidating poses, as if about to attack, at the bases of the grand staircases.
He knew why Stardust had taken him through a back staircase when he was first in here… And why Rain only took him to the dining room. The rest of the mansion was a horror movie.
Nacreous noticed how terrified Starscream was. "There's a lot more in the basement where I live. And the next two stories about us have even more."
"How… How many Seekers did they kill…?"
"They didn't purposely kill all these Seekers. Most are accidents or were euthanized due to injuries. Some were old age. There's a book that has all their info and cause of death. If you listen to the audio you can learn about them all. Master Grit shared some of it with me."
They finally came to the master berthroom and Nacreous knocked before opening the door. "Mistress Pulchra, did you summon a Seeker?"
"Yes, I asked for the flowers." She spoke as she sat on her berth, Knock Out with her doing her claws.
"Y-yes, ma'am." Starscream stepped forward, noticing the busts of more race Seekers on the walls, the ones facing the berth had blindfolds over their optics for some strange reason. "I-I have the flowers h-here."
"Ah, perfect. Place them on the desk right over there. Thank you."
Knock Out noticed Starscream's stutter. "What's wrong with you?"
"He's shocked by the decorations." Nacreous explained as he pointed at some of the busts.
Knock Out raised an optical ridge. "They aren't gonna bite you. They're dead." He deadpanned.
"Nothing to worry about, Seeker. We only stuff the Seekers who actually did some good for us." Pulchra said dismissively, watching Knock Out paint her claws.
Starscream noticed one Seeker taxidermy in the corner, a full body of a race Seeker eternally shrieking, his body posed for attack, mouth gaping to reveal his sharp denta. But the poor thing was wearing some silly costume, with a hat and fluffy boa around his neck, and pink ribbon tied all around him. His body, instead of being given eternal piece, was made into a mockery in a corner to gather dust.
Starscream stepped out of the room, unable to take it anymore. Nacreous followed him, his wings perking.
"Hey, nothing to get worked over. They aren't in pain. They're dead." He grunted the last part.
"I-I need to go back to the barn."
"Um, sure. But, if you ever work up the courage, there's like a lot more in the basement all posed in an epic fight scene. It's actually cool."
Starscream wiped at his optics as he made his way to the back staircase. Nacreous returned to his work, and Starscream fled out the side door and back to the barn. He ran to Nebula who was sitting on the couch, and hugged her, burying his faceplates into her neck cables.
"What's wrong?" She asked, gently hugging him back while also holding her daughter. "What happened?"
"W-why do the masters m-make Seekers into statues?" He sobbed out, looking up at her.
She stroked his helm, silently comforting him. "They only do it to some. They won't to you. I'm so sorry it upset you, Starscream. I am so used to them being there I didn't think anything of it." She paused. "I do not know why they stuff the champions and those they hunt… It's some weird way to… celebrate them. Most of those have been there even before I was bought by the masters."
Starscream let himself cry, the emotions too much to say anything else on the matter. He just saw all of those faces… So many of them with their dead stares… And wondered who they might have been to have their bodies desecrated like that. They were people, too. Not decorations like some lamp!
What did the masters not use the Seekers for? They rode them, made them make their energon, clean up after them, interfaced them, work in their factories and fields and everywhere else for them… And even in death they served the masters… Their bodies never belonged to them in life or death.
Starscream wasn't paying attention, lost in thought about what he had seen yesterday with all the taxidermy of Seekers. Why would they do that? What possessed one to think that taking someone's body, the only thing they could own when a slave, and just… Not even let them have that? To not even be free after death? It was sickening.
"Hey!"
Starscream jolted back to reality, wings perking.
"You need to pay attention, Stars." Silverstorm lectured him, holding the rein of the race Seeker they were leading to the hot walker. "What got you all distant?"
Starscream swallowed, his wings drooping again. "I-I was in the house yesterday… A-and I saw…. Dead Seekers being used as decoration."
"Oh, that's it. Yeah…. I have seen a few of them, too. It's freaky, isn't it? Like, kinda cool, but also kinda fragged up."
"Why do the masters do that?"
"I have no idea. I guess it's a grounder thing. I just want to know how they make sure it doesn't smell. Have you ever smelled a dead body that has been left out? The energon and lubricants and everything starts to stink. They had to like really clean those things."
"I am more concerned why they decorate using corpses."
"Maybe it's to remind us who is in charge."
"But if they don't do that to grunts why then? Maybe to remind the racers…"
Silverstorm vented a sigh as he tied the race Seeker they were leading to the post to be hosed off. "Something to think about another time. We need to stay focus on our work."
"I am focusing. It's the same routine every orbital cycle. I can do it blindfolded now…"
"I wouldn't risk that with Offroad around…"
They started to walk back towards the stables to grab the next race Seeker who needed to be exercised.
Starscream let his mind drift again, mindlessly following Silverstorm to the stable and stopping by the stall of one of the younger racers. Without much thought, he walked into the stall and forced the bit into the racer's mouth. The race Seeker was only 16 stellar cycles old, and quite jumpy with everyone handling him.
Starscream got the bridle on as Silverstorm put the manacles on the Seekerlet's wrists. They then both led the jumpy adolescent out of his stall and towards the practice track. Starscream was still in his trance thinking, not paying any attention to where he was going when he suddenly tripped over a stone. As he fell he released the rein and hit the youngster, causing the already anxious being to panic. Silverstorm tried his best to hold the Seekerlet down, but despite his age the race Seekerlet was already twice Silverstorm's size. The Seekerlet shrieked as he leaped back, clawing at Silverstorm, and then activated his thrusters. Silverstorm held on for dear life, leaning back, trying to use his entire body weight to keep the Seekerlet down. Starscream managed to scramble to his peds and grab the Seekerlet's ankles, pulling him down.
The commotion caused more grunt Seekers to rush over, and finally a truck managed to grasp the racer and pin him to the ground.
"Calm down, it's okay." One grunt Seeker stroked the helm of the Seekerlet as the truck sat on him. "Shhh, just calm down."
"What happened?" The truck asked as he looked up at the gathered grunts.
"I didn't see anything." One replied.
"I think he just spooked."
"But what spooked him?" The truck asked again.
"I saw it." A speedster piped up as he led a racer over. "That Seeker wasn't watching where he was going and fell against the Seekerlet."
"I-it was an accident!" Starscream blurted out. "I just tripped! Accidents happen."
"Aren't you the same one who forgot to tether a racer to the post earlier? You are! You have not been focusing at all this orbital cycle."
"Starscream is just tired. There was a noise during the night that onlined us, but he couldn't fall back into recharge." Silverstorm lied.
"You almost lost a racer." The truck grunted. "This is our livelihood!"
"I-it was an accident!" Starscream exclaimed.
"I'll make sure there's no more 'accidents.'" Offroad growled, the others suddenly realizing he had been standing there. "Come here, little slagger." He roughly grabbed Starscream's wrist and yanked him over.
"Please, no!" Starscream shouted, panic filling his optics.
"It was an accident!" Silverstorm shouted, grabbing at Offroad's arm. "Please, h-he didn't mean it!"
"Let go of me, slave." Offroad snarled.
Silverstorm glanced at Starscream, then whispered something to Offroad. The truck glared at him, then rolled his optics.
"Fine, I'll go easy." He said quietly back to the grunt, just loud enough Starscream heard. "But you better be there."
With that, the truck dragged a terrified Starscream off, leaving behind Silverstorm who was beginning to cry. Starscream felt his own coolant pooling in his optics, still struggling as he was led inside the stables to be out of sight of everyone else.
"Please, Offroad! I-I didn't mean to trip! It was an accident! I'm sorry!" Starscream continued to desperately beg, his heels scraping along the floor.
The racers still in their stalls were watching, curious what was happening. Offroad finally stopped by a stall, unsubspaced the chain and cuffs he kept on him, and easily tied Starscream's wrists to the bars of the stall wall.
"PLEASE!" Starscream screamed, coolant pouring from his optics, desperately trying to get away. "PLEASE, DON'T HURT ME! I'M SORRY!"
"Shut up." Offroad grunted, unsubspacing a long whip.
"PLEASE!"
The racers in their stalls were all watching, wings perking, some hissing and growling. Others began to loudly shriek and stomp their peds.
Offroad raised his arm and then swung it, lashing the whip across Starscream's lower back. Starscream shrieked from the pain, his body jerking forward and into the stall wall. He looked up, bawling his optics out, and saw through the bars a race Seeker snarling. Another lash and he screamed from the pain. The racer inside the stall he was chained to lunged forward, hitting the stall wall so hard he dented it. He made the absolute most horrible and furious roar Starscream had ever heard a beast release, the bright optics filled with the desire for violence.
Starscream cried again from another lash, and the race Seeker kept desperately trying to break down the bars to get to Offroad, shrieking and snarling. Offroad continued lashing Starscream, unfazed by the horrible cries of the racers or the pained wails of the grunt. This was just his job.
The racer continued to claw and even tried to break the chain holding Starscream, never relenting.
After ten lashes Offroad subspaced the whip, then untied the bawling Starscream who crumbled to a heap on the floor. The truck simply walked away, leaving Starscream in a puddle of pain and shock. Starscream looked up after a klik, coolant still leaking from his optics. He realized the Seeker who had been trying to save him was Shamelessly Rich, the racer's demeanor calmer now, but still angry. There was also… pity in those massive optics.
Starscream slowly stood up, wings low, his legs trembling, feeling so weak as his shock began to wear away. He walked to the stall door and without thinking opened it. He wanted to hide and be alone as he cried. Maybe Shamelessly Rich can keep people away… Or he'll kill him and then no one could ever hurt him again because… Can't hurt a dead person. But Starscream didn't want to be stuffed…
He closed the stall door behind him and slowly walked deeper into the stall, wiping at his optics. Shamelessly Rich snorted, then his wings lowered. He slowly approached Starscream, and lowered himself to gently nudge his face against Starscream's faceplates. Starscream reached out his arms and hugged the massive creature, needing comfort from someone right now. Shamelessly Rich was confused by this, never having been hugged before, but he didn't fight Starscream. He allowed the grunt to hug him for a moment before grabbing Starscream and turning him around. He inspected the whip marks, snorted and flicked his wings in anger, and loudly growled his engine.
"Y-you can just k-kill me if that's w-what you're thinking…" Starscream managed between sobs.
Shamelessly Rich flicked his wings, walking around to nudge Starscream in the faceplates again. He made a friendly neigh sound, snorted, then walked to the corner to retrieve a large ball. He returned with the toy and handed it to Starscream. Starscream accepted it, but didn't feel any better. He just wiped at his optics, feeling sick now. So much crying and panic and it had upset his fuel tank.
He walked to the corner and sat down, making sure that if anyone looked inside the stall they wouldn't see him. Shamelessly Rich glanced around, stomped a ped, then walked over to the grunt. He sat down beside Starscream and began to loudly purr his engine. Starscream looked up at him, then hugged him, snuggling into the massive, warm chassis.
"Thanks, Rich…. I appreciate you trying to… Make me feel better." Starscream said softly. "W-why are the masters so cruel? It was an accident…" He felt new coolant pooling in his optics.
Shamelessly Rich didn't know what to do to make Starscream feel better. His wings perked when he thought of something that made him happy. He reached down and tried to imitate the masters and touched Starscream's crotch.
"No, not doing that." Starscream pushed the massive claws away. "I know what you're thinking but I'm not… I'm not like you. I'm not so… I don't want to sound mean…. I'm not as… primitive…? I-I require more to… Make me happy than…. I think you do. I don't know what you want… I'm sorry if I insulted you… I don't want that, that's all."
Shamelessly Rich didn't quite understand. He said something in his language, snorted, then took the ball from Starscream. He clawed at it, then thew it across the stall. He turned back to Starscream, his wings perking and helm cocking.
"I wish you talked…. I could use someone to talk to right now…"
Shamelessly Rich slid down until he was lying beside Starscream and looked up at him. He purred his engine, then rolled to his side and gave Starscream's leg a playful tug. He looked back at Starscream, wanting some reaction, but Starscream didn't say anything. He then reached up, grabbed Starscream and easily pulled him close to him. Starscream winced from the pain still in his back, but couldn't do anything as the giant Seeker hugged him, then licked his faceplates.
"Okay, that's enough. Why aren't you this sweet when I'm handling you?"
Shamelessly Rich fluttered his wings, enjoying messing with this smaller being. Starscream vented a sigh, but did like the feeling of being held by these powerful arms. While he didn't like the licking, he did like the attention and affection. This was certainly nice.
Starscream stayed in the stall for a couple of more joors listening as racers were led in and out of their stalls, and then the end of the orbital cycle routine of checking all the racers. He listened to all the grunts lock up the stables, the lights dimmed, and then it was silent.
The silence didn't last long before racers began to call out to each other in their language and talk about whatever it was. Starscream listened to them, his optics offlining. Despite the constant shrieks, neighs, and other sounds it was peaceful here. Just the soft plant material bedding, the loud, powerful growl of a racer's engine, and no drama. It felt almost like the barn with Warpaint and the other mounts…
He missed those guys…
Shamelessly Rich stood up and walked to his energon dispenser. He loudly slurped his energon, fluttering his wings. He glanced back at Starscream, then approached him. Without preamble, he picked up Starscream like he weighed nothing and carried him to the dispenser. Starscream didn't fight him, knowing he had no chance at stopping this enormous beast. Shamelessly Rich plunked him down in front of the dispenser then nudged him forward. He showed Starscream where to press to get the energon to come out of the spigot, then nudged him again.
"I'm not hungry." Starscream said softly.
Shamelessly Rich snorted and stomped a ped. He nudged Starscream again, a little rougher, almost knocking him over. He than tapped the large button with his claws, snorted, and nudged Starscream again.
"Alright, fine, I'll have a little…" Starscream capitulated with a sigh. He pressed the button, then tried slurping it up without his lip plates touching where Shamelessly Rich had his mouth just a moment ago. "It's… Not terrible. Better than the energon I had on the farm."
Shamelessly Rich fluttered his wings, glad Starscream was fueling. He then nudged him away from the dispenser, turned him around, and nudged him over to the berth. He kept nudging his face into Starscream's back and shoulder until the grunt arrived at the berth. Then, the racer plucked Starscream up and placed him a little roughly onto the berth.
"Ow!" Starscream yelped, still sore from the flogging.
Shamelessly Rich whined and quickly nuzzled his faceplates against Starscream's to apologize. He snorted, then licked the smaller jet on the faceplates.
"Please, don't do that." Starscream gently pushed his face away. "I can't spend the night… I appreciate the kind offer but… I should go back to the barn…"
Shamelessly Rich snarled, flicking his wings. He pushed Starscream down, then grabbed a circular shaped chew toy and handed it to Starscream. He purred his engine as his wings fluttered, pushing the toy a little roughly into Starscream's abdomen. He then took it back, chewed on it some to show Starscream how to play with it before shoving it back at him.
"I don't play with stuff like this…."
Shamelessly Rich seemed confused by that. He took his chew toy back and tossed it to the ground. He snorted, contemplating, then grabbed a treat ball. He handed it to Starscream fluttering his wings. He took it back, mouthed at a hole in it while pushing his glossa inside to lick at the gooey, sweet energon smeared inside, then handed it back to Starscream.
Starscream made a face seeing all the mouth lubricant now on the toy. "I'll pass."
Shamelessly Rich angrily snorted, offended that his treat ball wasn't good enough. He tossed it down, stomped a ped, and flicked his brilliant wings. Then, he walked to a corner, dug around in the bedding, and pulled out a toy that looked like a cyberduck. He excitedly brought it over to Starscream, held it in the grunt's faceplates, and squeezed the toy tightly. Then, he slowly loosened his grip on the toy causing it to make a very annoying, loud quack like sound. He smiled, quickly squeezing and unsqueezing the toy so it kept making that Primus awful quacking sound that already was driving Starscream insane.
"Okay! That's… That's nice, Rich. I get it." Starscream vented.
Shamelessly Rich cocked his helm, not sure why Starscream wasn't loving the cyberduck toy. He then started to chew on it, eliciting more awful quacking. He shoved the toy into Starscream's chestplates, his wings madly fluttering. Starscream took the toy, eyed it, then gave it a squeeze. He let it quack once and Shamelessly Rich quickly nodded his helm as he smiled, his wings fluttering more. He nudged Starscream, and the smaller Seeker quacked the toy again.
"Alright, it's a little fun." Starscream faintly smiled.
Shamelessly Rich purred his engine, happy he finally got a smile out of Starscream. He nuzzled him, then pushed him to lie down on the berth. Starscream acquiesced, relaxing on the berth with the toy cyberduck. The race Seeker nudged him over so Starscream was against the wall, then the massive jet got onto the berth. He lied down facing the stall door, ready to stop anyone from coming in and harming Starscream anymore.
"You're really sweet, Shameless… I wish you could talk. I miss talking to Warpaint… He… didn't have the biggest vocabulary, but he always knew what to say." Coolant filled his optics. "I miss my carrier… Both of them…. I'm scared that they both are being hurt somewhere as bad or worse as the farm… I wish I knew where they were. I'm scared for them. A-and there's nothing I can do! I'm stuck here, and I don't even know where here is. I-I couldn't search for them if I tried because I don't know if I-I need to go east or west or what to find them. I don't even know the designation of the city Vertex lived in…" He wiped at his optics. "I really just wish they were here with me… A-and we weren't hurt by the masters."
Shamelessly Rich rolled over to look at him. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it. He hesitated, then hugged Starscream, holding him close. Starscream curled into his embrace, feeling safe and comforted.
It felt like he was with Warpaint, but somehow Shamelessly Rich seemed… More aware. Why couldn't he just speak?!
After about a joor Starscream decided he should get back to the barn. He wriggled himself free of the giant's hold and slid off the berth. Shamelessly Rich sat up, his wings perking. He whined softly as he stood and followed Starscream to the door.
"I need to go, Rich… I-I appreciate you trying to protect me and cheering me up. You're really sweet. But I should let Nebula know I'm alright. She might be worried about me."
Shamelessly Rich nudged his face against Starscream's purring softly.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Have a goodnight, okay?"
Shameleslly Rich watched Starscream reach through the bars of the door, his arm thin enough to do so, and unlock it. He walked out, locked the gate behind him, and looked up at the racer.
"Recharge well."
Starscream walked away, wings low, wishing a little that he could stay. But, his place was the barn, not the racing stables. He didn't want to get in trouble for staying here all night.
He made it back to the barn and walked in. Instantly, Nebula was on him.
"I heard what happened. Come, lets give you a hot bath, cake, and rest." She said, mothering him so much like how Chandelle always did.
Starscream felt the coolant, remembering Chandelle and being hurt. Nebula led him to the washroom where she drew him a hot bath and soon he was sitting in it as she gently cleaned him with a sponge. At least he had her to help him in the absence of Chandelle.
Starscream went downstairs for his morning energon the next orbital cycle, most of the other Seekers already gone for their daily work.
"Recharge well?" Nebula asked as she helped Ignition, the grunt Seeker who was carrying.
"I guess." Starscream answered softly.
Nebula walked over to him. "I convinced Master Opulentus to give you the orbital cycle off because of what happened. I want you to relax, alright? Do whatever you want to do."
"How did you convince him to give me the orbital cycle off?"
"I have been his head Seeker for longer than he's been alive. He trusts me when I say the Seekers I look after need time to recover." She patted his arm. "Ignition and I will take the Seekerlets for a hike later if you want to join us. You don't have to, just letting you know there's an invitation. We might be able to convince Rain to join us."
"Do you know where she is?"
"I know her favorite spots."
"I'll think about it."
"Good. Let me know if you need anything, sweetie."
Starscream drank his energon before deciding to step out of the barn and walk around. He first went to the horse barn and petted all the equinoids and zap ponies there, as well as some cybercats. After a joor of that he wandered to the pond, but no one was there. He started to meander around the mansion when he spotted someone familiar. His wings perked, watching as Nacreous struggled to carry a heavy trash bag out the side door and toss it into the dumpster. He clapped his servos together as one does after a hard job to clear the dust off them before heading back to the door.
"Wait!" Starscream shouted as he ran over.
Nacreous perked his wings as he glanced back, then started to run for the door. Starscream didn't understand this, but managed to get to the door just as Nacreous was trying to close it.
"Why are you running?!" The full Seeker demanded, stopping the door.
"How do I know you're not going to attack me?!" Nacreous snapped, pushing against the door.
"Why would I do that?! I just wanted to talk to you!"
"Uh huh. And then throw something at me!"
"I don't have anything! I just saw you the other orbital cycle! I only have known you from that one encounter!"
"Which makes it more peculiar you are after me!"
"What?! I just want to learn more about you! You seem cool!"
Nacreous eyed him, those optics so weird looking to Starscream. "If this is a trick…"
"Why would anyone attack you?"
"Ask all the afts who have attacked me!"
"Who are they?"
"You live with most of them."
"The other Seekers attack you?"
"Some of them…"
"Why?"
Nacreous rolled his optics. "Because I'm a freak! You see it!" He gestured at his body. "I-I'm a freak of nature! Only reason I'm not dead is because Opulentus got to me before a-a circus or body collector did!"
"Body collector?"
"Yeah, body collector."
"What's that?"
"People who… Like to collect body parts from people like me because we're not natural. On the black market my body parts sell for… a lot. Some people think eating parts of me cure diseases…"
"What would eating you cure?"
"Apparently, eating the spike, nanite productive units, and parts of the brain module cures erectile dysfunction."
"What's erectile dysfunction?"
"When your spike won't harden."
Starscream made a face. "People think eating your spike will help their spike? That's…. That's really stupid."
"It is. But some people believe it and would kill me for it."
"Well, I'm not going to kill you. I think you look cool. Especially your optics."
"What about them?"
"I've never seen green optics before. That's really cool."
Nacreous scrutinized Starscream with those narrowed, green optics for a moment before venting a sigh. He stepped back and allowed Starscream to enter the mansion.
"But if you stab me or throw waste at me I'm telling Opulentus."
"I would never do any of those."
"Why aren't you working?"
"I got the orbital cycle off."
"Guess it's my lucky orbital cycle…" Was the sardonic reply.
"What are you doing?" Starscream inquired, ignoring the sarcasm.
"Cleaning. That's all I do is clean. I clean all six levels. Basement, attic, and main four. Every orbital cycle I clean."
" And Stardust too?"
"She is mostly serving energon and doing work in the energon room. She also serves the masters more directly. I just clean. I mop floors, dust, clean washrooms, clean up after the masters, shine the taxidermy, all of that."
Starscream swallowed at mention of taxidermy. Nacreous noticed.
"Still upset about that?"
"Well, yeah… It's someone's body…"
"Don't let it upset you. They are already dead. They can't be hurt anymore. If you can't handle seeing them then you're not going to be able to handle being in here."
"No, I…. I can handle it. I'm ready for it."
"Mhmm. Wanna take a tour, then?"
Starscream perked his wings. "Yeah, I want a tour."
"Alright, come with me."
Starscream followed the hybrid into the dining room and then to the entrance room where the front door and the two grand staircases were. Starscream swallowed seeing all the stuffed bodies again, but told himself to not get upset. They weren't in pain anymore.
"Okay, so here is the entrance! This is where guests come through and then party here, and in the dining room and living room, and the bar over there. Most of the masters live on the second floor, Opulentus, his mate and sons, Opulentus' creators, Offroad, Wheelfire, Conduit, Opulentus' brother, and Mistress Pulchra's ailing carrier who you rarely see because she's, well, ailing."
"I don't see really many of the people you designated."
"Well, because you're at the race stables. Master Opulentus and his sire do training so they are in a different area than you. Conduit is the vet, Wheelfire is a jockey who has been with the family for vorns so they just moved him in. Knock Out is at school most of the time. Pulchra mostly is shopping or decorating the house, or tending to her carrier. Opulentus' carrier doesn't like going outside, and Opulentus' brother is in charge of the breeding stables. Like, making sure the Seekerlets are all not dying. Then there's the two Seekers, Stardust and Princess, and me, the inbetween one. But we live in the basement."
"This house is huge. Why don't more people live in it?"
"I don't know. The rest of the family visits a lot so the rooms are used all the time as guest rooms, but I guess not everyone wanted to stay living here or wanted to be involved with the race industry. Opulentus did have a cousin living here for a few stellar cycles, but then he found a mate and moved out. I'm sure more masters will move in. Grit probably will find a mate, and Knock Out will, and they might stay. Pulchra keeps talking about having more sparklings so…" He shrugged. "I just clean and overhear the masters."
"If everyone lives on the second floor… What's on the levels above?"
"Well, the third level is where My Rainbow Sundae's room is. Wanna see?"
"Is she okay with that?"
"If she's not in there then yeah." He gestured for Starscream to follow him.
They walked up one of the grand staircases and then went to the back where another staircase was.
"So, there's multiple staircases throughout the mansion for not just safety reasons, like for a fire, but so the slaves can move around without being seen by guests. Because we're so gross and all of that I guess." He shrugged.
They made it up the stairs and into another hallway that was lit by only the light coming in through windows. But, just like the other level below, more taxidermy of race and mount Seekers were on the walls. Busts, full bodies, wings, etc. Starscream bit his lip plate.
"Why are the lights off?"
"No one is ever up here so why waste power?" Nacreous led him down the hallway.
"Why make this place so huge if they don't use all of it?"
"So, when it was built the great-great-great whatever grandsire of Opulentus had a huge family. He was poor at the time and in desperation to win Shanix he bought a race Seeker. He took a huge risk hoping that that Seeker could win enough to feed his family, but then that race Seeker ended up making him rich. That Seeker of course is Rainbow Sundae. He designated her that because it was his daughter's favorite thing to eat, and he wanted to be able to buy his daughter them all the time.
"So, Rainbow Sundae shook the race world not only winning all her races against other femmes, but then winning against the mechs, as they usually separate them because the mechs are larger. And when the guy was suddenly swimming in Shanix he built this place to hold his entire family and friends. His creations and mate, his creators and grandcreators. Cousins, aunts, nephews, nieces, everyone. And all his friends who also were struggling. And they made the ranch self sufficient with the generator and everything. Over the vorns it became a race Seeker breeding farm that profited mostly off selling racers and offering elite studs. But in more recent times it resumed also racing Seekers under its banner. So, now it's one of the few breeding, training, and racing facilities on Velocitron.
"While the population inside the mansion has shrunk, the population outside has grown with hundreds of race Seekers, the mounts, and you guys. I do think one orbital cycle the whole mansion will be used again. I heard Pulchra talk about making it into a fancy hotel if the racing industry ever collapses. It might even become a historical site due to what it has done to the racing industry. I don't know. I think it will always be here and well cared for. I mean, look at the place! Even if the current family loses everything this place would be snatched up to become something new. Like a hospital. Or an insane asylum."
"What's an insane asylum?" Starscream perked his wings.
"A place they would board you if you weren't a slave."
Starscream paused. "Wait, is that an insult?"
Nacreous shrugged. Starscream didn't like his sarcasm all the time.
"Well, here we are." The hybrid pointed to a closed door. "Beyond this door is either absolutely nothing, or a really pissed off, ancient race Seeker. Let's find out!"
He knocked, paused, then opened the door. He smirked when seeing no one inside.
"She's out. Safe to come inside." He gestured Starscream in.
Starscream looked around the room which contained a large berth, a washroom, closet, large vidscreen, desk, chair, shelves, and a few cat trees for the cybercats. The walls were covered in pictures, all of them of different race Seekers, and many of a much younger Rain with Seekerlets. Quite a few of the pictures the race Seekers were with grounders, but the faces of the grounders had all been scratched out.
"I recognize Rain, but who are the other Seekers?" Starscream inquired as he studied them.
"Those are her many creations."
"How many did she have?"
"I think… 76? You'll have to ask her."
Starscream stared at him in disbelief. "No way she had that many!"
"No, she did. The masters bred her a lot because of how much she was worth. They squeezed her for everything they could."
"Where are all of her creations?"
"Well, many were sold when still Seekerlets and the rest stayed here to race and breed. There's a lot that are stuffed inside the mansion. The ones who were sold were all eventually mailed back in urns over the span of a couple of vorns. Then a servoful are buried in the graveyard that's on the property."
"Are none alive?"
"Nope! Most died from racing, one from having a sparkling, some age, one got sick from being shipped off planet, and one was stolen, disappeared for stellar cycles, and when found was in such a bad shape they euthanized him." Nacreous explained as he walked to the closet and then opened it. "She keeps the urns in here."
"That's not for you to look at." Starscream walked over to close the door.
"It's fine. She has a lot of stuff in here. Pictures, videos of her and her creations. There's also-"
Starscream closed the closet door. "No, let her have her privacy." He looked back when a cybercat meowed as she sat on the cat tree. "Are the cyber cats hers?"
"Pulchra saves sick cyber cats and cyberdogs. There's like six dogs and… I have no idea how many cats… But Rainbow likes them, too."
"If Rain isn't in her room where is she?"
"She is usually here, the graveyard, or with the other champions."
"I keep hearing about the other champions but never seen them…"
"They hang out at the far end of the ranch. Like, they avoid everyone. They're also super aggressive and so people don't bother them. Probably due to being whipped and locked in cages for so long they've lost their minds."
"They don't hang out with the mounts?"
"I don't think the mounts or racers like each other. The racers want nothing to do with the masters while the mounts kinda are okay with being used. I don't get involved with their politics. I clean, I listen in on people, and I can juggle."
"You can juggle."
"I can. It's really rad. What's your hidden talent?"
"Um… I don't think I have one."
"Lame. Should get one and randomly bring it up when no one is asking."
"Is that helpful in any way?"
"Not at all, but at least you can say you have one."
"You're odd."
"So are you."
Starscream smirked. "I don't know why people are mean to you. You seem really nice."
"Because I'm a freak, remember?"
"You seem normal to me."
"You did just call me odd."
"True."
"You're kinda-" He paused to look out the window when something flew by. "Thought it was Rainbow. Just one of the mounts. They like to hang out on the roof."
"It's okay to be on the roof?"
"Yeah, wanna see?"
"Yes!"
They closed the door as they left Rain's room and went up the stairs until they got to the door that opened to the roof. Nacreous led Starscream out onto the flat roof, which had a small wall along the edge to keep anyone from falling off. Some mounts were up there, lying down, stretching their wings, and relaxing. There were also various birds, some patio furniture, and a net. Starscream walked over to the net.
"What's this?"
"Oh, that's for volleyball. It's a game where you hit a ball back and forth over the net and score points. Grit used to play it with his friends when he was an adolescent. It has just stayed up here vibing by itself for stellar cycles."
"You use weird words."
"I'm stuck in a house with an adolescent…. Knock Out brings home the latest words and I can't help but pick it up."
Starscream looked over the edge, able to see the race stables and practice track in the distance. He could hear the occasional sonic boom, but it was faint due to the special energy barriers surrounding the track.
"It's nice up here." Nacreous said as he leaned against the barrier next to Starscream. I get to see what it looks like from above."
Starscream looked at him. "Do the master not let you fly?"
Nacreous turned to him. "I can't fly. These," He twitched his wings. "Are just… decoration, I guess. I transform into a ground vehicle. I'm more grounder than Seeker, but I am treated as a Seeker."
"Why is that? If you're part grounder why are you not a master?"
"Because I have Seeker in me."
"But you also have grounder in you."
"I don't make the rules. I just know I'm beneath the masters and serve them."
"Do they…. Whip you?"
"You think I get special privileges for being a hybrid?"
"Well…. Yeah." He nodded.
"I behave. I am never in trouble. Not that I'm around people much anyway… Always in a different room cleaning by myself. I do hang out with Grit and Knock Out at times, but not much."
"If Grit nice to you?"
"He is."
"He's mean to us."
"Grit is a grouch."
Starscream was silent a moment before speaking. "How did Opulentus…. Acquire you?"
Nacreous vented a sigh as he looked back out over the ranch. "My sire was my carrier's master. He used her for… Interface, obviously. But she wasn't spayed like Princess is so she got sparked. But she didn't realize she was sparked for some time. When it was found out she was carrying my sire truly believed she had been sparked by the other Seeker who he owned, so he thought he was getting a brand new free slave. So he allowed her to finish the carrying, got her everything she needed to stay healthy and have a strong sparkling so he would have a new, healthy slave.
"And then she went into labor. It was a bad labor and he had to take her to the vet. They had to C-section me out of carrier, and when I popped out and they saw me… Sire was so horrified by what he saw he tried to wrestle me away from the vet to stomp me to death. In the struggle I did get dropped, and that might be why I can't fly, or maybe why I had a couple of seizures when I was three stellar cycles old.
"The vet and the staff didn't want me to be killed because I guess… They were just decent people who saw a sparkling, not a freak. And they managed to convince my sire that I could still be a slave. Nothing illegal about enslaving hybrids. So, I was allowed to live. My carrier loved me, and raised me with love, and taught me how to serve my sire. I wasn't told he was my sire until I was ten stellar cycles old, so that I wouldn't… Grow up to see him as anything but my master. And he was… Not a nice master. He was very… Quick to punishment. He would beat my carrier and the other Seeker there a lot…" He said softly as he picked at the wall. "He sometimes got too into it and my carrier would need to go to the vet… And sometimes he took his anger out on me. Loved to drink his engex.
"When I was twelve stellar cycles old sire found out that if he sold me to the right person… He could get a lot of Shanix. So, he tied me up, dragged me out the door, and tried to take me away. But my carrier managed to break out of the house and track him down. She attacked him, and she did everything to save me…. He killed her in front of me… But she damaged him so much he collapsed… And he died of energon loss beside her… I was found dragging my carrier's corpse along the side of the road screaming for help. I was taken to a shelter… Kept locked in a cage. People there talked about selling me for my parts. One of the staffers knew Gearshift, who is Opulentus' friend that runs the Seeker rescue. She called him, and he and Opulentus picked me up. Opulentus even cremated my carrier for me so… She's in my room. No idea what happened to my sire's body.
"And I've been here ever since. Bullied a lot by the Seekers, but I grew up alongside Knock Out and kinda Grit. He feels like a big brother to me at times. Knock Out is kinda like a little brother. I might not be their equal, but they care for me so that's good enough.
"Maybe Opulentus bought me because I'm so exotic, but whatever his reason… It's better than being killed so someone can eat my spike." He smirked.
"That's really sad. I'm so sorry…" Starscream lowered his wings.
"Everyone has a sad story here. Opulentus gets Seekers, and hybrids, from the worst cases. He's been friends with Gearshift for a really long time so they do a lot of rescue work. Opulentus donates and helps buy abused Seekers, and sometimes brings them home. Gearshift rehabilitates and heals abused Seekers before finding them new, good homes. He also has a sanctuary for Seekers who can't be rehomed. They save Seekers from abuse by funding it with, well, more slavery." He gestured towards the racetrack. "But, I guess it's the best we got until slavery is illegal."
"Why would it be illegal?"
Nacreous looked at him. "Right, you aren't allowed to hear the news. I listen in and watch it with Knock Out." He paused. "There's a growing movement to ban slavery. Some cities on Velocitron already have. The Seekers, and hybrids, there are free."
Starscream's optics widened into perfect circles. "You're slagging me."
"Nope! It's true! The masters keep you guys in the dark on this, so you don't rebel. But I'm no Seeker, am I?" He smiled mischievously. "See, you guys call me a freak and mock me, but I'm a hella lot smarter than you!"
"How so?"
"I can…. Kinda read simple words. Not the best, but growing up with Knock Out I learned a little from him. Maybe one orbital cycle I can read big words. I can spell my designation! Look, look, see." He then scratched at the wall with his short claws, making the letters. "Nac-ree-us! That's me! I can also write…. The…. Dog…. Sat. See…. The…. Dog…. Sit…. Ing…."
"Can you write about anything other than a dog?"
"I can write about cats." Nacreous giggled. "And rats… And bats! But they all have to be sitting. Or catching a ball…. Or hanging out at the park."
"Very specific."
"I have been rereading the came sparkling books for stellar cycles. Go easy on me. Look, reading is hard!"
"No, I believe you. I can't read at all. Or spell. I'm very impressed."
Nacreous beamed. "Damn right you are. So, you know my story… What's yours?"
Starscream bit his lower lip plate. "I… It's a long one…"
"I have time. And I have hugs to give to comfort you."
"You don't think I'm going to hurt you anymore?"
"If you were planning to do so you'd push me over the edge by now. You've passed the test."
"Okay…."
"Wanna go to my room and tell it? If you don't want them to hear?" He gestured at the servoful of mounts hanging out on the roof.
"Yeah, we can do that. I-I don't mind them listening. But if you want to…"
"Come on, my room is cool."
Nacreous led him back inside and they descended multiple staircases until they finally got to the basement. Starscream perked his wings when they entered a large lounge room with a massive flatscreen, couches, a pool table, bar, and other relaxing games. There was a hallway that branched off at one end, while several doors were closed along one wall.
"So, these are some of the house Seeker quarters in the house. Stardust is the first door, I'm next to her, Princess is the one next over. The room between me and Princess is just storage we all share. Obviously, the mansion is meant to have a lot of people living here so needing more slaves, so there's even more slave quarters, but they're empty. The whole basement is just slave quarters, couple of lounge rooms, washrooms, closets, a second energon room… Not much here. This lounge room is for us to hang out, but the second one has some cool stuff in it." Nacreous explained before gesturing for Starscream to following him down the hallway.
He eventually stopped at the second lounge room which was empty minus for more taxidermy. This taxidermy was different as it had these Seeker-like beings who looked more like beasts than Seekers shrieking and fighting Seeker mounts and these hawk-like beings. The walls had many busts of the beastly Seekers, all posed to be screaming and looking fierce.
"What are those…?" Starscream perked his wings.
"So, you know how some Seekers were bred with beastformers a long time ago making some breeds all big and beasty? Well, some of those hybrids became more beast than Seeker. They are referred to as 'feral' Seekers, and live in the wilds of Velocitron. Some people call them a 'pest,' and so the masters will hunt them. They ride the mounts as these birds, Desert Falcons, hunt down the feral Seeker. Once the falcons spot the feral Seeker they begin to peck and stab with their talons. The feral Seeker fights back, but they are ripped apart by the hawks. One of the masters will end the hunt by shooting the feral Seeker. Any falcons who die during the hunt will be stuffed alongside the feral Seeker who killed them. Sometimes, the feral Seekers attack the mounts, and so those mounts are also stuffed."
"And why do they do this?"
Nacreous shrugged. "They believe it's 'fun' and a 'tradition' and 'conservation' as the feral Seekers are not native. Not that any of us are native to Velocitron. Just one of their many excuses to kill."
"Are all the mounts in the house from being killed by the feral Seekers?"
"Nah. A few, like the ones down here. Most just died of old age or disease."
"Does Opulentus… hunt?"
"I haven't seen him do it. Members of his family definitely did at one point because, well, we have this display. And there's more stuffed feral Seekers in other parts of the mansion. But most are down here."
"Why do they keep them down here? All the others are visible to anyone who visits."
"I think there's a lot of controversy with the hunting so they probably keep them down here to not cause fights. Like Knock Out hates the hunting. And so does Pulchra. Grit would probably do it…" He rolled his optics. "Anyway! Let's go back to my room!"
Nacreous turned and ran back down the hallway. Starscream studied the feral Seekers for a moment longer before following Nacreous. The hybrid palmed open the door to his room and walked inside. It simply had a berth, shelves, a closet, a desk, chair, and a cat tree. Some pictures hung on the wall and a few datapads filled one of the shelves, but not much was in it. It was dark as there was no window, and the lights he turned on weren't bright enough.
"This is my room!" He proudly announced. "This is carrier." He pointed to the urn on a shelf surrounded by crystal flowers. "These are my datapads, and these are my stuffed toys, and sometimes the cats come down here so I have this for them." He patted the cat tree. "I do have videogames, but I keep them out in the lounge because sometimes Grit or Knock Out will play with me. And here is my desk where I do art projects! Mostly crafts, so I have my craft stuff, and this is paint, and the brushes, and this is glue, and these drawers are just filled with stuff I find to use for crafts, and I have lots of wires because that's fun. Not much, but it's mine." He sat on the berth smiling.
"You have a nice setup here." Starscream commented as he inspected the room. "Do the masters buy you the craft stuff?"
"Yes and no. Some things I find to use, and sometimes I just ask Pulchra. She always gets me stuff. Knock Out also shares stuff with me. He does crafts too. Well, not as much lately because he's been busy with school so he gave me a lot of his old craft stuff. He gave me all this glitter." He proudly presented a large case of various glitters.
"That is a lot of glitter."
"I know." Nacreous smirked almost ominously as he looked at his glitter.
"Nacreous, I am about to hop in the shower! If you need-" Princess stopped when she stepped into the doorway and saw Starscream. "Oh, I didn't realize you had a visitor."
"He's just hanging out. Do you need something?" Nacreous perked his wings.
"I was just telling you I was going to shower and wanted to make sure you didn't need the washroom first."
"Nah, I'm good."
Starscream waved at Princess. "Hey."
"Hello, again. I apologize for not staying to chit chat. I must prepare myself for when the masters return."
"Um, okay…?"
"Seeya, Princess!" Nacreous waved as she walked away. "She showers a lot… Both in the washroom and berthroom."
"How do you shower in the berthroom?" Starscream gave him a quizzical look.
"You do not want to know!" Nacreous then patted the berth beside him. "Well, we're here. Time to tell me your life's story."
Starscream vented a sigh before sitting beside the hybrid and doing so.
Sorry for taking a while to post again. I actually have like the next 8 chapters written, I just need to read through them and edit. So, this ended on page 208 and I have written 466 pages thus far (12/29/23). So, yeah, quite a bit is done I am just slow to post it. But I'll work on it!
The mansion and ranch is inspired by a real racehorse breeding/slavery ranch, Winstar Farms. Later int eh fic more about the number of races, etc will be explained, but Winstar Farms has like 1,000 horses for breeding, they have like 1,200 starts (number of times horses race) each year with an average of 200 wins, and make like 10 million a year. And are on 3,000 acres. So, Winstar RANCH, which is what this place is, is based off it. So if you think I'm exaggerating or whatnot I'm just basing everything off real animal abusers using so much land to abuse and kill animals. Obviously, Seekers, being robots, can live longer and race more so that's why I decided to make the number of breeding and racing Seekers less than what a thoroughbred breeding farm has. Average racehorse is killed at 3 years old (horses live to be 30 and aren't even fully mature until 4 years old). A Seeker obviously can live for millions of years. So, yeah, differences there so that was the main changes.
That being said, the mansion is also based off some of the real giant mansions found on these breeding facilities. They often house not just the owners, but other people who work there. Many of these places are like super old so have all the slave houses and whatnot. Like, they are remnants of human slavery now enslaving a different species.
The taxidermy is of course based off real hunting/trophy hunting. They use the bird creatures like how dogs are used by humans. And, this is real, hunters will taxidermy dogs who have been killed during hunts and pose them with the animal that killed them. So it's not uncommon to find at these sick hunt clubs and in the trophy rooms of cowardly hunters dogs posed with lions, bears, boars, etc.
Taxidermy smells bad, FYI. But, yeah, sickos will also taxidermy horses, especially famous horses, and keep them. So that's another thing these abusers do. Pose their champion horses in their homes... Disgusting.
Nacreous I decided to add myself, not even asking my friend if she would be okay with it. I think it's good to show how the masters react to hybrids. Obviously, they are all the same species, just with like different "breeds" or races. With human slavery, whenever there was a "mutt" human they would still be a slave despite having white or whoever was the master in them. We see this not just with the white slave masters in the US, but other parts of the world with other races. Remember, ALL races have been enslaved by other races or their own throughout history. Africans weren't the only ones to be enslaved no matter how much BLM wants you to believe otherwise. But in like all cases of slaves who are half slave and half slave owner, they like always end up being a slave.
So, yeah, Nacreous may be half speedster but he is beneath the rest. And the stuff about his body parts "curing" certain diseases is real. It's not just TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) that believes rhino horn can make your dick hard, but in parts of African albino humans are killed and their parts eaten or used in rituals to cure diseases, remove curses, etc. Rhinos, elephants, tigers, albino humans, etc. are all victims of this belief that consuming or using their bodies will have magical properties to cure diseases or do something supernatural. It's a real issue we still have going on even today.
The breeding and collecting semen is how they actually do it to collect semen from horses, bulls, pigs, etc. A human jacks off the animal, make them mount a dummy or female of their species, and put their dicks in an artificial vagina to collect the semen. They then sell it. As I've said before, on my website, TheVeganDragon dot com, I do have a paper about this subject with videos, images, etc of animal agriculture, horseracing, zoos, etc raping animals to breed them and collect their semen. I don't think I can share too much of that on this site, so if you want to learn more about how humans rape and sexually abuse animals... You can find it on my website or any other animal rights organization's website.
Do you guys like how cute Shamelessly Rich is? I hope so. Because he's a good boy who will show up more! Now, go tell him what a cute, good boy he is!
